Trampoline Net Fastener Repair

Every so often I look out the back window of my kitchen to see the sad, sad sight of the trampoline safety net hanging down because one of the straps has broken. Sort of like this:

That, my friends, hanging down from the cross bar above where the net hangs, is duct tape on the strap. That broke. Duct tape did not fix this.

The look on the face of my little friend speaks of the frustration I feel at this moment!

I don't know if my kids and their friends beat the daylights out of the safety net or if other people have this same occurrence on their trampolines from normal wear and tear.

I mean, could there be WWF-type showdowns going on out there unbeknownst to me? Could they be bouncing each other off the net left and right and standing up on top to do a Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka dive on top of each other? Well....I mean...sure I guess they could be doing that. But if not, and if there are other parents out there like me who have rigged up the net straps one too many times to count, I think I have finally found a viable solution.

At first, I would try to repair the black elastic straps that were original to the safety net. My repair job would hold up a couple of weeks when sewn and patched together. We also tried knotting the elastic, and, yes, we tried duct tape. You can't try to pull a MacGyver and NOT at least attempt the duct tape.

When knotting, sewing and duct taping the elastic didn't hold, I tried denim. I used the bottom hems of jeans that I had used for other craft projects, sewing a couple together and attaching them to the clips. The denim didn't hold. Finally when I found my kids and friends using the open side of the broken down net to practice diving off the trampoline and rolling on the grass, I knew I needed a better solution to this seemingly never-ending issue.

I organized a search team and gingerly made my way into the abyss known as my "craft room", which currently appears ready for filming an episode of hoarders. [hangs head in shame].

I found some scraps of canvas and some grosgrain ribbon.

I then called out a warning to the kids, mounted the step stool to get onto the trampoline, dodged a flying cannonball and retrieved the clips from the net.

First I cut the strips of canvas and sewed them end to end. After I stitched a strip, I turned it over and stitched on the other side to reinforce the seam.

I folded the sides in to meet each other to make one long tube and placed the ribbon on top where the sides of the canvas met each other, and then stitched down each side of the ribbon.

Once it was all stitched it was a really strong strap! I tested the strength by having another adult hold onto the other end, each of us pulling with all of the weight we had. Since we had roughly 150-200 pounds on either side of the strap and it didn't show any signs of coming apart, I don't expect this strap to ever break or wear out!!

I threaded the straps onto the clips, and then sewed the end of the strap to itself to secure it. Here I am holding the last 2 straps I repaired. The sewing is sloppy and the sizes are different from each other because this is the 48th time I have repaired straps. Going into our 4th summer with this trampoline I am hoping the canvas is the answer to my trampoline prayers!!

Just take a gander at the mess that is the amputated mangled old black strap...this poor old net. Trying to protect my kids and getting the tar beaten out of it in the process. But this pretty pink strap dresses it up a little and even better, it is a (hopefully) permanent solution to this problem!

It has now been almost one year since these repairs were completed and I am happy to report that all of the canvas with pink ribbon straps are still fully functioning and need no further repairs. This was a very simple and inexpensive DIY fix that could be completed in less than thirty minutes or so, depending on your experience level.