Daily DIY Project: Ten-Minute Hammock

So maybe a hammock is the kind of quintessential seating that just screams summer, but just because the season is officially over doesn't mean the weather won't be sunny enough for relaxing outside. Take advantage of the next warm weekend with ReadyMade's super quick hammock tutorial.

All you need is a piece of rope—about 24 feet long, or longer depending on how far apart your trees are—and a blanket. ReadyMade editor Katherine Sharpe passes along these instructions from a 1984 piece in Mother Earth News:

Once you've selected a place to hang the hammock, double your rope end to end and tie it in place so that the twin cables droop in a gentle curve. Now fold a short side of the cover over one of the ropes so that a little more than a fourth-but less than a third-of the blanket is hanging between the ropes. Pull the rest of the blanket under both ropes and fold the other side over the second rope, toward the center.

The two ends of the blanket should overlap each other by at least several inches. That's all there is to it. When you lie in the hammock, your own weight on top of the blanket's overlapped ends keeps the whole thing from slipping apart and dumping you on the ground. Surprisingly enough, the arrangement is completely sturdy.

Well—maybe not sturdy enough for your children, as Sharpe points out, but careful adults can whip one up in a matter of moments—and then spend the afternoon looking up at the changing leaves while sipping a hot apple cider. (Summer, who needs it?)