Marker Monday - Hammocks!!

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Late last summer I made hammocks for the kids to hang on a big pine tree in our front yard. They were such a hit! Last year I just used old bed sheets to make the hammocks, which was fine until a strong wind came blowing in the fall and ripped the sheets to shreds! 

This year I was much smarter! 

First, I bought about 7 1/2 yds of burlap from WalMart, altogether about $26. The burlap measured about 48" wide with selvage edges so no sewing there! I cut them each 88 inches long before I put in a 2" casing at each end which means all the hammocks are big enough for me to chill out in; last year I was a bit cramped. I'm typing this up swinging lazily bag and forth in a hammock right now as a matter of fact! 

Even if these burlap hammocks don't survive until next year I consider $26 and a couple hours of sewing a pretty good investment. 

Here are the instructions I've used to make up these hammocks. 

I especially like the Josephine knot diagram included with the directions. It's a simple and durable knot that is easy to untie when you need to take the hammocks down. 

I'm STILL trying to figure out a way to install hammocks permanently in the house and get rid of all the beds. LOL...hammocks are sooooo comfortable!! 

Marker Monday - The Hammocks!

We made hammocks last week and I'm already starting to regret it. 

My kids, especially Yap (blue shirt), has barely been out of the hammock for days. 

He reads and eats in the hammock and loves to tell all the drivers (the hammocks are right next to a stop sign) all about their new hammocks. I have a suspicion people are driving out of their way to avoid having to talk to him. He's kind of chatty. 

I found a free pattern here that worked great! 

Rather than using the dimensions in the pattern though I just used a flat bed sheet and cut off about fives inches along the long edge and continued with the rest of the instructions. 

This worked great for kids but is a bit cramped for me; I'm 5'7". I got both hammocks finished while Yahoo was taking a nap...less than two hours. 

But then Yahoo woke up and didn't want to share a hammock, but I didn't have any more bedsheets. So I scrounged in my fabric stash and picked out something around what I guessed to be the right size. I didn't even measure her hammock. I ripped the edges straight, hemmed and added casing to the edges quickly (thank goodness for selvage edges) and her hammock was done and in the tree in 15 minutes. 

It's finally started to cool down enough to spend time outside. After a couple of months of triple digit temps I've been happy when the recent temps have gotten into the 90's..HA! 

But what about this winter? Hmmmm...do you think I could get rid of their beds and make them sleep in hammocks....like pirates? I bet Yip and Yap would be all for it!