I've been wanting a warm down UQ for winter camping, but didn't want to put all of my eggs in one basket. My family and I still tent camp together from time to time, and my wife and kids have claimed all of my down sleeping bags. So, after seeing the multi-function quilt that JRB offers, I decided to go that route...a DIY quilt that could be used as either an UQ or TQ (thus the baffle orientation).

I made it out of some lightweight ripstop polyester (same denier and weight as my 1.1 silnylon) I found for $1/yard at Hancock fabrics. The finished quilt is differentially cut and measures 48"x76". I harvested the down from an old Eddie Bauer blanket I got from the thrift shop for $8 that was labeled as containing 500 FP goose down (not the best, but it'll do at that price). The 14 baffles contain 1 5/8 oz. of down each. The total weight came in at 32 oz. with suspension. I get a full 3" of loft,which was my goal. I added draft tubes at each end.

The quilt can be converted from an UQ to a TP by cinching up the foot end, securing a length of velcro sewn up the sides, then tying it off to secure the footbox (identical to JRB's method).

I admire all of the vendors that offer down quilts for sale. As has been said before, after you make such a product you quickly realize that the going rate is plenty fair. I would have spent nearly $100 just in materials had I purchased the down commercially. Kudos to all you cottage vendors!

(FWIW, I did discover that using metal salad tongs made stuffing the down into the baffles much easier than using my hands.)