So as soon as my fabric gets here, I plan on finally making myself a down quilt like I've been meaning to do for a long time. I have read tons and tons of articles, and just wanted to make sure that everything is correct before I start sewing, and I had a few questions.

I am 6'0 165lbs, and my planned (finished, I have +2" on each dimension for seam allowance) dimensions are 50"x40"x80". I am worried about making it too small, but does this seem too big?

I want this to be rated to about 20-25 degrees, and plan on using 12oz 800+ fill, how high should I make the baffles? I was thinking about making 12 evenly spaced baffles (6.67" apart) with a height of 2 inches, and then overfilling to 2.5 inches. Does that sound right and how do I go about calculating how much to put in each baffle to reach that 2.5 inches?

Thanks!

Are you planning a straight taper? I used a CAD program to find the area for each baffle as you're aware each one is different due to the tapered design. You could do it mathematically but it would take longer. I made mine 7' long and made a mistake at one end making it about an inch or so shorter. It has a drawcord footbox and I would prefer something a bit longer. Depending on your footbox design you might be cutting it close for length. I used the full roll width before I started my 2/3 taper so it is wider than your planned quilt. I didn't want the constriction that a traditional bag has as I tend to flop around quite a bit during the night. FYI, I'm 6'-0", 180lbs.

Hi Eric,

Which CAD software did you use? I'm trying to get the hang of google SketchUp, but even though I am a programmer by trade, I struggle with this type of software!

Cheers,

I used SketchUp. When you draw a flat shape with a face you can select it, right click , choose entity info and find out it's area. For example, in the image below the 5th baffle from the top has an area of 1.8551sqft or 267.13sqin and requires 0.835oz of 800fp down for 2.5" of loft.

Edited by cobberman on 02/22/2012 17:28:11 MST.

Hi Eric,

Cool! You give me some hope to stick with SketchUp. Which template did you use? Woodworking project in inches? I dont' know why, I am computer savy, program every day, can configure a unix server with my eyes closed, but any drawing/painting/photo program I just feel like I am pushing on a rope!

Cheers,

John,

I am 6'0" as well, and when I make quilts, I add 6" to my height for the amount that the quilt will shrink due to loft, then I add another 6" if I plan to put in a drawstring footbox. This gives my a total length of 84" that works well in those temps. You don't want the quilt to be pulling on your feet and neck because you skimped a couple inches.

Also, for approximately 12oz of down, I'd recommend boosting the number of baffles up to 14. Personally, I try not to make any baffles larger than 6" wide, just to make sure that the down is evenly and sufficiently controlled.

Thanks for the replies everyone,

Eric, that software looks pretty cool, I will have to try that out.

Ben,

Thanks for the advice, I will go with the 84" length. I'm glad you recommended more baffles, because I was debating whether or not to add a few more, so that helps.

I am planning on doing a half taper, do those widths looks correct?
Thanks!

For your size, that should be OK. I am 200 lbs, and use a 54" summer quilt, and a 56" 3-season quilt.