DIY winter top quilt

[Teepee]

My latest addition to my homemade hammock kit collection;


A winter down top quilt

Laid out flat

Cinched footbox

Down bobble plug to stop draughts(still to be tied on to the cinch cord end so it doesn't get lost)

Inside

Cinched neck with adjustable cord, the cord loops over my head to stop it moving in the night and make a nice seal.

The lowdown;

Warbonnet outdoors winter top quilt clone
Pertex 4 (very dark) brown shell
18 oz of 850+ cuin goose down (overstuffed at foot end and head end)
80" x 50"
14 x 5.7" chambers
3" polyester mesh baffles giving 3 to 5" of loft
Velcro footbox closure
3mm shockcord cinches
Gutterman polyester black thread
872g

This should see me warm down to about 0F/ -20 odd with my current setup.

I took a while making sure the length was spot on, I think I've succeeded. It feels just right.

It was quite a straightforward and rewarding sewing job. No differential cut is needed on a top quilt , its all simple maths and measuring.

It stands me at £90 all in, took my slow self 10 hours to make it, including having to unpick and re-stitch one side.

I'm now 100% DIY hammock geared up.

Onto the next project...........

Thanks for looking, hope you like


Pete.

 

[Shewie]

Sweeeeeet

I'll be having a butchers at that when we get out next.

(Lots of snow coming down up there at the mo )

 

[Teepee]

Sweeeeeet

I'll be having a butchers at that when we get out next.

(Lots of snow coming down up there at the mo )

Ditto on your new quilt

I'm watching the weather with glee, could be time to head north soon.

 

[beamdune]

Pete, where did you buy the materials from?

 

[luckylee]

That looks fantastic mate.

 

[Teepee]

Pete, where did you buy the materials from?

All came from fabrics n stuff mate. If I was making again, I'd hunt down lighter pertex. The down came from a very expensive pillow I managed to get my hands on.

That looks fantastic mate.

Thanks Lee

I'm quite proud of this one.

 

[luckylee]

All came from fabrics n stuff mate. If I was making again, I'd hunt down lighter pertex. The down came from a very expensive pillow I managed to get my hands on.



Thanks Lee

I'm quite proud of this one.

You should be mate, it looks great and can imagine how snug you feel when in the hammock.

 

[Chiseller]

Sweet job fella , how small does it pack ? Cheers.

Sent from my E10i using Tapatalk

 

[Gill]

That is a cracker buddy ,where did u go for the down?
i just read the thread properly lol.

 

[xylaria]

To be truthful for 90 quid you made something that looks like a really expensive bag. Does it pack down well?

 

[Col_M]

Brilliant!
Just as well I found this as I'm going to be doing the same when I'm back in the UK this Easter and have access to my mother's sewing machine. I was wondering how to plug the hole at the end and your solution is great
have some stars!

 

[mousey]

That must have been one BIG pillow!

Very professional looking - well impressed.

 

[Col_M]

You'd be surprised I made two down underquilts approx. 40"x45"x3.5" from one pillow. Pillows tend to be really stuffed full to give them body but when released and able to loosely fill a quilt it can take up a lot more space

 

[Swallow]

That's an inspiring piece of work.

 

[grey-array]

Wonderful Teepee, its always best to know how to create something yourself in my philosophy and hell this stuff is looking real good ^^ way to go, and thanks for sharing and inspiring ^^

 

[spandit]

Wow, what a great piece of work - I like the plug idea, very neat!

How did you go about dividing the down equally between pockets & then actually get it in there?

 

[Miniwhisk]

That looks like a really neat job. Top of my 'to get' list at the moment. Hard to find so making your own is the best option. There could be a decent earner for you there!

 

[theoctagon]

On the hunt for my next MYOG project and came across this thread, this quilt looks fantastic!

Really good work, looks very professional

 

[mousey]

You'd be surprised I made two down underquilts approx. 40"x45"x3.5" from one pillow. Pillows tend to be really stuffed full to give them body but when released and able to loosely fill a quilt it can take up a lot more space

Yes after a little searching I can quite believe that now, one company I contacted about their pillows stated the overall weight = 900 grams. So i'd assume a fair bit of that would be the down, but at a ratio of 85% feather to 15% down, not too sure about it's lofting qualities.

 

[Teepee]

I'd forgotten about this thread

Thanks for the comments guys This quilt is now a treasured piece of equipment-I got the measurements perfect for my height and its a keeper. I'm now planning another 3 season weight top quilt to nest inside this one for arctic use. The only drawback I've found are 2 things- the velcro I used is a bit weak and rips open too easily-better quality velcro or a single snap fixing would be a good idea. Also, the Pertex 4 feels a little cold on the skin. Swapping it for a thinner material would be warmer and also lighter. Momentum 50 from the states or Pertex Microlight is the fave option presently.
I'll not be changing it as the nesting 3 season top quilt I'm making will make this mod a bit of a waste-the inner quilt will feel warmer.

To answer some belated questions;

@Xylaria-packs down to the size of a couple of bags of sugar. I carry it in a 15l stuff sack and it'll squash down in the pack to about 50mm thick.

@Spandit. I weighed the down on gram kitchen scales into very weak small plastic bags and then stuffed the bag into the chamber. The bag was then ripped open inside the chamber and pulled out again.

As for down quality, it varies but a good guide for a normal size pillow with decent down, it shouldn't weigh any more than about 700g for good quality down. Picking feathers out is possible, in the same way as reprofiling an axe with 1200 grit paper.