As a high school teacher, I have used my Christmas break to finish my costco UQ & TQ builds. I haven't had a chance to test in the field and I don't have a scale to weigh it, but I'm not that worried about weight. Here is the build write up. Credit must first go to RutherfordtheBrade, CamoDeafie82, Raftingtigger, and others for writing up and providing details of their builds.
UQ
I used a blue throw and silver throw for the modular UQ system. I originally sewed loops around the entire perimeter of both throws but that didn't work out very well for me. I liked the way RutherfordtheBrave layered 2 throws to gain more loft and lower temps, but I wanted it modular and my sewing machine broke after sewing the loops. So, I turned to kamsnaps for the rest of the project. I folded the silver throw into a 30x70 rectangle and installed snaps along the long edge. I laid it in the middle of the blue throw and folded the edges in to meet the silver one. I installed snaps along both edges of the blue throw to create a throw that has about 1.5 squares of double layers, 6 squares of triple layers, and 1.5 squares of double layers. Lastly, I installed snaps on each throw to connect them together. I used 3 snaps down each of the lengthwise connections and 3 snaps along each of the end connections. I should be able to use the single blue UQ in fair weather camps and both of them should get me comfortably into the 30's.
UQ 1 layer.JPG
UQ 2 layers.JPG
UQ pic 1.JPG
UQ pic 2.JPG
UQ pic 3.JPG
UQ pic 4.JPG
TQ
I used a purple throw for the TQ. I ripped the seams in the 60" direction to create horizontal baffles and to be able to use the 70" full length. Yes it was tedious but I think it was worth the effort. I hung up the throw for a few days to let the down fall the bottom of the baffles. Thanks to my mother-in-law's sewing machine, I sewed a seam at 40" and another at about 42" so I could better control the down when I cut the throw to width. I rolled hem the edge and ended with the down in a 70" x 40" rectangle. I bought a women's winter jacket with 90% goose down filling from a local thrift store for $8. I harvested the down from the 2 sleeves and still have the body of the jacket available for future projects. I used the cut off piece of the throw and the harvested down to build a 15" x 40" rectangle to help me create the footbox. I used snaps to attach the footbox piece to the throw to finish the TQ.
TQ full pic.jpg
TQ footbox.jpg
TQ snaps.jpg
cost break down
2 throws x $20 = $60
kamsnaps = $20
women's down jacket = $8
For under $100 I have an UQ & TQ that should work for any temps I expect to camp in. The seam ripping and down harvesting was time consuming, but I am the type of person that would much rather do something myself than to pay someone else to do it for me. I can't wait to get outside in 2016.
Happy New Year everyone!
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks