[DIY] Hammock Quilt

[scanker]

Thought I'd post details of the hammock quilt that my lovely wife has just made. The design was based on the excellent instructions given at http://www.kickassquilts.com. Thanks Patrick.

The material and most of the bits and bobs were obtained from Point North (now http://www.profabrics.co.uk/) for a cost of about £60. I over ordered some of the bits, so I suspect to make another one would be about £50 in materials.

I say loosely based as Point North were able to supply pre-quilted wadding which was used for the insulation. The inside is thermofill quilted onto nylon (forest green), the outside waterproof breathable nylon (black). They'll send samples if you ask. Mandy's pretty handy with the sewing machine and we think this took her about six hours total and then I messed about for an hour or so with the shockcord and hanging points.

I weighed it last night and it's 1158g in an old sleeping bag stuff sack. I'll be trying it out on Saturday night, but I suspect the weather's got too warm to really test it. Hopefully I'll have some better photos of it in place on the hammock though. These photos of the manufacture process should (hopefully) be self explanatory.

 

[Buckshot]

Very good Scanker.
Is the intention to do away with the thermorest and replace it with this?
Or are you hoping it will replace the sleeping bag as well?

Let us know how it goes.

Mark

 

[scanker]

I'll definitely do away with the thermarest. I'll be using a sleeping bag this weekend. I suppose when the weather's warmer you could use a quilt on top too (in the hammock). I remember a thread somewhere about using a quilt instead of a sleeping bag, I'll have to look for it.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Scanker,
Well that looks a lot easier than some of the tutorials I've seen on the web. Is it the same length as a sleeping bag or does it fully enclose the bottom of the hammock?

I can't get the Kickass link to work!

Ogri the trog

 

[scanker]

It's quite a bit longer than a sleeping bag - 230 cm iirc. There's a pattern at the kickass quilts site, but the site seems to be down at the moment.

I'll post a link when it's back up. It's "assymetrically coffin-shaped" and off the top of my head, I think it's 24" at the foot, 30" at the head and 90" long.

 

[wentworth]

That looks great! very professional. What is the waterproof material on the outside? Also, how many inches of loft does it have?
Underquilts take a little bit of setting up so that you aren't either compressing the insulation, or that you haven't got an air gap between the quilt and the hammock. But once you've got it sorted, they're so much more comfortable than a pad.

Again, congrats.

 

[Mantic]

That's very nice. I made one out of an old sleeping bag which I cut in half (well 1/3rd and 2/3rds). It works well enough but is as ugly as sin. If your wife does things like that for you, she's certainly a keeper

 

[scanker]

Aye, I'm keeping her.

The insulation part is: http://www.profabrics.co.uk/shop/show_product_info.php?id=IWR-53
The outer cover is (I think): http://www.profabrics.co.uk/shop/show_product_info.php?id=PU6-09

They've recently changed their site and there were a few phone calls before they sorted out the materials I wanted and they had to substitute one.

 

[HuBBa]

If its warm enough, that thing will block most of the winds that chill and you should be just fine with a quilt on the inside of the hammock or even just a good blanket. I managed to get a fleece blanket that is warm and nice as hell and packs down to pretty much nothing.

 

[CLEM]

That really does look the part,let us know how you get on with it once tested.

 

[scanker]

Here are a couple of better photos of the quilt on the hammock:

I was really pleased with the performance. I didn't measure the temperature but it was supposed to get as low as 5C in the night. I was using a lightweight sleeping bag and found that I was a bit cold on the top, but my back was beautifully toasty, so it worked a treat.

 

[Kickass Patrick]

scanker,

That looks fantastic, great job. E-mail or PM me your address and I'll send you a t-shirt.

Sorry, the site's been down. My ISP went south on me this weekend. It's back up now and there should no longer be any problems.

Again, great work. Keep the reports coming as you use it.

 

[Ogri the trog]

It's quite a bit longer than a sleeping bag - 230 cm iirc. There's a pattern at the kickass quilts site, but the site seems to be down at the moment.

I'll post a link when it's back up. It's "assymetrically coffin-shaped" and off the top of my head, I think it's 24" at the foot, 30" at the head and 90" long.

Hmmm,
Still confused as my sleeping bag is 235 cm including hood. Perhaps I need to play with some measurements.

Off to see Kickass Patrick's site

ATB

Ogri the trog