View Full Version : Question on converting a bag to a quilt
squidlyman
04-02-2008, 21:38
Question:
Has anyone "converted" a zipperless down bag into a down quilt?
History:
I'm an avid user of the Jardine quilts, having sewn 3 of them for different situations, and been very happy. I've come into a "GoLite Featherlite" down bag, which is indeed nicely lightweight and warm; however, being a hammock user for the most part... I like to avoid bags in favor of quilts. So, I'm wondering about "shaking the down" away from one side (for the most part), then cutting lengthwise, to convert this zipperless bag into a quilt.
I've never worked with down, and certainly never have cut up a down bag. Has anyone here done so, and what "gotchas" would you recommend looking out for? Any thoughts on the idea in general? :confused:
Dirtygaiters
04-02-2008, 21:56
There's an article on this subject on backpackinglight.com. If you have a sewing machine, the idea is you shake the down into the middle of the bag, sew a stitch around your new edges, cut off the zipepr and hood, and presumably install some sort of strap system.
If you ask me, you'd be ruining a perfectly good sleeping bag in favor of a slightly lighter, much less functional, and less warm, beast.
If you ask me, you'd be ruining a perfectly good sleeping bag in favor of a slightly lighter, much less functional, and less warm, beast.
if you shake the down to the middle, or one side, you're making it thicker, and therefore warmer...
Dirtygaiters
04-02-2008, 22:39
But you cut off the zipper and the hood, and therefore reduced its coverage and ability to retain warm air...
you've missed the whole point of a quilt... especially in the narrow confines of a hammock... he's already got either a bottom quilt or pad under him, and now has a thicker quilt over him... as for the value of the hood, you can wear a hat to cover your head, and you can pull the quilt up around your neck easily...
i say go for it, Squidlyman.
I have only done this with a synthetic, but I say go for it! I used a serger sewing machine, which cuts & sews (2 needles, 4 threads) at the same time. I started out small, cutting off only the zipper first, then 2" all the way round (leaving a foot pocket each time). In the end, after about 4 "adjustments" I likely took off about 11" all the way round, so removed about 22" in all, plus the hood which went first pass with the zipper. While I did not (could not) move the insulation as you can with the down, my quilt was much warmer than it had been as a sleeping bag. So I strongly suspect that by moving all the down into a quilt shape & removing the excess nylon, you are going to have a very warm quilt.
squidlyman
04-03-2008, 22:04
I have only done this with a synthetic, but I say go for it! I used a serger sewing machine, which cuts & sews (2 needles, 4 threads) at the same time. I started out small, cutting off only the zipper first, then 2" all the way round (leaving a foot pocket each time). In the end, after about 4 "adjustments" I likely took off about 11" all the way round, so removed about 22" in all, plus the hood which went first pass with the zipper. While I did not (could not) move the insulation as you can with the down, my quilt was much warmer than it had been as a sleeping bag. So I strongly suspect that by moving all the down into a quilt shape & removing the excess nylon, you are going to have a very warm quilt.
Thanks to those that replied... but this posting was what I was looking for (and wasn't really looking to get into the debate of which is better... bag or quilt). I'm envious that you have a serger! Willing to let me borrow it for the task? I'm in western NC if so! :-?
I unfortunately don't have a serger... so I've posted on Craigslist to see if anyone will let me borrow their for the task. We'll see if anyone pipes up. In the meantime... by real concern is from way back... I read a posting of a fellow who sewed his own down bag, and he talked heavily about how the down literally goes everywhere. In fact, he went so far as to suggest that if you make a down bag, to stuff the down and work on your project inside of a zipped up tent!
I'm hoping that since I don't have the "transfer" down from some box or baggie into my project, that this won't be a problem for me... but then this fellow has me paranoid. Like yourself, all of my other quilts use synthetic batting, which was a cinch to work with.
What're your thoughts on this? Am I overly concerned? :confused:
hammock engineer
04-03-2008, 22:42
Here (http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=383) is a link to a thread on hammockforums.net where I posted instruction on how to do it with a synthic quilt.
One thing I did wrong was to cut out too much around the feet. It still works but is a little tight. I just had a finishing weight that I was shooting for.
On the down I am not sure. You could move all of the down to the part of the sleeping bag you are saying, then cut, pin and sew the edge. This will not save you much weight but make a warm quilt.
It may be messy, but what I would do is move the down to one side, and then cut the side to the way you like it. Now the fun part. I would remove a handfull of down from each baffle. Then pin it, and lay it down and check the loft. Repeat as needed until you get the loft or weight you want.
If you know the fill power of the down you can do some math to help how much to remove.
Another tip would be to try and compress the down before you remove it. It will make it easier. It can be messy, not bad if you get in a room without any air flow. If it helps my big compressed handfull of down is about .1 oz.
i think he was talking about removing down from the bulk container it came in and putting equally into the tubes of his quilt, and worried about losing down all over the house (hence his working inside his tent. if he dropped any, it wouldn't blow all over the place). yours is already in there. you just need to shake it off to the side before you cut.
if you have a seamstress/tailor shop anywhere nearby, they might have the serger and do it for you, and it probably won't be that expensive.
hammock engineer
04-03-2008, 23:05
Good point on taking it somewhere.
I made a couple down quilts and don't understand the hype behind how messy it is. Just go slow. I used my hands in the kicten. I think I lost less than .1oz over 2 quilts. Don't let that intimate you.
squidlyman
08-18-2010, 13:01
Question:
Has anyone "converted" a zipperless down bag into a down quilt?
