Well, I have 6 yards of .9 Momentum plenty of down.

Goal is to make a quilt to down around 20 degrees.

The time I've spent reading and researching I could have made one by now! Anyway, a person has to be realistic about their abilities and some of the comercial quilt designs seem beyond my ability,,,I'm thinking of modeling it off of Jamie Shortts bag he posted awhile back,,,,basically a flat quilt with closures, in my mind a straight forward approach,,I'm a big fella, 6'-1" and around 210,,,,my material is 60" wide and will have to trim to around 58" to get rid of bad edges, so for a 2" seam allowance I'm at 54" for top of bag and was thinking of tappering at mid-point down to 44",,,,length I'm at 82" with seam allowance and the possibilty of choosing either a sewn in footbox or the sinch type Jamie used. I have a pattern mocked up with paper,but its paper, I'm thinking I'll go wih 2.5" baffles with about 12oz of fill

I'll start with the basic pattern and getting baffles sewn in, and then make a decision on the footbox, with the idea that I've left myself with enough length to either add a hood, sinch or sew a footbox

The reason I called it a poll is the above is what I'm thinking, just wondering if anyone sees flaws or holes in my approach??? Or trying to poll people of my size on their dimesions,most of the writeups have been from guys a tad bit smaller than myself... My final product wants to be under 22 oz, and good to 20, but I typically sleep warm and always in layers.

Thanks for any feedback

Edited by AKDAVE on 01/14/2010 00:26:49 MST.

54"head 1/2 tapered to 44 foot will be good (I am 300# and this is about what i do, but i have a smaller footbox, 40") However you can make it wider by not removing the rough edge as it will be inside the quilt as part of your seam allowance. Also 1" is a plenty big seam if you need more room, but 54 or 56 should work great.

For the length you will need 6" more than your height for a drawstring footbox (which i recommend as both very easy to make and use)

If you go the flat quilt route (i do with all mine) you will need a way to close the vertical portion of the footbox (15-25"). You can use zippers (i do this) velcro/omni-tape (like Jamies's/JRB) or snaps (like MLD)

Think about adding 4 small loops of webbing on the sides of the quilt (2 each side about 20"ish from top then 20"ish more " down) These will allow you to use a small cord to cinch the quilt around you if cold and having drafts. The cord can be tied or girth hithced (i hitch) on one side and use a cordlock on the other side to adjust tension (put cordlock though loop like a button)

-Tim

Thanks Tim

I have the material lined up and ready to cut after work. I have been practicing a bit on sewing in the baffles.

So far I've found it easier to use the "tuck" system. It seems to be easier for me to sew without worrying about running the bulk material through, or at least it has been easier for me to stitch a straight line.

I like Jamie's idea of using the velcro for footbox, thinking of adding a small buckle at the top as well.

Thanks, I'll be sure to post my finished product

Dave, I appreciate you using my quilt to help design yours. I do need to say that nothing about that quilt was my own. I took ideas and construction methods from everyone I could find...Tim was really helpful.

My thoughts are much like Tim's. I really think a 1" seam allowance on each side is plenty. A top of 54" should be good. Also I'd suggest considering a smaller footbox...I'm surpirsed at how much room I have in mine. I could easily take 2" out of it. Consider a 40" or 42" footbox. Remember that the amount of loft you get will be determined by the area of the quilt x oz of down x the down fill power. The smaller you make the quilt area the more you will increase the loft (assume down is constant).

The velcro/Omni tape idea did come from JRB quilts. I purchased one of their quilts and really like how the footbox forms up so I copied it. Check out the Jacks-r-Better website if you haven't. If you go with velcro make sure you get the kind that has the hooks and pile combined. This keeps from having a hooked side that gets caught on stuff...like netting.

As to the footbox being open or sewn closed...I believe the warmest quilt will have a sewn in footbox, but if you like using your quilt like a blanket then allowing the footbox to fully open is a real nice feature. I also did mine open because it is easier to sew...just sew the end close with a draw cord in it.

Good luck!

Jamie

Edited by jshortt on 01/14/2010 20:13:24 MST.

Thanks, Jamie, I referenced yours since you had a nice writeup on it, and its along the lines of what I want to do

I actually started last night, I have 5 baffles sewn in on one side, its going well, the netting tends to stretch a bit so the momentum bunches a little, but not much and I don't think you will notice once its filled with down.

I left 2 inches for seam allowance, I think its way too much, I'll most likely keep going and trim when I'm done,,,I'll have to make a decision on footbox soon, I dont really need to use it as a blanket so thinking of sewing it in,

So far so good!

I made two person quilt a while ago. I needed a lot more than the 60 inch width provided by the fabric, so I turned the fabric sideways and had a seam 2/3rds of the way down the quilt where I joined a 60 inch wide piece to a 30 inch wide piece. With seam allowances and the 'shrinkage' you get when you sew and add down, this gave me around 84 inches in length. I incorporated the seam into one of the baffles, so you can't even see it in the finished project here:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=11371

So don't feel limited by the width of your fabric!