Primaloft pants

Those look really nice. Good job

Is there elastic at the bottoms of the legs? Might reduce drafts

I also put some elastic around the waist, in addition to the drawcord, makes it more usable

No elastic around the waist or leg. I was thinking about putting some really small elastic around the bottom but I figured it'd be more versatile this way. My thinking was that I can just pull my socks over the end if I need draft protection. The good thing is that I can always add that on.

Michael, those are very clean looking. Nice work. They seem to fit well. Did the pattern include a gusseted crotch? I'm planning a pair of primaloft pants myself and I was considering inventing a pattern. I don't know if a football-shaped gusset is necessary to get a good fit.

Thank you Colin. I didn't use a pattern on these. I made some other pants with some cheap walmart fabric for fit using measurements and other pants as guides then altered for these, then made a pattern. I just got a rotary cutter, which would have made these so much easier as far as getting each section identical, but it still worked with tracing each section out then cutting.

Michael and Jerry,

I had elastic on a similar pair of pants. I cut it off because it is more convenient, for me, when taking pants off. I don't have to pull the elastic over my foot with my hand.

Full Disclosure-I'm not very flexible.

Daryl

Haha I like the full disclosure Daryl. I think no elastic will work well. We will see though.

I have been prepping to do something similar with Primaloft…
Was it difficult to work with? I notice you went with almost a quilted pattern, was the material slipping around on the insulation?

I have similar pants, no quilting, just sewed along the inseam, and top and bottom

Has held up fine for a few years but I don't use them that often

I like the diversity of opinions – elastic or not, quilting or not,…, gives people some choices, either will work

Thank you! My understanding is that primaloft needs to be quilted. Climashield does not. 6 in for the 100 gram primaloft and three for the 60 gram. The material was not slipping. I sewed it to the shiny side of one piece along the edge then sewed that to the other material so that it was primaloft material material. Then flipped it inside out. Then quilted. No slipping.

So for Primaloft 3oz 6im between stitches correct? can they be straight across or does it have to be 6" boxes? i havent heard that so i guess im glad you brought it up!

As far as I understand it is 6in centers, which I didn't know exactly what that meant (hopefully someone can clarify), so I just sewed 6in horizontal lines then verticles less than 6the apart depending on the width of the material. Good luck on your project. If you need any help let me know. These forums are a phenomenal tool for help too.

Primaloft emailed me:

Primaloft One requires 3 inch quilting in each direction for weights less than 100g/m2 (4.25 oz/yd2), and 6 inch quilting in each direction for weights more than 100 g/m2

Primaloft Sport requires 6 inch quilting in each direction for weights less than 100 g/m2 (4.25 oz/yd2) and 24 inch quilting in each direction for weights more than 100 g/m2

thanks guys! So it looks like quilting is required for Primaloft.
What about using a diagonal quilting pattern similar to what Montbell uses…
That way you make every square 6in x 6in with, hopefully, smaller triangles at the edges near the ankle and waistline, kinda like laying tile on a floor….

Should work great

They say to quilt the same in both directions

The fibers in the insulation run in one direction

If you pull along the fibers, it resists pulling, but if you pull sideways, it pulls apart

Therefore, quilting across the fibers will accomplish something, but quilting parallel to the fibers doesn't accomplish much

I think their recommendation to quilt the same in both directions is overly conservative, it's like they say that so that if someone quilts in the wrong direction they won't complain.

If they're conservative about that, maybe they're conservative about the quilting distance also.

Examining the Apex and Primaloft, they seem very similar

I just made a sleeping bag with 3 oz Primaloft, I quilted 48 inches apart across the fibers, and 72 inches apart parallel to the fibers.

I wonder if I'll regret that : )

I'm interested to see how that works. It will be interesting to see if you have early deterioration.