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MYOG Pillow Cases


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Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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  • #1255514
    Tom Holbrook
    BPL Member

    @zandar

    Locale: Central Coast of California

    I found a bit of flannel fabric, and a bit of microfiber fabric I had laying about, and thought to make a couple simple pillow cases. I fashioned these after the thermarest pillow cases I found online.

    I also had some 1" dacron laying around and added one layer to make the cases feel soft over the length of the flannel.

    Empty these cases weigh 2.3 oz.

    I then took my NB Fugu down jacket and stuffed it into one of the cases, for what looks to be a wonderful camping pillow for very little cost or weight. My sons just love the elephants…(not)!

    Cheers,

    Z.

    Pilllow case 1
    Pillow case 2
    Pillow case 3
    Pillow case 4

    #1576581
    David W.
    BPL Member

    @davidpcvsamoa

    Locale: East Bay, CA

    Tom,

    Great idea and nice work. I just wish I could sew.

    #1576592
    . .
    BPL Member

    @biointegra

    Locale: Puget Sound

    Very nice! I hope to make one in silk someday with a target weight <0.5 oz.

    #1576880
    >> Bender <<
    BPL Member

    @bender

    Locale: NEO

    If you made a stuff sack with a nice human interface material it would be multipurpose! An 8-10g pillow sized sack would be easy.

    #1576911
    John Donewar
    BPL Member

    @newton

    Locale: Southeastern Texas

    Bender,

    I just ordered one of your pillows.

    My plan is to make a cover similar to the type that Tom Holbrook made in the post above. I'll leave a small opening for valve access. The pillow can stay in the cover unless it needs a run through the washer.

    My wife caught a sale at the local hardware/drygoods store. She picked up three 50" x 60" smartfleece blankets for $10. After I receive my pillow and inflate it to get my measurements one of these blankets will be introduced to Mssrs. Fiskars, Gutermann and Singer.

    I have some scraps of 1.1 oz silnylon that I may use on the backside of the "pillow case" to keep it as light as possible while providing that nice human interface. :-)

    Deet has no effect on the MYOG bug! :-)

    Party On ! 2010

    Newton

    #1576918
    >> Bender <<
    BPL Member

    @bender

    Locale: NEO

    "Deet has no effect on the MYOG bug! :-)" -Newton
    …only if ingested does it stop the MYOG bug :( -Bender

    I actually made a silnylon backside & fleece cover with some scraps I had around. The fleece feels exactly as you would imagine. Perhaps Velcro would make a nice addition to keep the end closed.

    #1576972
    John Donewar
    BPL Member

    @newton

    Locale: Southeastern Texas

    Bender,

    Did the silnylon backside cause the pillow to slide around much?

    I've been experimenting a bit with "trapping" the pillow in the hood of my mummy style bag. It seems to work fairly well on the floor at home with standins. I'm anxiously awaiting delivery of my new pillow. :-( The shakedown cruise is scheduled for the first two weeks of June on the AT.

    Party On ! 2010

    Newton

    #1577043
    >> Bender <<
    BPL Member

    @bender

    Locale: NEO

    John the sil-nylon is slippery directly on the sleeping pad. If you use it inside your sleeping bag it should be less of a problem. I am a fan of putting the pillow inside the sleeping bag hood.

    #1577059
    John Donewar
    BPL Member

    @newton

    Locale: Southeastern Texas

    Thanks Bender. :-)

    Party On ! 2010

    Newton

    #1582862
    John Donewar
    BPL Member

    @newton

    Locale: Southeastern Texas

    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. :-(

    SUL pillow case front side

    I used the polyester on the front side of the case to provide a small level of breathability and warmth.

    SUL pillowcase detail of overlapped silnylon backside

    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.

    SUL pillow case inflation valve opening detail

    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.

    SUL pillow & case deflated and folded flat detail

    I am able to open the valve and deflate the pillow to stow it in my pack with the pillow case on the pillow.

    SUL pillow & case deflated and folded on edge detail

    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

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