Hammock Making

Before you start, consider which method you're going to use to fix the hammock to the cage.

S hooks purchased from your hardware store, shower curtain rings, little keyring carabineers like these ones from Blank Plastic Co., used singly or to make chains.

Key clips, with the key rings pushed through the cloth or attached to tape/ribbon loops.

Metal grommets can give a strong and neat edge to holes - I prefer the ones that hammer in, rather than using the plier type, because the pliers tend to be expensive or become misaligned.

Key chains, dog chains, or thick rope can be threaded through tube-type hammocks or clipped to each corner.
Bird perches, threaded through tube-type hammocks.

String, pushed through a small hole at each corner, or sewn into the seam during production.

Loops of ribbon or cord, with the ends sewn into the seams during production.

D-rings - fold the material around the D-ring and oversew around the straight edge, or just fold a corner of the material through the d-ring and sew it down. These give a permanent fixing for your clips or string.

If you're making your own hammock, leave a gap in your machine stitching, pop the ring into the steam, and back-stitch through the ring.

The Tea Towel: Take a cheap or old tea towel or pillow case. Fold it in half if it's too big for your cage. Attach each corner to the cage.
The jeans leg: When your jeans are too far gone to wear any longer, cut the legs off to hammock length, and thread onto chains or bird perches to suspend across the cage. Fix the chains/perches close together for a tent type hammock, or further apart for a shelf type. (You can finish the edges of the cloth if you like - frayed edges can form dangerous loops when you wash them, so this saves having to trim them).
The jeans seat:When you've cut off the legs take the remaining top piece and sew across the leg holes to make a large pocket. Attach one side to the side or top of the cage using the belt loops.
The old hat: Your old fleece hats make a lovely snuggle pocket to fix to the side of the cage.
Tunnel mad:Use a pair of toddler's fleece trousers, thread a a couple of perches or chains in through the waist and out through the legs (The legs can be fixed on different levels to make tunnel ramps).
School uniform: My children wear sweat-tops as part of their school uniform. These make wonderful hammocks when they're outgrown. There are two ways to use them: Either turn the sleeves inside out so they run through inside the body, and thread a perch or chain down each sleeve, or turn one sleeve inside out, running through the body, and put one perch/chain down this sleeve, then thread the other fixing through the body from neck to waist. This method leaves one sleeve hanging loose, giving an entrance/exit tunnel. It needs fixing fairly well stretched if you're using the second method to stop the tunnel twisting round to the bottom.
Take the Tube: Use one leg of your old trousers or the sleeve of a jumper to make a tube hammock. Fix it on with just one chain/perch, and sew in a couple of large macrame rings or rings of plastic cut from a drinks bottle to hold the ends open. Warning: plastic bottles don't machine wash. Yes, I did.

Comments:

Note: You must be logged in to add comments