In looking for a cheap, easy to sew quilt design, I came up with the following idea. Take one long piece of cheap ripstop 2nds, twice and long as your quilt will be, plus add four inches for each baffle. On the "bottom" side fold over at each baffle interval (say every seven inches) to create a 2 inch baffle and stitch. Then fold the "top" side over and sew each baffle to complete each chamber. Finish as usual.

I'm sure this has been done/discussed before, but if it's been on this forum I couldn't find it. Also, I know this is doubling the material (and thus weight) for each baffle, but lets try and forgive those few grams for the sake of simplicity. Any thoughts? The only down side (no pun intended) I could come up with was the direction of stress on each outer seam would be more likely to open and create holes for down leakage, but I'm unaware of how big a difference that would be.

Would you be using down? If you're planning to use synthetic just get climashield apex or the equivalent in another brand and you don't even need to worry about baffles. If you did that you could just sew around the edges, turn it inside out and sew the insulation in place around the edges and then sew the remaining end... I think. I never have done it yet.

Something I thought of along the same lines is like:



To lay out, if you wanted 7 inch baffles and a 2 inch loft, then on the top fabric mark lines 7 inches apart. On the bottom fabric lay out lines 11 inches apart (maybe a little less, 10 inches). Then sew them together along the layout lines.

I think that will give you the ease of sewn through baffles without the thin places where it's sewn through.

Just an idea, haven't tried it.

I guess I should have specified, this is for a down quilt.

Jerry- I've considered that approach as well, I think especially with the "short" side as the outside of the quilt (or used with a bivy?) you could end up with very little loss in warmth. Also, that would eliminate the "collapse" of chambers that tension on a sewn thru quilt can create.

Yeah, you'de want the "short" side on the outside.

Why not just a standard sewn thru design? I'm assuming this is for above freezing weather? If you need baffles, then any method to make them is going to be a pain because you'll have to do the seams on one side, then flip and do the other side before moving onto the next baffle. If you cut baffles you can sew them all onto one side first then move on to the other side (longer prep, shorter sew times).

You could also just use three layers, the middle making a bunch of zig-zags to act as baffles. Then your baffle shape has an icecream cone profile (triangle with a semicircle on top)...but you'll still have to complete an entire baffle before moving to the next one.

I felt like if I were making the investment in the down, I might as well sew some sort of baffles and shoot for a lower temp rating. Plus, a one piece design just appeals to my utilitarian principles I suppose.