Down Quilt

[Michael Duke]

I finished up a down quilt today. It weighs in slightly under 18 ounces. It is differentially cut, with a m50 top and a TiGoat 8d bottom. I was very pleased with both of these materials. The 8d has a phenomenal feel. I used 850 fill from diygearsupply. I used button snaps for the closure.

[MFR]

That's a beautiful looking quilt. Very nice job. Did you sew through or use baffles? What are the dimensions of the quilt, and how much down did you use? How low do you expect it to go?

[Michael Duke]

Thank you Clayton,
I used nanoseeum baffles. It has around 2.5 inches of loft, so i'd say it should be good to around twenty to thirty degrees. I am not exactly sure how much down I used, as I calculated down needed by the chamber. I then added a tenth of an ounce per chamber for overfill. I would guess about 11.5 or so, but that is just an estimate. The dimensions are 74 by 52 for the top and 40 at the bottom. It is a half taper.

[Kevin Ridge]

Really nice job. I'm sure that will keep you toasty.

[todd]

Great looking quilt, & I'm sure it will be warm. It appears you did a very good job of even down distribution in the chambers.

Me Likey!

[Michael Pappas]

This looks to be exactly what I'm looking into making. How tall are you? Is there a reason you didn't do 8d for the whole thing? How tall was the baffle height? Thanks
Michael

[Michael Duke]

Thank you Todd and Kevin,

Michael,

Baffle height is a shade over 1.5. I was aiming for a little over two inches of loft, but then went with an overfill to push it a little further. From everything I had read here, I gathered that the 8d would not be optimal for a shell. After using the material, I'd have to agree. It does not seem very wind (and I'd assume water) resistant. I believe that 8d will have fantastic breathability, and I know the feel is outstanding. 8d would work well with a bivy, but overall, m50 seems like the better shell material.

I made it for my brother, who is around 5'9".

[Ryan K]

how do you calculate for the differential cut?

Just off the top of my head I was thinking this:

1) calculate the inner circumference you want, assuming it's a complete tube (or calculate is if it's 3/4 of a circle) and calculate the diameter. Then add 4" to that diameter (2" of loft) and calculate the circumference for the outer layer. —-

2) cut the noseeum baffles in the shape of a trapezoid with the long edge against the outer layer. Add an extra 2" on the out layer at each end to fold over to accomodate the 2" loft and sew?

Is this pretty much the right idea?

[Chad “Stick” Poindexter]

Very nice! I am jealous of your skills… :)

[K C]

I am temporarily retired from MYOG, but may come back. Answer me this- what is the purpose of using noseeum baffles? Why not just stuff the sewn through chambers with down? What is the purpose?

[Ryan K]

^^Cold Spots

[Michael Duke]

I was thinking about doing taking the circumference of the inner layer and the circumference of the outer, but as I thought about it, I realized that it would not be completely necessary. A quilt that opens up has a lot of variance. I figured that giving the top layer all the loft (both vertical and horizontal) would allow that quilt to wrap without creating cold spots. My brother should get the quilt in the mail today, and he has a trip planned for the 14th, so I will see how it works in practice.

[Michael Duke]

Chad:
Thank you! Your blog is always a great read.

K C:

Ryan is correct. If you sewed through, you would have points every five inches or so that had zero loft.

[Author]

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