:banana Yay! :dance
After what seems like years of speculating, and having this on my "project list", I finally bit the bullet and did the bag-to-quilt conversion this summer. I'm happy that I did, as it worked out nicely later in the season, as I used it a lot in my hammock and in a tent. So... here is the scoop for those curious as to work flow and my results:
Using a long pole, I "threaded" that down the middle of the bag and hung it for a couple days, jiggling things from time to time, in an attempt to move all the down away from where I was going to cut. This only works to a limited extent, as the baffles block the down somewhat (I learned after cutting that there are extensive internal baffles).
During this time, I sewed a draft blocker out of some on-sale ripstop that Walmart had available.
Next, I hand-sewed with big thread and big stitches a couple rows, one on each side of the pole. This served to keep down in after I made the cut, as well as give me "guidelines" for cutting and sewing. I used a bright thread to make it easy to see, and big/easy stitches as I knew these would be removed at the end.
Once I cut the bag, I took care to have a wet/dry vac nearby to keep the job site clean (a must!), as no matter how careful you are, feathers will go flying away from the inside of the bag.
I then had to do some "clean up" by cutting out partition baffles and prepping for insertion of a draft blocker.
Carefully pinning things together with a draft-blocker (ala the Jardine style) was tough, as you have to work with somewhat loose fabric from the cuts, fighting loose feathers here and there, and all while trying to keep the bag from falling from your workspace. This prep-work, like painting, is probably the hardest part of the job.
One pinned, the actual sewing part was quite easy. Slow going, but easy. I put a double-seam along each side.
Finishing the job, I put gusset material at the "V" that formed the foot-pocket, as well as the two ends that are near the shoulders (just for reinforcement and to cover the open seams).
The results are pretty good. I had the leisure of two solid days to work on it, so I went really slow, and was able to keep feather loss (and mess) to a minimum. I had a huge shop workbench table to work on, which I would recommend. If not possible, then find a hardwood or cement floor, as working on carpet would be tough.
The bag is no less warm than it used to be, and in its new "quilt form", it's more versatile (IMHO) and convenient in my hammock (or in my tarp tent). My only error was that I made the foot pocket too large for me... which means that if I wish to use the quilt at a "cloak", it "swallows" my head when I put it on... so the "cloak" use is likely "out"!
If there is interest, I suppose I could post pictures... but I'm not going to do that unless I hear from folks, as the quilts just been packed away, and I'm sort of in a lazy mood right now...
joanwest
08-18-2010, 13:41
Great project. Do post your pictures if you have time! I'm researching how to do a similar project, so photos of how you did the foot pocket would be very helpful.
Danielsen
08-18-2010, 16:18
I would love to see your photos. I've been contemplating something similar.
squidlyman
09-29-2010, 17:12
As folks have requested... here are some pics of the finished product. You'll be able to see how I did each "corner" as well as the foot pocket and the draft blocker. Any questions... do ask!
(1) Ray Jardine would be so proud... I decided to cut up a GoLite bag!
http://img19.mediafire.com/213c844c5d6088c4051ff90aa04249034g.jpg
(2) Here is the bag, in quilt form, spread out on a bed. You can see the "delta" shape nicely.
http://img3.mediafire.com/2daf733429897d72ededd1581a4fa7354g.jpg
(3) Upside down (the black fabric is the interior of the former bag) and folding a corner back, you can easily see the "draft blocker", the strip of silver-color ripstop that I put along the two sides.
http://img24.mediafire.com/7058e5cd57705e6d547758e2d467737a4g.jpg
(4) Another view
http://img21.mediafire.com/42831f3bbc43dde2393e28e9fb38b4614g.jpg
(5) A zoom-in allows you to see how I put a piece of gusset on the corner. This is just a 2 inch piece of web strapping. It adds strength to this week point, and covers up the rough edges that were unavoidable on the corner.
http://img21.mediafire.com/464183d7e61b1e019ba843ad0ea60e224g.jpg
(6) A view of the same corner from the back side.
http://img22.mediafire.com/5d86cafd1a652b2286fc0b8420aff5d64g.jpg
(7) A repeat view... but of the other corner. Again, you're seeing the bottom of the quilt, or the former inside of the bag.
http://img25.mediafire.com/83077c04967f1c9bcb1b438aa9ab3f284g.jpg
(8) A view with the corner flipped over.
http://img9.mediafire.com/84bbefb06b1f4c5efd94f9b3af73e4574g.jpg
(9) View of the foot pocket. Not easy to show... so it's an unflattering picture. This is the only regret I have, as I think I made it too large.
http://img6.mediafire.com/5d0262b742a7befb9bdcf6df3366a3084g.jpg
(10) A zoom-in allows you to see the "crotch" of the foot pocket. I sewed in a gusset here, using the same webbing that I had on the corners, to add strength to this week-point, and to cover up the ugly seems that are inevitable at this point.
http://img12.mediafire.com/b9949758834f5c79aed4e0a2e908bd8b4g.jpg
Note: All photos can be downloaded in their original form from here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?cmqz1lz8zagoz
Interesting thread. Here are some ideas. They might work and might not.
1. You might want to shove some of the down up into the hood and neck and sholder area and make a removeable down hood.
2. You might want to keep some of the footbox.
3. Once you have shoved all of the down away from the areas you don't want it, and sewn seams where you want to make your cuts, and cut and removed the shell material from the areas you no longer need, you might want to sew in a very light polyester fabric back into the area removed, so it will give the thing some shape and serve as a layer between your back and your hammock. You might also add some fleece or wool to the removeable down hood you made, so it can wrap around your neck and shoulders and face when you are using it for sleeping or in cold camping or hiking.