Just completed my Thru-Hiker Quilt Kit, and must say I am happy with the results.

M50 fabric in Aegean Blue, 2.5" baffles at 6" spacing, sewn in baffled footbox, and overstuffed for a conservative 20 degree rating.

Head width 56" (54"+2" seam allowance)
Foot width 46" (44"+2" seam allowance)
Length 81" (78"+3" seam allowance)
Tapered at 28" from head
Foot box dimensions (14"width x 10"height)
Foot box closed at roughly 16" from box
Fill calculated using (L X W X H) / 900 fill power and overstuffed slightly

A few pics of the finished product:









I got tips/tricks from multiple sources but here's a few good links for the aspiring quilt maker. At the end of the day, understand that sewing a quilt from scratch can be tedious work and requires a lot of patience. But at the end of the day it was so worth the trials and tribulations!

http://thru-hiker.com/projects/down_quilt.php
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/MYOG_down_quilt_bag.html
http://lytw8.com/uploads/LytW8_Summer_Quilt_Instructions.pdf

Edited by setterp on 03/26/2012 20:46:20 MDT.

The finished weight?

--B.G.--

Looks great, Patrick!

Looks great! But that is so NOT the color I expected the 'Aegean Blue' color to be based on the thru-hiker website. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Your quilt looks beautiful! Nice job! I agree it is a tedious process, but definitely worth the effort.

I am working on a quilt right now with the same color M50 for the outer shell, it's good to see the finished product.

I'm wondering about the footbox. You mentioned, "Foot box closed at roughly 16" from box". Does this mean the bottom is sewed together from the footbox to 16" toward the head end? Also, did you do two 5" baffles for the 14" x 10" footbox?

Thanks everyone.

Finished weight 17.9oz

The aegean blue is not well pictured (crummy camera), but the color looks great in person.

The quilt is sewn up 16" from the footbox. The footbox has one baffle 14" running across the long side (10"h x 14"w).

All outside hems were overlocked with a serger, and doubled over. Thinking about adding a few grosgrain loops along the back with a piece of shock cord and cord lock. That way I can cinch the body of the quilt around me with ease.

Few sewing tips for working with thin, slippery material. I used a walking foot, #9 needle, and Ray-Way thread. Good combo, after we got things dialed in. Bobbin and needle tension need to be adjusted to prevent excessive puckering. The walking foot does wonders when working with lightweight material.

Can't wait to get this quilt to the mountains for some field testing.

Cheers!