Hemming the edges of Karo baffles?

[Nick Smolinske]

So I’m definitely leaning towards karo baffles for my upcoming quilt project. But one thing I’m not clear on is whether to hem the edges of the noseeum baffles. It seems to me that hemming them would be good for long-term durability, but as far as I can tell nobody seems to do it.

Anyone have any thoughts on why that’s not necessary? Seems like it would be an easy step to add durability, but maybe the edges of raw nanoseem is more durable than I think it is.

[Todd Stough]

Most people fold the no seeum over to sew.  From what I understand that isn’t really needed as it won’t unravel.

[Nick Smolinske]

Todd,

Actually that’s not what I was referring to, I should’ve been more clear. I mean the *short* edges of the karo baffles. I don’t intend on hemming the ends where I sew, but it seems like the short edges might be under a bit more stress.

 

[BC Bob]

It doesn’t seem like a bad idea if you don’t mind the times it takes.  I didn’t do it on the Karo quilt I just finished, but perhaps should have.  That’s where the baffle is weakest I think.

My impression is that the most stress on the baffles occurs during the sewing process, at least for my design.  Or if any of the baffles are a bit out of position in the final product.

Which Noseeum are you planning on using?

[Nick Smolinske]

I’m using the 0.67oz from ripstop by the roll. They sell it in pre cut baffle rolls of varying widths, which is really nice.

After trying it out, I think I’m going to do a hem on each side, but I might not sew it. We’ll see. If I can sew it in a way that maintains its stretch then I’ll do it, but I think the stretch is important to relieve stress on the fabric at the edges of the baffles, so sewing the hems could cause more harm than good. Folding over without sewing might be a good compromise.

The nice thing is that sewing the hems wouldn’t need to involve backtacking, since that seam will be tacked down by the baffle seam. So you can just run from one baffle to the next and do them all in one go, then clip apart afterwards.

[Nick Smolinske]

Spent the last hour or so at the shop cutting out the top and bottom and marking lines for the baffles. Having a full size table and a carpenter’s chalk line makes the job pretty easy.

The lines mark where the baffles will be sewn, but not their start and end points – I’ll just eyeball center for each one.

I’m still undecided on the hemming, but I went and got my machine that does a zig-zag stitch so I can try it out.

[Nick Smolinske]

Finished the baffles tonight! I ended up doing the double-roll hem but not sewing the hem. Even with a zig-zag stitch it compromised the stretching.

I think it will work well. It was probably unnecessary but it didn’t take much time and didn’t compromise the stretch of the noseeum.

I think if I ever make another one though, I’ll mark the start points on the baffles. The rolled hem makes it harder to judge center, and on one of the directions for the second side it was really tough because of how I had to twist the fabric.

Hoping to put the down in sometime in the next few days, then I’ll have to put on the footbox zipper and draw cord sleeves and it’ll be done. I’m thinking of doing something new with the drawcord sleeves: lining them with 100% dyneema fabric that I got on aliexpress (440d 90g/m2). It should keep them from wearing through with thin cord and it will add about 10 grams. Just need the soldering iron I ordered to get here so I can cut it!

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