One of the joys of summer is lounging in your own hammock, sipping a nice ice tea or a lemonade. You can have this fine summer experience at very low cost by making your own hammock from rags…Yes…rags…

While this seems odd or even impossible, you simply tear light weight rags like old shirts and sheets into one inch strips and then finger crochet them. You don’t even need a crochet hook! Just follow the directions below.

HOW TO FINGER CROCHET

While this works fine with yarn, to learn a nice one inch thick rag strip is easiest.

Make the first loop by tying one end of the rag strip around your finger. Bring the free end up in front of this loop one your finger. Pull the back loop over the top of the one closest to the tip of your finger. This leaves the second loop on your finger. Repeat the above steps over and over until you have a chain of loops as long as you want.

HAMMOCK DIRECTIONS:

Materials:
roughly two pounds of light weight rags like sheets or old shirts, dresses, etc. too stained etc. to quilt
Two Sticks/or rods/or boards thick enough to bear a man’s weight (old two by four is fine) cut four feet in length
(optional) crochet hook or old toothbrush

Directions:
Tear the cloth into one inch thick strips. Stitch them together and roll them into big balls for storage.

Following the directions for "how to finger crochet" above and make at least 14 chains of rag crochet 8 feet in length. Lay the two rods on the ground 7 feet apart. Tie the crocheted strips to the rod spacing them roughly three inches apart.

Then begin to make a mesh by tying a length of rag strip to one of the tied strips near the top. Loop over your finger and finger crochet to the next length. Poke the loop through the second chain with your finger or use a crochet hook or the end of an old tooth brush. Fit the loop over your finger and proceed to finger crochet until you reach the next vertical chain and repeat the "joining procedure. Work like this to the final vertical strand. Make the join and then clip off the rag strip leaving a four inch length. Pull this through the loop to knot it. Knot once more for safety.

Measure down four inches and work across the vertical strands -- just like above.

Eventually, you will have worked across the whole length of the hammock. Tie it up to the nearest trees or fence posts! And Relax!

For directions for Other types of Hammock Construction see:

Knotted Hammock
https://www.uniqueprojects.com/projects/hammock/hammock.htm

Macrame Your Own Hammock
https://www.motherearthnews.com/top_articles/1972_July_August/Macrame_Your_Own_Hammock

Summer Hammock
https://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/fiber_arts/71252

For more ideas Check out these Frugal Living Books!
Complete Tightwad Gazzette
The Complete Tightwad Gazzette

Declare Your Finanacial Independence
Declare Your Financial Independence

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Mary Hunt's Complete Cheapskate

Miserly Moms
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