$45 Down TQ from Mummy bag

[JohnSawyer]

I finally did it!

I bought a "vintage" down REI sleeping bag on ebay for $45. It wasn't quite big enough for my 210# of girth, but I don't like mummy bags (don't know when that changed...)

I bought it 5 months ago, thinking I'd just use it as a TQ, like I do my synthetic mummy.

Goals: make it more comfortable: get rid of the huge zipper and synthetic-filled draft tube next to the zipper. There was a thick tan stripe of grosgrain type ribbon next to the zipper to keep it from getting snagged on the shell material. I wanted that gone, too. If it get's lighter in the process, so much the better... I really didn't want to use grosgrain edging, or spend many hours on this project...

SO: I sewed a line across the hood and 1" down each side alongside the zipper. I cut off the hood. I Used my shop vac and some tulle between hose sections to capture the down. I then took the remaining edge of fabric, rolled it over and hemmed it.

The draft tube and grosgrain ribbon were next. I peeled them off carefully with my seam ripper. I'm glad I sewed down that edge a bit, as the down was really flying at times, despite my best efforts to contain it. The other zipper was easier, but still took 30 minutes or so to remove.

Again, I took the existing edges of fabric and rolled a new hem. I had a couple snags where I broke the thread (pushed the fabric into the machine too hard.) So I tied the ends, added a drop of fraycheck, and started up again. Given the 3 hours and $45 pricetag, I'm pretty happy. The stuff I removed weighed at least 6 ounces (I'm not a gram weenie, but I like the idea.)

Overall, the quilt is 48" wide, comes to the top of my head if I'm stretched out, (6'). and has about 3+" of consistent loft (more when I'm in the hammock). I haven't weighed it, but it's far from heavy, especially when compared to my 3lb synthetic bag.

Next, I'll go get some omni-tape and probably add another foot or so to the footbox for cold nights.

The end result:



Here you can see where I had my Top tension set too high, and the completed edge.


You can see the "containment" stitch and the fixed hem. I have a few of the original threads to pick out and some down clusters trapped in the edge..


Dr. Harvey Tiny Cat likes it! (No, I didn't name him.)



Now what to do with something like 1/4 oz of down?

John