Back in March Riley Sproul, a medical student in Ohio, wrote to ask if we would help him make his own hammock. Ohio is a long way from Nova Scotia so we recommended the only book we are aware of that tells you how to weave and tie a hammock. The book is no longer in print but is occasionally available for sale as a used book on the internet.
Much to our surprise Riley purchased a copy of the book and made his own hammock. This morning I received this note from him:
“It’s finally finished! 
The book you recommended worked like a charm and I completed the hammock a few days ago but just had the opportunity to put it up a few days back. In the picture it’s hanging pretty low to the ground, I tightened a few ropes and have hung it higher since then. I plan to make several more, some larger and possibly some themed. In the close up pictures you can get a good look at the spreaders and can see that they’re actually home made. I chopped down a few small trees from our forest and de-barked then treated them. Overall I’m very happy with the end product although it has it’s imperfections.
Thanks so much for the advice 
“
Riley Sproul
And here is the end result:
A comment about the hammock hanging close to the ground. As all the knots in a handmade hammock are tied by hand they will tighten up the first few times you lie in it and the hammock will stretch. We lie in every hammock we make to tighten the knots (it is a tough job but someone has to do it ) but it is very likely the hammock will stretch a bit more the first few times you use it and you will have to hang it higher after a couple of uses. You can learn more about how to hand a hammock on our website
