My First DIY Down Project- Karo TQ

[joanwest]

I'd been thinking about sewing a down top quilt to replace my sleeping bag for a while. Then, at my first HF group hang in January, I was inspired by all the DIY gear, and a HF member recommended the karo pattern as a good first DIY down project. After many hours of consulting and sewing, I just finished my lightweight TQ for summer. Can hardly wait for warmer weather so I can test it out.


Specs:
Weight: 11.4 oz (5 oz 850 fill down)
Size: 75" x 36" x 40"
Baffle height: 1" (but ended up being about 1.5")
Box size: 12" square, with 6" baffles and 6" gaps

Materials:
Fabric: 1.1 oz ripstop nylon 2nds- DIY Gear Supply - $16
Down: $33.75 + $6 shipping from Wilderness Logics
Baffles: white tulle, $1.25 from Joann's fabrics
Total cost of materials: $51 (plus $16 shipping)

Nothing new in the design or construction. Just modified designs and followed instructions from the karo quilts done by MAD777, TeeDee, animalcontrol, and chickenwing. Finished size is shown by solid lines on the design picture below (caution- not to scale), dotted lines include 1.5 or 2 inch seam allowances. Most baffles were 6 inches except for the side baffles which were 2 or 3 inches.



The whole thing came together smoothly, thanks to all the help I got through this site. Especially the tips to use masking tape to number the baffles and clips to keep the extra material out of the way.



I've definitely caught the DIY gear bug. Now, on to researching the next project...

[digitizer101]

Looks great I have a similar under quilt that I love to use in the winter.

[TheBrewGuy]

Looks awesome! That's a truly impressive thread injector you have there.

[joanwest]

Looks great I have a similar under quilt that I love to use in the winter.

I'm thinking an underquilt may be up next.

Looks awesome! That's a truly impressive thread injector you have there.

Thanks! The thread injector got passed down to me from my great-grandma, and I've been using it for years and it still runs great.

[matthew2000tx]

That looks good. I'm trying to decide what my first DIY will be.

[MAD777]

Beautiful quilt! It will serve you well.

[Duffy]

Very nice work! And a great new piece of gear!

[Kalmed]

Nice job, still gathing information for my first quilt project. Was there a particular diagram, directions, video you felt help the most? There is so much information here that its diffcult to decide what is the best of breed. I need to touch, so I think the best answer for me is a walk through a group hang or like event here in the mitten.

[joanwest]

That looks good. I'm trying to decide what my first DIY will be.

I thought this made a good first DIY project, though of course I have no basis of comparison! I was glad to have used this 1.1 ripstop fabric for a first project since it was nice to work with and inexpensive, compared to lighter material.

Beautiful quilt! It will serve you well.

Thanks so much, MAD777! Really appreciated your posts on your karo quilt. Your advice on many HF threads helped me so much for this project.

Nice job, still gathing information for my first quilt project. Was there a particular diagram, directions, video you felt help the most? There is so much information here that its diffcult to decide what is the best of breed. I need to touch, so I think the best answer for me is a walk through a group hang or like event here in the mitten.

Sorting through all the advice on HF was definitely the hardest and most time consuming part of this process for me as well. I ended up mostly following chickenwing's detailed instructions here, and his videos were really valuable for showing how to sew the baffles.

This thread was helpful for determining when to choose the karo design. This is good discussion of how to size the top quilt.

This is how to determine overstuff, and the google doc I used.

Fronkey's video was excellent for how to stuff the down.

I also posted a few more picts and details here.

Going on the group hang and also checking out the TQ of fellow hammock forum members was also key- I agree that it's hard to figure out just by reading cause I'm also a hands-on learner.

[Arothian]

Looking really good joanwest! I really enjoyed making my TQ! It looks like you got a keeper as well! I love making my own gear; it may not be as perfect as some of the cottage vender stuff, but I sure do feel proud when I use it

It helps too, with so much info on the forums. Standing on the experience of everyone else who has tried a project is a huge help.

Enjoy the warm!