Quilt Closures

[Greg Mihalik]

I noticed a comment regarding Rob's closure on his quilt and thought I would share what I have done.

By lacing 1/16" shockcord through loops at each edge I can adjust closure, but more importantly, I can easily eliminate all gaps along the "back side".

Imagine lying on your right side and trying to tuck in the quilt behind your butt. With this system all I have to do is Push Away the edge I am facing, which will Pull the back edge of the quilt under my thighs, butt, and lower back. Then I pull the facing edge back for a snug front. It is amazingly fast and effective.

In this photo I have added "Draft Tubes" to tighten things up even more. They are "ahead" of the edges and naturally fill the gaps as things close up. Edit: They run from my mid-back to below my butt.

I can say, after many nights on the trail, I am draft free in my quilts, no matter how much rolling around I do.

[Amy Lauterbach]

That looks great. Thanks for posting the photos.

[Michael Davis]

Wow Greg, that's such a simple and effective solution!
Simply genius!

[Kattt]

Great looking quilt. Could you tell us the chest size of the quilt, and how snugly it fits you when closed all the way, AND your size?
Thanks

[Tim Marshall]

the only down side i see is what to do when you want to vent or it is hot. If you sprawl out is there enough cord to allow that or do you have to re thread it through the loops each time. It looks like a great solution to keeping the cold out, i am just curious how it works on the other end of the spectrum.

-Tim

[Greg Mihalik]

Tim,
For warm weather use I skip the shock cord all together. After all, it is a quilt.

For transition times, I use a shock cord that is long, and sometimes don't thread through the top or bottom loops, to allow for lots of opening. I put a mini-cord lock at the foot end as well as at the top. If I do need to "cinch up" I pull the excess to the foot to keep it out of the way, and "tune" with the top cord lock.

For colder weather I go with a shorter cord, because I know what works for me. And that is what is shown in the two photos.

[Eric Lundquist]

I know it's a little off tangent but what material is your quilt made of in the second photo? That shiny blue is looking pretty nice.

Could this closure be used with quilts that don't have a sewn footbox? I'm thinking of making my own quilt similar to the JRB Stealth.

[Greg Mihalik]

Full Disclosure: These are purchased quilts that I Modified, not made.

Eric,
The first is Momentum with shiny side in. The second is Quantum.

I haven't given any thought to using this system with a non-sewn footbox. As with all things, there will be trade offs, but I can't see why it wouldn't work.

[Tim Marshall]

Greg,

THe long cord makes sense. I was thinking of opening it, then having to re-thread the cords and that was unappealing to me.

-Tim

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