I'm debating this for a 2.5oz Climashield quilt w/ 1.1oz ripstop shell.

I've debated just about every possibility from the complex and ornate to just running one row and letting it all hang out. I have no experience with either of these materials - how careful do you have to be with them around the hems?

I typically sew the quilt inside out around 3 of the four edges. Then I pull it through the open edge to turn it right side out and add a draw cord channel over the last open edge. Pretty simple. If you use this method, make sure place the outside 1.1 pieces together with the Clima on top to sew. Tim may chime in with a better description. He's the quilt man.

I had considered that, but had two concerns:

Would the sewing machine foot snag the climashield, or it is tough enough to take that without tearing/catching?

When I flip it inside out, will the climashield folded over at the edge create a bulky seam? I suppose this depends on the seam allowance, and the 2.5oz Climashield is so thin it probably won't bulk up, huh?

My other thought was to sew just the nylon together, flip it inside out, and slide the climashield in. Then, sew a line a couple inches from the edge to quilt the insulation in place. This would create less of a stiff edge at the expense of some more work and that dead spot around the edge.

On the other hand, this is a trial quilt made from cheap materials so maybe I don't need to over-complicate things if the very basic sew-all-three-and-flip method works.

I do quilts like Mat described. Your questions:
1. Yes, Climashield will snag on the presser foot, and it is fine and strong, so it really snags badly. I use a guard to hold the insulation down and away from the foot. It is just a 2" wide plastic ruler with a rectangle cut off the side toward the foot so the foot fits in the notch. Very low tech. I just hold the ruler in place while running the fabric through.
2. Climashield will bulk up. I trim the edge after stitching. After that I go over the seam allowance with a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying.
3. Stitching Climashield into a pre-stitched shell might work. Just not very well is all. It will be troublesome to position the insulation; the finish will be ugly; and you will lose some width of effective insulation.
4. KISS

Excellent! Thanks all, I like the KISS approach.

Now if Thru Hiker will ship I'll be in business.

EDIT - just got the tracking number. I should be sleeping under it this weekend.

Edited by Autoxfil on 08/14/2010 09:41:07 MDT.

the only thing i would add is that instead of sewing 3 sides and then putting the drawcord tube in once turned right side out i...

sew the bottom 30% of one of the long sides, the foot (with drawcord, the other long side, the head (with drawcord) and then the top 30% of the last open long side. This will leave a hole aprox 40% of the length of one long side to turn it inside out. This is easier than adding a drawcord tube after as you just pin the hole closed and top stitch it shut.

If you plan to use zippers or under cords make sure they are in there before you sew it shut.

-Tim

Thanks for the help, all. I whipped it up in about 4 hours last night.

I went for a very clean design - round footbox, sewn in place, and no elastic straps on the bottom. I did put an elastic drawcord through the top, which I tucked inside the baffle. I would not bother with that again, top-stiching the ends of the tube closed was tedious and I don't find an exposed drawstring tube offensive at all.

This quilt is 2.5oz Climashield XP and should be good to 45ºF or so. If I do another one I'll probably use Combat and do a drawstring and zipper footbox - I think that would come in at 18-19oz and offer more versatility, although it wouldn't have the clean lines this one does. I like this 1.10z nylon from Thru-Hiker, and can't see spending $35 more to save 1oz in shell weight by getting the 0.9oz material.

I sized it generously - I made my cuts at 56 shoulder and 42 foot (half-taper) over ~73". With a sewn-in footbox that's about the same as a 78" length drawstring foot. The finished dimensions are something like 55x72 with a 12.5" circular foot (40" foot girth). I'm a side-sleeper who moves around a lot, so I though the extra width might be nice. I will also be carrying this as an emergency bivy blanket for two on alpine climbs, where the size would matter a lot.

I also made a stuff sack which came out rather pretty. I need to get some sil-nylon and make more stuff sacks.

This weekend I'll be in the Adirondacks trying it out. I'm hoping for cold weather to really test it!

Hey quilt came out really nice ....
:)