Knotted Twine Hammock: 48 Seine-Twine Cords Tied From a Centre Rod Over a Two-Size Mesh Post (Boy Mechanic, 1919)

"The flat reef knot is small, is easily tied and will not slip."

Make a mesh post 30 in high on a base you can rest a foot on, its top cut to two sizes: 1-7/8 in across for the first row of meshes and 3-1/2 in for all others (Fig. 9). Make a ring board 30 in long, 3 in or more wide and 1 in thick, with three nails driven slanting (Fig. 14).

Cut 48 cords of medium-hard 24-ply seine twine, each 18 ft long, and loop them in 24 pairs over a centre rod (an old broom handle) anchored to a wall (Figs. 6, 8). Loop the opposite halves up out of the way. Wind each working cord into a small bundle secured with a half hitch, leaving about 3 ft free (Fig. 7).

Set the post's small top between the first pair, A and B, and tie them with a flat reef knot: B over A, A tucked behind; B over again and A tucked under, drawn very hard (Figs. 8, 10, 11). Move along tying each pair, to the 24th (Y, Z). On the way back use the large top and tie neighbouring pairs together (Y with X, W with V ...). Alternate the rows to within 2-1/2 ft of the end. Then move the rod into the second row and knot the other half the same way. An overhand or Solomon's knot may be used instead (Figs. 1, 3, 12).

Put the centre rod in the last row of meshes and set it on the ring board with a 2-1/2 in galvanized ring tied by a string to the end nail, 2 ft from the rod. Tie the cords to the ring in pairs with flat reef knots, one cord under and one over its side. Turn the ends back along the cords and wind them about 1-1/2 in with an extra cord, starting with a loop and a flat reef knot and looping each turn through its own winding; finish with a double loop and draw the end back under the turns with an awl (Fig. 15). Do the other end the same way.

From "How to Make Hammocks, Part I: A Twine Hammock" by Charles M. Miller, in **The Boy Mechanic, Book 3**, Popular Mechanics, 1919 (Project Gutenberg 71856; checked on the archive.org scan boymechanic0003unse, pp. 277-280). He gives no size for the mesh post's base or the winding cord. The tools and metric figures are ours.