How to Make: A hammock for under £15

Around this time last year I published a how-to guide for making your own wild camping hammock using a home sewing machine to an expedition quality finish. In discussing this article with a colleague he mentioned that without a sewing machine or experience in using one, the project was daunting, and suggested he’d simply buy a hammock instead of make his own. Fair enough I thought, but some of the good quality hammocks on the market go for more than £60 it seemed a steep price to pay if on the first few nights camping you decide ham mocking isn’t for you.

So I got to thinking, could be make a functional hammock for under £15 without using a sewing machine or any real craft skills at all… to produce a super cheap, usable hammock for trailing it as a sleep system. That’s just what I did:

What you’ll need:

A length of ripstop nylon approximately 2x your height in length.

4x zip ties

2x lengths of rope or webbing approx. 4 metres in length each

With our items to hand, set out by fixing a loop of rope to each end of the hammock by doubling the fabric back and zip tying it in place.

Take the end of your fabric

Add your loop

I did this by tying a double Fisherman’s knot to create a loop. This setup helps minimise friction from your ropes to the fabric of the hammock when setup for sleeping, it also creates a drip point for heavy rain running down your ropes/ webbing.

Fold about 20cm back on itself

Add your first zip tie

Leave 2 - 3cm between the zip tie and the rope loop, this is the space for the second zip tie….

Pull the zip tie tight

Fold the tail of fabric back towards the loop

This ‘S’ fold creates a very strong hold in the system by using the strength of the fabric to it’s best advantage. Add the second zip tie around the full amount of fabric, between the 1st zip tie and the loop.

the two zip-ties locked together

The first zip tie on the right, the second wrapped over everything on the left

Cut away any excess fabric

The finished hammock bundle

When you’ve done this at each end, half your 4m rope/ webbing and tie it onto the loop with a Larks foot knot.

And you’re done! Simple and effective.