[pct-l] Making Down Quilt

[Paul.C.Griffith at bankofamerica.com (Griffith, Paul C)]

I'm sure the thru-hiker.com quilt kit is a good way to go.  I prefer the Jardine design where the foot zips open to dry or wear as a shawl.  I made a down version as follows (see Jardine's "Beyond Backpacking" book for synthetic version);
1. Cut the top and bottom pieces, sew in JUST the foot zipper and turn rightside out (don't sew any of the edge except where the zipper is).
2. Sew in your baffles, first one side, then to the other.  Mine were 10 inches apart and 2.5 inches high.  The first baffle is just far enough beyond the foot zipper to get a fist (of down) in.
3. Sew up one side and the head end.  Yes, you have a seam on the outside - I put 3mm elastic cord in the folded over seam, fixed at the bottom and with a drawstring holder at the top so I can chinch it up and edges will pull under me.  Also I can cinch the head end around my shoulders.
4. Pin it to a wall, sideways with the still-open side up - you've got a series of "pockets" to shove down into.  Reach into your sack of down, grab  a fistful, and stuff it in a pocket.  Now put a fistful in the next one, and the next, etc.  Repeat.  Put extra fistfuls into the wider pockets, and also consider that you want more down over your trunk than your legs.
5. Sew up the open side (again, I put elastic in the seam).
6. Vacuum up loose down.  I did mine outdoors on a calm day.  Or do it in a room without a lot of knick-knacks in it.

The down distribution came out pretty good for me, despite the completely un-scientific approach - Don't let down intimidate you.  As for sewing, if you can figure out the threading instructions on your sewing machine, you can sew.  If you have a seam-ripper, you can correct mistakes.  Heck, most of the ragged seams end up inside, out of sight, anyways.

I got my down from Feathered Friends - walked into the Seattle factory with a pillow case.  The price was comparable to Thru-Hiker:  $8 an ounce for 800 fill.  I bought 10 oz, and think they actually gave me 12.  Don't know if they'd ship - but it would be nice to patronize Thru-Hiker.