UQ Design Help

[UCMWINGS]

I am making rectangular UQ for my ENO and planning on 3.5 to 4 in baffles. Instead of sewing the top and bottom directly together I am making side panels the same height as the baffles. Should the top and bottom be the same size since there will be side panels or should the bottom be larger? If so how much larger?

[PuckerFactor]

The bottom (outside) should indeed be larger. Most people just make the outer shell that much wider, but you can do it that way. You also need to make the outer shell longer to account for the depth of the quilt. Otherwise it'll pull up and squish the down. I believe Stormcrow mentioned making sure you distribute the extra fabric along the entire length of the quilt, but lacking the know-how to do that, I'll just say it needs to be longer one way or another.

Hope that helps,
Acer

[Dutch]

I am making rectangular UQ for my ENO and planning on 3.5 to 4 in baffles. Instead of sewing the top and bottom directly together I am making side panels the same height as the baffles. Should the top and bottom be the same size since there will be side panels or should the bottom be larger? If so how much larger?

That is a really thick UQ with 3.5 to 4 inch baffles. You will want the outside to be bigger. What has worked for me is for every 6 inches on the top (inside) you will need 7 on the outside. I also don't put sides on it and just make the ends that much longer to compensate.

[Just Jeff]

One way to make sure the extra outer shell length is dispersed along the length of the underquilt is to vary your baffle spacing. If you use horizontal baffles (perpendicular to your body), then you'll sew a baffle to the inner shell (next to your body) every 5" and to the outer shell every 6". When completed, this means you can pull the quilt tight from end to end and the outer shell won't compress the inner shell.

This is one way to make differential baffles.

It also needs to be done along the width of the quilt in some way, since the quilt curves along the length and width when it's attached. One easy(-ier) way to do this for horizontal baffles is to cut your baffle material into curves rather than rectangles. You can use a consistent baffle height so each baffle is shaped like "(" (but on it's side), or you can make the baffles thicker in the center (under your butt/kidneys) so more down settles where you need it. Just make sure you have enough down to fill it up so you don't get cold spots on your shoulders.

Just an opinion...there are several ways to do this for an underquilt, but you'll definitely want to consider them for one as thick as you're talking.

[UCMWINGS]

Aaaahh! This really makes sense now, I've been looking at different designs for 2 weeks and I knew I had to allow for compressing side to side but hadn't thought about compressing lengthwise. My thinking was the side panels would allow for compression if the UQ was suspended only by the top panel but now I think that would be too complicated to design and sew. Amazing when someone flips the right switch the light comes on!