Mexican Hammocks are best known for being  the most comfortable style of hammocks in the world. But why are these hammocks so comfortable and better than hammocks made with rope or a piece of fabric, like Chinese or Brazilian Hammocks?  Hammocks made with a piece of fabric are not as fresh as Mexican Hammocks, this  is because Mexican Hammocks  are all hand woven with a thin string making a small net bed offering extra freshness, the air circulates through the hammock so it is very fresh ideal for hot and very warm weathers like the weather we have here in Australia during Summer and Spring. Also cloth, fabric and canvas hammocks do not have the same degree of stretch as Mexican Hammocks, the structure of the material with which they are made limits their ability to mould to the shape of the occupants body.
 

Hammocks called "rope hammocks' are generally made from chunky cotton rope  usually a spreader bar is incorporated, whilst rope might be more durable than classic Mexican hammocks they do not open as wide and have much larger holes in the weave. The result is a hammock which is nowhere near as comfortable as a fine, close woven  hammock which stretches and moulds itself to your individual shape.

A traditional Mexican hammock has no spreader bars so to keep the hammock open and not end up wrapped up like a taco you lie diagonally or across the hammock. You become the "spreader" and the hammock rolls along beneath you, hugging and supporting every curve of your body! No wonder thousands of people worldwide sleep in Mexican hammocks

Below is the hole process of Making a Mexican Hammock:

Mayan Legacy makes Mexican Hammocks in Bastidores, a Bastidor consists of two vertical posts with two horizontal crossbars. The Bastidor is about 1.80 meters wide and 1.80 meters tall (Photo A and B). First the Bastidor is warped with cotton or nylon twine, during this process much of the twine used in the hammock is wrapped around the Bastidor. Next, the weaving process begins. The first thing that is created it is the crochet reinforcement seen on the edges of the hammock. This reinforcement helps the hammock bed to keep its shape. The next step is to interweave the yarn on the shuttles wrapped around the Bastidor. A good quality hammock has between 45 to 70 stitches this means that the hammock will shape to the body and will offer more resistance (Photo C and D). A Mexican Hammock it is like a very fine net, some business make this net too open, with less than 45 stitches spending less time on the manufacture process and using less material than  a good quality hammocks. A good quality hammock it is made with 45 to 70 stitches and more material in the bed to offer the same size as a hammock with less than 45 stitches and less material in the bed.

Photo A and B:

   

 

         

Photos C and D

After the hammock bed has been woven it is time to attach the arms or hanging parts as they are sometimes called. Proper tension it is critical. It is very important that all the end strings are exactly the same length. In Mayan Legacy the weaver of the bed does not attaches the end strings. We use specialists to do the hanging parts. The woven beds are taken off the Bastidores and carefully saved until a quantity of hammocks are ready to be made. Then they are taken to the specialist to make the hanging parts (Photo E and F). One secret when making the hanging parts are what in Mayan the artisans call "El Tup” (A Mayan Word which means the edges of the hammock). A correct “Tup” brings support to the head when the hammock it is used diagonally making a very comfy hammock.

Photo E and F:

 

 

After all this is finished then the hammock is ready to enjoy! Our Mexican Hammocks are all made in Mexico by expert artesian.  Enjoy!