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question about design of head end of quilt


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  • #1290997
    Greg Pehrson
    BPL Member

    @gregpehrson

    Locale: playa del caballo blanco

    I’ve got some APEX and fabric for making a quilt, and I wanted to pick the brains of quilt users who, like me, are side- and stomach- sleepers who tend to change positions in the night.

    Up to this point, I’ve been using my mummy bag unzipped as a quilt, and I love the freedom of movement that it gives, but it’s a lot of weight and needless fabric.

    I really like and appreciate Chris Muthig’s design and detailed instructions and plan to mostly follow them. I was wondering, given my sleeping style about the head end of the quilt, specifically whether or not to have a snap closure, tapered head end, and neck drawcord.

    My gut sense is to have no neck taper, no snap and no drawcord at the head end, and make it wide enough to wrap around me, including, on really cold nights, up over my head with my face sticking out. I guess I’m imagining the snap ending up at my throat and being uncomfortable when I move around and the cords too (if they’re coming out the ends of a drawcord) or the cord being very hard to adjust (ending up on the back of my neck) if it comes out the center. But maybe that doesn’t happen in practice?

    I feel I may be missing something. The idea of being able to drastically reduce draftiness with a shaped and adjustable head-end is very appealing. Have other side and stomach sleepers found those three design elements to work for them?

    I understand everyone’s experience is different, and I may just need to prototype this with a sheet, but I also wanted to get a sense of what has worked for others.

    I really appreciate your thoughts!

    (The long-term goal is to learn how to sleep on my back, but I’ve been working on that for a while now with little success)

    #1886554
    Jake D
    BPL Member

    @jakedatc

    Locale: Bristol,RI

    i don't have a neck drawcord.. i also went a bit long to cover half of my face. after having some draft issues last weekend i may add some loops to make a middle cord for like rib level to hold things down to the pad.

    #1886586
    Greg Wheelwright
    Spectator

    @gdw

    I'm also a mobile sidesleeper and have been using this for the past couple years. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=31422&skip_to_post=266007#266007
    I've used it for roughly 30 nights of three season camping in Colorado and Utah and it has worked great. The small hood has no adjustments but is easy to wrap around you head when the weather gets cold.

    #1886634
    Chris M
    BPL Member

    @kringle

    Locale: California

    Greg, I like that hood design. It reminds me of the BPL down quilt article Roger Caffin wrote.

    I think everyone's sleeping style is a bit different. My quilts are generally long enough to pull up over my face if I feel the need, but on most nights I like to create a tight seal around my neck. I found that when I tapered the neck just a bit, this was easier to do with Apex.

    Normally, I will pull the drawcord a bit on the neck and get in the quilt. Then snap the button. From there, I will just pull the quilt around me a bit more tight if I want. I don't generally try to pull the cord tight once I am in the quilt, because as you have guessed, it isn't all that easy (but it isn't impossible either). The snap really just makes it a bit easier for me to get the sides pulled together.

    But, if you just made the quilt wide enough, you could easily just wrap it around you as well. Doing this also makes the quilt more simple and break proof. Both ways will work fine, and you may just like one way more than another. One option that I found worked for me was to just go for a design I liked on paper and test it out. Then if I don't like it, sell it at a price to recover the cost of materials and shipping, and try again. That way, I get just the quilt I want, and I get to help someone else get a quilt on the cheap.

    #1886657
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe
    #1886751
    Greg Pehrson
    BPL Member

    @gregpehrson

    Locale: playa del caballo blanco

    Thanks, guys, for your experiences and the photos. This is helpful.

    #1886835
    Greg Pehrson
    BPL Member

    @gregpehrson

    Locale: playa del caballo blanco

    Also, Chris, I appreciate that detailed description of using the drawcord before you close the neck snap–makes a lot of sense, and also your suggestion to just go for it and sell at cost to fund the next one.
    I think I may try without the taper and drawcord first, and then I could always cut the top corners (taper it) and add a drawcord channel later if I want.

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