Bender,
I received my pillow March 2nd, and today I got around to doing a MYOG SUL pillow case for it.
I patterned mine after the ones Tom Holbrook made in the above post.
I couldn't bring myself to cut up a perfectly good fleece blanket so I looked into my scraps and found the remnants of an old polyester hiking shirt and some 1.1 oz. silnylon.
Combining these two materials presents some challenges. The silnylon is slippery enough by itself but try holding two layers of it in place on top of a layer of polyester while trying to sew a straight seam and maintain your seam allowance at the same time. :-(
I used the polyester on the front side of the case to provide a small level of breathability and warmth.
On the backside I overlapped two pieces of silnylon to form a self closing access to insert my uninflated pillow into the case. When the pillow is inflated it pulls the two layers of silnylon taut and holds the opening closed well enough. I used a 1" parallel stitched hem on both pieces at the opening.
On one corner I folded in a triangle of material on both the front and back sides. I used a measurement of @ 4" at the fold and stitched the fold down close to the folded edge with a straight stitch. I marked the center of the fold and then marked a 1" length centered over that center mark to be left open for the inflation valve to protrude outside of the case. I sewed up to these marks, turned 90 degrees, made two stitches, turned 90 degrees again and ran a parallel seam back to the edge to form the valve opening. These measurements worked well for me as I was using a 1/2" seam allowance all around.
After sewing was complete I turned the whole thing rightside out so that all of the seam allowances were hidden. I inserted the pillow and pushed the valve through the opening made for it on the corner. I inflated the pillow and checked the fit.
For some unexplainable reason my case "grew". I had to trim 1 1/8" of length from one long side and 1/2" of length from the other long side. I turned the case inside out again to get back to the wrong side and marked my lengths. I stitched a line from mark to mark and trimmed off the excess. I turned it rightside out again and it fit. :-P
I noticed that keeping the silnylon on top and letting the feed dogs pull on the polyester at the botttom while sewing kept things nearer their original sizes. If the polyester is on top of the silnylon while sewing the polyester tends to grow in length. This makes it difficult to close up the case because the extra length will bunch up at the end and form an unwanted pleat. :-(
I can't wait to give this piece of gear its shakedown cruise on the AT this summer. For now I guess I'll have to settle for the backyard or the living room floor. ;-)
BTW Bender I really like the pillow. I like the firm support that is possible with this inflatable. It is also great that the firmness can be tailored to one's preference.
Edited to add deflated and folded pictures.
I am able to open the valve and deflate the pillow to stow it in my pack with the pillow case on the pillow.
The deflated and folded dimensions are 5 3/4"W x 2 1/4"T x 1 1/2"D. Width is the largest dimension, tall is the top to bottom measurement in the first folded view and depth is the "thickness" top to bottom in the second folded view.
The rubber band keeps the pillow and case neatly folded for stowage in the pack. The rubber band is of course and ultralight model. ;-)
Party On ! 2010
Newton
