[pct-l] Home made quilts

[Bruce Harvey]

On Jan 9, 2009, at 9:51 AM, William A. Chavez wrote:

> I was wondering if anyone on the list has made their own sleeping
> quilt?  Was it an easy process and were you satisfied with the  
> results?
>
Bill,
Answering your three Q's:
Solar and Rocket Man, a married pair of 2006 thrus, used a quilt she  
had made for the two of them.  Don't know if they frequent this list  
much now.  They have journal on trailjournals.

  In my case, planning took clear thinking and about 35~40% of total  
time, cutting and sewing was neither easy nor hard.
Am completely satisfied with finished appearance and quality, and  
mostly satisfied with performance.

Studied a synthetic insulated sleeping bag (without dissembling),  
then copied it except in dimensions, zipper, and hood.  Purposely  
made the footbox roomy, to have the quilt wide above the box.  Even  
so, should have flared above the box for more width.  I sleep on side  
and on back, often with knees drawn up in either position, and roll a  
fair bit.  More width would have reduced occasional need to adjust  
quilt to close a side gap.

Material is 1.1 Oz nylon and Primaloft insulation, both from Outdoor  
Wilderness Fabrics.  Can't recall thickness of Primaloft, but expect  
to use thicker if another quilt is to be made.  Made major cuts with  
a rotary cutter and an old foam-core poster board.  (Mats made for  
use with rotary cutter were too expensive!)  Amazingly, the finished  
quilt (a long, I'm 6'1") weighed  454 grams on scale, a fair bit less  
than I expected.  Used the quilt for PCT section hikes in 2006 and  
PCT thru hike in 2007; generally sleeping with some combo of  
clothes.  Coldest night was in Section G, on June 8, 2007.   
Thermometer read 17 degrees F at 6:45 when I woke.  Quilt, together  
with all clothes except rain gear, was sufficient.  (Surprisingly, I  
had slept!)

My first advice for someone making a quilt- don't chintz on width!

Trek on