What do I do with -this- wedding present? - My Intro post

**Walking Bear** · 08-08-2009, 21:10

Great start on the hammock introduction. You will have a great time making gear.
Don't give up on the husband. Some of us are slow to change but he will get the hang of it after a while.
All we got for wedding gifts was house stuff many years ago.

**Ramblinrev** · 08-08-2009, 21:50

hehe... I can't remember anything we got as a wedding gift... but it was pushing 34 years ago. I'm lucky to remember my kids nanes the way things are now. Glad to welcome another expert seamstress to the group. We have a lot of people who are into the DIY and more seem to join frequently. Of course... you can use a sewing machine and you can sew. Some of the rest of us end up "making gear" with a power thread injector and trying to get the salespeople in Joanns to notice us as something other than uncomfortable lurkers. It doesn't take too long before they begin to enjoy the novelty but then we start asking questions about fabric weight and tear strength and other good things and they leave us alone again. Seems the novelty wears off after awhile.

**Mule** · 08-08-2009, 21:53

Enchanting story for sure. Welcome to the forum and to swinging above the earth. Mule

**Knotty** · 08-08-2009, 22:08

Great story. Welcome to the hammock world.

Using a hammock on your honeymoon? No wonder your hubby doesn't like them

**redlights** · 08-08-2009, 23:25

I am going to make an under quilt next after I finish the dress I am working on (I am a one project at a time sort of girl...) which should be done...well...tomorrow if it keeps raining, or sometime later this week. I'm going to have to do a bit of research and of course some sort of mockup to get the shape and such. I've done a LOT of dress making but never anything like this before!

I'm totally fine with baffles, etc, and the construction part, I've just never fit a hammock before - any hints, tips, or tricks, or any sort of ideas? I like the idea of one that uses elastic ties to let it shove over when you are getting in and out, as well as something that wraps on three sides. Down booties sound fun too...maybe I'll have to make a pair of those! I am the coldest person EVER, and I probably hate the cold the most, so it's very important for me to try to stay warm or I get miserable.

ETA: Deadline for underquilt is October - a friend of mine is getting married in Oct. in Wisconsin and is having a giant campout for their wedding, so I'll be bringing the Hennesey with me. Anyone from Wisconsin know how cold it gets in October around baraboo?

**Ramblinrev** · 08-09-2009, 01:05

Originally Posted by redlights

I'm totally fine with baffles, etc, and the construction part, I've just never fit a hammock before - any hints, tips, or tricks, or any sort of ideas? I like the idea of one that uses elastic ties to let it shove over when you are getting in and out, as well as something that wraps on three sides. Down booties sound fun too...maybe I'll have to make a pair of those! I am the coldest person EVER, and I probably hate the cold the most, so it's very important for me to try to stay warm or I get miserable.

It depends on whether you are talking synthetic or down insulation. There are entire threads on here devoted to using and making both. I would suggest you decide first on the type.. down or synthetic. If down.. are you going to make a differential cut... The spend some time looking at the galleries for pictures of the various kinds of underquilts that are out there according to what you want. On the flip side you can buy patterned kits for example. Rayway has what's supposed to be a nice synthetic kit. There are probably others out there. The possibilities, while maybe not endless are vast.

**MacEntyre** · 08-09-2009, 05:47

It can get below freezing in October in southern Wisconsin. Even if it is 45 degrees at night during October, you need to insulate your hammock like it was freezing. Underquilt and topquilt, then you'll be toasty. Hammocks lose heat fast!

Where will your husband sleep? You could make him a DIY Speer, UQ and TQ before October!

**redlights** · 08-09-2009, 08:38

Originally Posted by Ramblinrev

It depends on whether you are talking synthetic or down insulation. There are entire threads on here devoted to using and making both. I would suggest you decide first on the type.. down or synthetic. If down.. are you going to make a differential cut... The spend some time looking at the galleries for pictures of the various kinds of underquilts that are out there according to what you want. On the flip side you can buy patterned kits for example. Rayway has what's supposed to be a nice synthetic kit. There are probably others out there. The possibilities, while maybe not endless are vast.

I am a down devotee, so I'll be making a baffled down quilt. Is differential cut the U shaped? I'd like to do something like that, it doesn't seem to hard, just basic math and some eyballing

I may put in one or two darts to have it swing "up" on either side, as well..

With the exception of stuffing the down, (what's this I hear about a vacuum cleaner?) this seems like really basic sewing, just straight lines for ever. I may borrow a friend's industrial to get a double stitch on everything outside of the baffles, and although I like the ones with a "vertical loft panel" (Ie: two inch strip all the way around...) I think having as few seams as possible may be important since it can get pretty wet where we camp, so a tuck on each corner should do it...

Anyways, just some thoughts there. The only thing that's confusing me is down ratings, since I have no idea what they mean...but a google search when I don't have a house to tidy should be okay

**TinaLouise** · 08-09-2009, 09:31

Originally Posted by redlights

The only thing that's confusing me is down ratings, since I have no idea what they mean...

down is rated by how much it lofts or expands. The larger a singe "down" (not really feathers) piece is, the higher the rating. Also the more it cost!! The lower the ratings, the more down you will need to put inside the quilt to keep you warm at a certain temp. So if you use a down with a high rating, the quilt could look and feel much lighter in weight. Comforters that you can usually buy in the store are mostly rated around 500 fill power and a lot of these tend to have feathers in there too. Our under quilts and over quilts that we use in hammock camping are in the 650 and up (I've heard it goes to 900) ratings. You buy the highest rated down you can afford so that you can buy less of it and need less to make your quilt. My budget could only afford 750 rated down.

I don't know how to do the link for here but look up under "Documentation and directions, Down TOP Quilt and directions and pics. Read the whole thing, it's a fantastic post. At the end I put a simple formula for figuring out how much down(& it's rating) and how tall to make the baffles so you can figure out what the temp ratings for your quilt will be. Please also be aware that temp ratings are subjective to the person. (are you a warm or cold sleeper?) If you sleep cold, make your quilt for colder temps than you'll be camping in.

**Ramblinrev** · 08-09-2009, 09:37

Originally Posted by redlights

Is differential cut the U shaped? I'd like to do something like that, it doesn't seem to hard, just basic math and some eyballing

I may put in one or two darts to have it swing "up" on either side, as well..

Anyways, just some thoughts there. The only thing that's confusing me is down ratings, since I have no idea what they mean...but a google search when I don't have a house to tidy should be okay

Simplistically a differential cut means the outside cover is bigger than the inside cover. The advantage to that is it is virtually impossible to compress the quilt to the point of losing the loft. The key to a succesful differential cut is getting the cruves right. The JRB Mt. Washington quilt is a dual differential cut meaning that both length and width are cut larger outside than inside. I don't do much with down so I'm not going to muddy the waters any further.

Down ratings are based on the amount of space the down will fill under ideal conditions. 900 fill will fill 900 cu/in under ideal conditions. 650 fill will fill 650 cu/in under ideal conditions.

There is some discussion the resurfaces periodically about whether it is worth going over 700 fill due to the lack of ideal conditions and the process of overstuffing. Some folks insist the 900 is worth the cost, others insist that you lose enough fill power in non-ideal conditions that it really doesn't matter. Stuff your own quilt. The difference in down cost can be considerable. I would say it is generally conceded that anything under 650 is not worth the cost of the down and good modern synthetic insulation will give any less than 650 a good run for its money.