my first homemade down quilt

[alek]

I just posted a few pictures of my newly finished down quilt to my gallery; I used the kit from thru-hiker. It could be better, but for my first homemade project, I am very happy with it--I've already slept in it the past two nights.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...5&userid=10893

[Just Jeff]

Pretty ambitious for your first homemade project...looks great. I like the color, too.

Is it sewn-through or baffled? Weight?

[Jim Adams]

Very nice!

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

::: High five to Alek for a nice looking quilt :::

[alek]

Oh yeah, forgot. It's baffled. They're a little wider (~8") at the bottom than the top (~6.5"), so it was a little more difficult to put in the down. I tried to make it with 2.5 inch loft, but it's closer to 2.25. It's roughly 76" tall and 55" wide at the top--I'm 6', 175--and weighs in at 22.1 ounces. Thanks for the input.

Instead of going into a tent to put in the down, I hung it on a wall with the open seam facing up and transferred the down into a big ziplock, stuffed it in the baffle, and opened it inside the baffle. I saw that somewhere while lurking, but it worked great--not so much of a mess as I expected.

[jela]

Great job on the quilt!

[aroth87]

Nice job on the quilt, it looks great. I'm planning on getting the same kit and sewing it over Christmas break. I assume you got 12 oz of down, which is what I'm going to get. Any advice? This will be my first sewing project as well so its good to hear that its possible for a first timer.

Adam

[highway]

Of course it want be as light as one you may make yourself, but if you are sewingly challenged you might consider buying one at a discount store in a couple of months-when winter is over or even on Ebay. But don't look up or ask for a down "quilt", which is bigger, but a down "throw" instead which, apparently is the correct terminology, as I discovered.

Mine is by Woolrich, 50"x70", a nice soft green polyester covering, filled with down & feathers so its heavier at 28 oz but VERY cheap!

Just a thought & suggestion for some

[alek]

I received 15.9 ounces from the order. I ordered 15 ounces, but they didn't have one of the colors I wanted. I assume someone may have "mistakenly" sent me more than I ordered. Of that 15.9, I have just over 2.5 ounces left.

IMHO, I would not use tape to mark the baffles; try and find some type of marker that will mark on the black, assuming you're using black as the liner. A sharpie made a decent mark on the green, and I wish that I had used it instead of the tape. The tape was a pain. All the seams are double stitched. The thing about hanging the whole quilt on the wall to fill it with down worked well. Make sure that the down chambers are wide enough, or tall enough. I hope that makes sense. If you look at my pics, you'll notice that the chambers are larger near the feet than the head. That was a mistake--I wish I had made them as large near the head.

Be patient.

[Spock]

Marking baffles: Tailors' chalk is perfect. You can also use a carpentes's chalk line and "snap" the line onto the fabric. In either case, the chalk will stay long enough for you to do the job and will brush off when you are through.

[Skidsteer]

Sharpie makes a silver-colored permanent marker. It should work but it won't come off very well.

I have one I use for marking black plumber's cloth and it does the job..

[bogey]

Marking baffles: Tailors' chalk is perfect. You can also use a carpentes's chalk line and "snap" the line onto the fabric. In either case, the chalk will stay long enough for you to do the job and will brush off when you are through.

You might also try those wite-out pens, I got two-fer something, and they write in - well, white-out. Excellent on dark fabric. you can 'dot' it or draw lines, or whatever. mostly i used the tailor's chalk for the lines, tho.