Wearable Sleeping bag question

I'm guessing judging by your other posts on the MYOG forum that you're relatively new to making your own gear. Making a wearable sleeping bag would be a significant challenge indeed and I wouldn't attempt one unless I'd made several other things first. Even now, after having made gear for years, I'd still probably find it a challenge. As for how much nylon, I need 2.5 yards of both the top and bottom nylon to make a quilt, but a sleeping bag will be a little longer if it has a hood and it is double layer as well. I doubt it would be big enough if you tried to get the full width of the bag (top and bottom laid flat) out of one piece of nylon, because nylon only comes in 60" widths at most. Therefore, you're looking at 3 yards * 4 layers which is 12 yards. you'd have a narrow strip of nylon left over to make the sleeves out of. If you've never made anything with down before, I wouldn't start with this project. Figuring out how to attach the sleeves and make a contoured hood, while also figuring out how to arrange the seams so that you can add the down before closing it up, is a challenge.

Don't forget the baffle material on top of that.
And mistake material.
And trial and error, prototyping material.

May god and sweet jebus bless you if you pull it off. If I wanted something like that, $711 looks like a good deal if you put any value on your time over the materials.

Personally I make gear partially for fun, but mainly to get something I can't get elsewhere- this looks neither fun nor hard to find.

Thank you for the responses. What if I did not use down, but used Climashield Apex? That would take the cost of baffling out of the equation and also the cost of down and the hassle of putting it in. Why would you need twelve yards of fabric? My estimate was nine, but explain the twelve a little more. This would be for someone around 5'10" and the dimensions of the Raku medium size would work so it tapers as it goes down. Not as wide at the foot as it is at the shoulder area so to speak. If I do this I would rather be on the safe side of having too much material than not enough. The dimension would be 60 inches at the shoulder, 56 at the hip, and 52 at the foot. the overall length would be 72 inches. The weight would increase with the climashield but others on the board here say it does not require a lot of seams for stabilization so there would be less sewing I would assume. Instead of using the ultra expensive nylon Momentum 90 I could go with the cheaper 1.1 oz nylon since I am using synthetic. I am not experienced with sewing and would not take up the task but rather hire a local sewing professional to do the job for me. I just want to make sure that I have the appropriate materials for the job. I furnish all the materials, they are paid for their labor and hopefully it comes out less than $711.00. If that does not happen, then I scrap the idea.

I just like the design, but I would tweak it some because it is somewhat flawed because the person wearing it looks like the son of Gumby or a version of the Big Fig Newton. My tweak would get rid of that visual but would still be serviceable and accomplish the task.

If I could afford the Raku, I would get it but I read somewhere online that someone actually received their AARP card before getting their Raku. It was like a ninety day waiting period. Seems like a long time for a combination sleeping bag jacket. I looked at the Feather Friends Rock Wren and the Exped Wallcreeper but they are sleeveless so it kind of defeats the purpose. The Selk has the feet enclosed so the nylon gets filthy on the bottom of the feet, the Poler bag is just a summer weight indoor blanket type thing and the Japanese version of the Raku has legs but no arm holes or sleeves. Too strange for me. So I am left with the task to try to get my version done and it has to be for far less than $711.00. That is just crazy for any backpacking item.

You could potentially get away with using the entire width of the nylon to make the bag, but I would be worried that after all my money and hard work, the bag would just be a few inches too narrow. If 60" was wide enough, you would probably need 3 yards each for the inside and outside and another yard of each for the sleeves, and you'd probably have some left over. If you're 5'10", 72" won't be long enough. You have to remember that you aren't flat like a pancake. If your feet are 12" long, then you have to add at least 6" to the top and bottom to take that into account (plus your head, plus wiggle room, etc.) I think you will probably find, when it's all said and done, that unless you want to sew something yourself, it's cheaper to buy it off the shelf than to get someone to sew it for you. Personally, I'd buy a Sierra Designs or Exped bag and get some down sleeves from Luke's Ultralight or Jack R' Better. You could just wear the sleeves separately or sew them on if you really wanted them to be one item.

I personally don't think it would be THAT hard to make, but it will take a ton of time to design and create. Probably 30-40 hours if you don't have much experience. Definitely a big project. I would guess 8-9yds of nylon.

Ryan

http://featheredfriends.com/winter-wren-down-sleeping-bag.html
another option is the FF Winter Wren $355
It might be something to work with.

Also Jack R Better has several wearable quilts

I kind of want to do my own. Instead of it being down you put enough scare into me to change to Climashield Apex. That would eliminate the high cost of down, the baffling material as well, plus it should be easier to sew.

I think that's a good decision Scott. That should help with the complexity and expense for sure.

Ryan

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/sleepingbags/dreamwalker-syn-133-m

I love my $355 FF Winter Wren. Combined with $70 Jacks R Better down sleeves (http://www.jacksrbetter.com/shop/down-sleeves/) you have the equivalent of a Nunatak Raku at a savings of almost $300 ($355 + $70 = $425 vs. $711). Similar total weight (depending on size and shell material) and arguably more versatile. Same "Jabba the Hutt" jokes while wearing either.

>" I was thinking I could cut some old bed sheets into the pattern and use that."

I'd suggest alpha and beta test phases.

Alpha: cut bed sheets or even a blue tarp or 4 ml poly painter's tarp as a test pattern. Pro-tip: if you cut it too small, add 2" sealing tape on both sides of that edge to re-extend the material as needed and retrim to the desired dimensions.

Beta: repeat with a old polyfill quilt from Goodwill or ones starting at $20 at Walmart (in some garish patterns). Don't even sew the edges, just tape them closed or staple them. Recheck your dimensions now that it has some thickness. Wear it around in cold weather and double check length, width, hood or not, if you'd want pockets, etc.

Now (and only now) that you have a working model (albeit heavy and ugly), transfer the sizing to UL materials.

Excellent advice David and I was thinking of going down to the local backpacking shop and asking if I could trace the Feathered Friends Wren they have hanging up. I have an REI jacket with zip off sleeves and I could take the sleeves with me and use those at the arm holes and trace the entire bag onto paper. Feel kind of weird approaching them about it though.,,,,,,
The idea of just buying the Rock wren and using the arms from JRB would be easy, but as I think about it, I kind of want a synthetic one for the rainy Pacific Northwest. It does rain a lot and the whole down thing seems like it would not do well under those cirumstances. I could wear a rain jacket over it but it might have to upsize the rain jacket to fit over the wearable sleeping bag.