How to Fix a Ripped Trampoline Net

Rrrrrrip!

Today I fixed a rip in our trampoline net. We bought one of those £99 Jumpking trampolines from Asda 3 years ago, and it's probably the best £99 I've spent on anything for the kids. The net, which stays up all year round, has been subjected to quite a few trampoline football/WWE/how many kids can we get on here type play, and had a massive rip along the bottom, plus a few smaller ones which were in danger of expanding. It hasn't stopped the boys from playing on the trampoline, but it has limited some of the games they play. "No problem," I naively thought. "I'll just get a new net." Hello? How much! The cheapest price I have seen them is £40 + £9 delivery on eBay, and, being the tightwad thrifty soul that I am, I couldn't bring myself to spend that much. I fixed it for less than a fiver and about half an hour's work (it would have been less time, but someone was bouncing on the trampoline at the time!)

I used fishing line that I thought would be strong enough not to break, yet which would be pliable enough to sew and knot easily. You don't need a needle, but the knitters needle I used made it much faster than it was without.

I worked in sections of around a foot long both to avoid getting the line tangled, and to make it easier to repair if it did rip at some point. I kept the tension a little slack so it had some "give" which will hopefully prevent the net around it from being pulled to ripping point. I used blanket stitch in some places, but it depended on the extent of the tear and the amount of bounceage I was dealing with. Let's just say that my technique wouldn't bear up to May Martin's scrutiny.

in progress...

...and finished

Yay! Bring on the wrestling

I know there are snazzier ways you could stitch this up using fishing net techniques, but if you're anything like me then your good intentions to do it that way would sit on the shelf until the entire net was in tatters and your kids had left home. The massive tear and a few smaller rips were all repaired with ease, and I've got plenty of fishing line left over should any more appear.

Have you fix a trampoline net in a similar way? If so, please leave a comment so I know how long to expect this repair to last!