UQ Design Problems

**markie*mark0** · 11-20-2011, 16:18

I'm trying to make my own UQ and i've been reading threads in the DIY section for days now.

But, im having some "mental" design problems.

I initially thought (basically) that two sections of ripstop sewn together and then sewn in sections along the length to create baffles will be ok once filled with down. But i've read lots of people say this creates cold spots...

So then i see some people using "no-see-um" (i dont know what this is hahaha) as baffles??
Or people sewing square pieces of fabric into the inside as a baffle... (again not sure how this concept works )

Other than this i think i have everything else covered ( i made mk1 out of a cheap synthetic sleeping bag ) so hanging etc is ok.

So can anyone dumb it down for me how the baffles / no-see-um concept works?

**DavyRay** · 11-20-2011, 18:24

Okay, I'll bite.

No-see-um is just lightweight mesh fabric. It is bug net.

The problem with a too-simple quilt is that it has places where the down is not puffy. Sew two pieces of ripstop together at the edges, leaving an opening for down. Add down. Sew through to create channels. Where you sew seams in the center of the quilt, there is zero loft of down.

Hence, make it more complicated and sew in baffles that connect the top and bottom layers of ripstop. You can use anything to make baffles, but no-see-um is light weight.

**G.L.P.** · 11-20-2011, 20:59

No see um is bug netting .... it's very light and does not need to have a rolled hem so you just have to sew it in place so it save on more work that would be needed if you used lets say ripstop
Baffles are just walls in between your chambers of a quilt

to be honest i made my share of quilts and one thing i found is sewn thru quilts can be harder than quilts with baffles ... it's hard to judge where you are sewing ... and the added work of baffles is well worth it in the long run

the small squares you seen were for a Karo step quilt thats a whole different thing

making a simple quilt with baffles is not hard
for 3 season a 2-3 inch baffle is all you need for winter anything over 3 ...i like 3.5 inch
one thing to remember is the smaller the chamber(width) the less cold spots
i like 5 inch chambers running the length of the quilt
you will hear the term Differential cut as well
to get this lets say your chambers are 5 inch wide...
your top shell( the part against your back) measure out 8-5inch chambers
than your piece on the bottom(the shell to the outside) measure out 8-5.5inch chambers ... when you sew your baffles in... the bottom shell will have more fabric... this is what you want this gives you your Differ. cut ... also remember to add more to your outsides like 3 inch on the end chamber to the outside (to make up for the baffle height ) and the same on the ends if not you will squish down the down and baffles and defeat the reason for the differ. cut

now to figure out how much down you need use length x width x height / fill power LxWxH/fill power

so say you make a 40 x 50 UQ with 8 chambers with 2 inch baffles and want to use 800 fill down
you would do 50x40x2/800= 5... so you need at least 5oz of down to fill that air space... i like to add extra to let the quilt fill out so add another oz of down so 6ox /8(chambers)= .75oz per chamber

this is pretty much how i make my quilts.... i hope this helps you some

**HappyHiker** · 11-21-2011, 00:52

Pretty well covered - here's another angle.

Imagine you are looking down the chambers from the end:

[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] = Baffles (but each ][ is just a single strip of bug net)

< >< >< >< >< > = Sewn though - the insulation is not consistent across the quilt.

The short strips sewn into place is called Karo Step(ing). Using this method allows the down to shift within the quilt if needed, but otherwise if properly filled holds the down in place.

Each method works and has it's use - all depends on what you want out your quilt.

**markie*mark0** · 11-21-2011, 02:55

And the penny drops.....

Thanks guys, from the DIY's that i had seen i thought that the baffles where just "floating" rather than being sewn into each side of the UQ.

Im not sure what fill power my down is (i've used an old down sleeping bag) so am i best with just trial and error to make sure they are lofting properly and slighty overstuffed?