DIY advice needed

**HippyFish** · 12-08-2015, 22:50

So I'm super newb and wanting to tackle a few things... baby steps though.

First, I'm wanting to add at least 2 additional tie out points on my eno fastfly so I can use it diamond or rectangle. Could anyone recommend materials & technique on how to accomplish this? I think I've read of people using grossgrain for this(?). And would I need to seam seal where ever I end up sewing into the rainfly material?

Second (and this is something I'm on the fence about making or saving up to buy), is there any tutorial that can give a very basic design and step by step for a down uq? To include how to size it (I'm only 5' so I don't need anything very long). I have to teach myself how to use a sewing machine first

so my first couple projects will determine if I'm ready to tackle a uq or not... just seems really overwhelming to me from where I'm at right now.

Thanks,
~HF

**Intimidator** · 12-08-2015, 23:14

Originally Posted by HippyFish

So I'm super newb and wanting to tackle a few things... baby steps though.

First, I'm wanting to add at least 2 additional tie out points on my eno fastfly so I can use it diamond or rectangle. Could anyone recommend materials & technique on how to accomplish this? I think I've read of people using grossgrain for this(?). And would I need to seam seal where ever I end up sewing into the rainfly material?

Second (and this is something I'm on the fence about making or saving up to buy), is there any tutorial that can give a very basic design and step by step for a down uq? To include how to size it (I'm only 5' so I don't need anything very long). I have to teach myself how to use a sewing machine first

so my first couple projects will determine if I'm ready to tackle a uq or not... just seems really overwhelming to me from where I'm at right now.

Thanks,
~HF

A down differential cut quilt is definitely an advanced task.. Sewing baffles etc is not for the faint of heart considering you are dealing with high end materials.. a mistake can end up costing you more than purchasing very easily. I would get a 10 dollar DIY box from ripstopbytheroll and practice with stuffsacks, ridgeline organizers etc.

**HippyFish** · 12-08-2015, 23:48

Originally Posted by cholla28

A down differential cut quilt is definitely an advanced task.. Sewing baffles etc is not for the faint of heart considering you are dealing with high end materials.. a mistake can end up costing you more than purchasing very easily. I would get a 10 dollar DIY box from ripstopbytheroll and practice with stuffsacks, ridgeline organizers etc.

I was looking at a post somewhere on the site the other day showing different baffle configurations and my head was spinning. Thanks for the suggestion cholla, I'll definitely check it out.

**Ramblinrev** · 12-09-2015, 00:34

walk before you run. Stitching a straight line, which is required for sewing baffles, is an acquired skill. Mind you it is easily learned with practice but a down quilt is not a first time project, IMO.

**duckyy** · 12-09-2015, 03:22

You can use webbing but grosgrain is lighter and cheaper for the tie outs. Put down a piece of reinforcement material and sew the tie out to that.

As for the down uq, that's a pretty huge. Maybe try synthetic uq like climashield. I made all my gear but I brought a down uq and tq. I might try my hand at making a climashield uq though.

**Dcolon13** · 12-09-2015, 07:44

I'm new to sewing and just finished my first down UQ. I practiced making and fixing other things for a couple weeks and then dove in. It's not as hard as most think...the only tricky part is keeping the outer shell in line while attaching the baffle. Also, harvesting and adding down is kind of a pain (and I used the vacuum method). All in all though, it took about 1.5 days to do and I am very pleased with the results. I saved a lot of money and learned a great new skill.

I have a thread with my UQ in the DIY section, but here's the tutorial I used for it: http://m.imgur.com/a/nwn64

The UQ spreadsheet calculator makes it a lot easier (sewing is hard enough without having to do math!). I believe it's a sticky in the DIY section.

**Dcolon13** · 12-09-2015, 07:58

UQ calculator
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ad.php?t=53701

**doogie** · 12-09-2015, 08:11

I have a video up on making a down top quilt. Like the others have said it is fairly advanced. I had sewing skills from high school (back in the day boys took Wood Shop and girls took Home Economics (cooking & sewing) the last month of the year we switched) anyway, I mostly had made stuff sacks before I got into hammocking. I then did a gear hammock, then a tarp, and then a down top quilt. So far I have made 5 tarps, 3 quilts, 5 hammocks, pack cover, and countless stuff sacks. Start slow and don't expect to save too much money on DIY, it's more about having stuff made exactly how you want it. Here's my top quilt video.

**Dcolon13** · 12-09-2015, 14:35

Another DIY project I did was to mod a $70 down mummy bag from Walmart into a TQ. Super easy. Cut off the zippers and about 5" off of each side, and added about 7 oz of down from an 800 fill pillow I got on eBay. The rest of the down went into the UQ.

**HippyFish** · 12-09-2015, 15:16

Originally Posted by duckyy

You can use webbing but grosgrain is lighter and cheaper for the tie outs. Put down a piece of reinforcement material and sew the tie out to that.

As for the down uq, that's a pretty huge. Maybe try synthetic uq like climashield. I made all my gear but I brought a down uq and tq. I might try my hand at making a climashield uq though.

I'll probably do some practice stitching with the grossgrain then before attempting anything on the rainfly. And since I have a long way to go in my sewing skills, buying will probably be my only option for this time of year so I can just get out there now and be comfortabe. Thank you!

Originally Posted by Dcolon13

I'm new to sewing and just finished my first down UQ. I practiced making and fixing other things for a couple weeks and then dove in. It's not as hard as most think...the only tricky part is keeping the outer shell in line while attaching the baffle. Also, harvesting and adding down is kind of a pain (and I used the vacuum method). All in all though, it took about 1.5 days to do and I am very pleased with the results. I saved a lot of money and learned a great new skill.

I have a thread with my UQ in the DIY section, but here's the tutorial I used for it: http://m.imgur.com/a/nwn64

The UQ spreadsheet calculator makes it a lot easier (sewing is hard enough without having to do math!). I believe it's a sticky in the DIY section.

Awesome, thanks so much! Even though the uq is well beyond my scope of experience, I'll be coming back to this when I'm ready... and that calculator

Originally Posted by doogie

I have a video up on making a down top quilt. Like the others have said it is fairly advanced. I had sewing skills from high school (back in the day boys took Wood Shop and girls took Home Economics (cooking & sewing) the last month of the year we switched) anyway, I mostly had made stuff sacks before I got into hammocking. I then did a gear hammock, then a tarp, and then a down top quilt. So far I have made 5 tarps, 3 quilts, 5 hammocks, pack cover, and countless stuff sacks. Start slow and don't expect to save too much money on DIY, it's more about having stuff made exactly how you want it.

I remember the sewing class from high school, unfortunately since I never put it to use outside of the classroom (never owned a sewing machine) I eventually brain dumped it all. Thanks for sharing your video and nice job! Gives me a better perspective on working the baffles, will be revisiting this when I've honed (acquired) my skills