First DIY Down Quilt - Argon 90 fabric

**wsshetler** · 09-02-2015, 17:28

After viewing many fine DIY top quilts [on here, I used the inspiration to try my hand and make my own as well. I began by getting some basic sewing instruction from my wife and 81 year old mother, and started off with cheap material and a practice quilt. After learning how to sew a bit better, I ordered the Argon 90 fabric from Dutchwaregear.com and set out to make a decent Top Quilt.

The original size of the quilt was to be 74 x 56", but turned out closer to 70 by 54," and is patterned from the Hammockgear top quilts. It weighs in at between 25 and 26 ounces and compacts down nicely to about 6x10."

Materials

3 yards of Argon 90 Blue
3 yards of Argon 90 Titanium Grey
Paracord for drawstrings
Pack of Snaps I bought at Wal-Mart
Pack of small silver grommets with tool I bought at Joanne fabric
Duck Down from RoseFeather (company on Amazon.com) 800+ fill power
100% Polyester Thread
Small pieces of lightweight leather - used as a backer to support the buttons and grommets

I really like the Argon 90 fabric because it's very light, soft, and pretty easy to sew. Likewise, I really like the duck down because it was very affordable, compared with the goose down with the water treatment. I figure I can use my down proofing from NikWax to basically do the same thing to provide some water resistance to the down inside my quilt.

As mentioned in the videos, I used a heavier mesh material I bought at Wal-mart for like 97 cents a yard. It was great sewing it, but was also too stiff and made it tough when I had to sew the inner liner together with the top. I'll likely just buy the 2.5" precut noseeum mesh for the next quilt. I believe that I cut my baffles too wide at 3" which when sewed in, still provided about 2.5" which sounds nice, but can allow the down, if you have enough, to loft to nearly 3.5 - 4" in the baffled chambers. I used close to 16oz of down and it really isn't enough to fill out the chambers the way I would expect or like. I used 14oz of the duck down and about 2 ounces of mixed down and feathers I had recycled from an old coat.

I found that I likely won't use the metal grommets for the drawstring channels again, but rather just make a double fold at the end where the string enters. Also, I'm thinking shockcord would work better than the paracord I used.

Overall, I'm happy with my finished product. It looks nice for my limited sewing abilities, and I am further inspired to make another one, which will be patterned from the Loco Libre gear quilts I've seen. I like the idea of the Chevron baffling versus straight or Karo types, but don't look forward to the work involved with it.

Lastly, the quilt I made while not cheap, did save me a considerable amount compared with many of the ones I've seen online. Granted, I would gladly drop $300 on one to save myself the time sewing, but I found that I actually liked making my quilt.

Material Price list

Argon 90 cost me $41 shipped
Down was $49 shipped
Snaps, buttons, and thread - Probably about $10.

I want to offer a thanks to others for sharing pictures and videos, which greatly inspired and helped me along the way.

0902151502.jpg 0902151502b.jpg

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https://youtu.be/uLzCVqP7aZM
https://youtu.be/7qVEjDnymWw

**Martin_1** · 09-02-2015, 17:36

Nicely done! Have you tried it yet?

**wsshetler** · 09-02-2015, 18:35

I've used it in my hammock I have hanging in the basement and on my bed, and it feels nice, just a tad shorter than I wanted. I'm looking forward to getting out a night or two when the temps start dropping, because it should be good down to about 30 degrees. I'm not sure what my Klymit sleeping pad is rated for, so that might be the weak link.

**boulderv7** · 09-03-2015, 19:51

I'm loving the blue/gray color combo. That quilt looks very nice. It should keep you plenty warm with 16 oz of down. Very nice job. You'll be making quilts for all your friends soon enough!!!

**BackpackerGuy** · 09-03-2015, 21:03

Very nicely done! Attractive color combination, and it looks terrific for a first DIY project. Congrats!

**wsshetler** · 09-03-2015, 21:49

Hey, I want to say thanks to all for the kind comments. I like the color combo as well and the next one is probably going to be purple outer with a black inner.

**georgecarr** · 09-03-2015, 23:50

Originally Posted by wsshetler

It looks nice for my limited sewing abilities, and I am further inspired to make another one, which will be patterned from the Loco Libre gear quilts I've seen. I like the idea of the Chevron baffling versus straight or Karo types, but don't look forward to the work involved with it.

Lot's of deep breathes - serenity now!

Nice looking quilt BTW.

**wsshetler** · 09-04-2015, 01:25

Hey, I have been kicking around a similar baffling type as your Chevron style, and almost made my first quilt with a variant of it, but I didn't think I was up for the task with having to sew such lightweight fabric. My pattern was basically a large W shape for the baffles, which I probably will use next time instead of the full chevron style just to save sewing time. I was looking at your website and my kids thought the combination of the unique baffling and colors of your quilts were, in the words of my nine-year old daughter "AWESOME."

**georgecarr** · 09-04-2015, 09:08

Originally Posted by wsshetler

I was looking at your website and my kids thought the combination of the unique baffling and colors of your quilts were, in the words of my nine-year old daughter "AWESOME."

Well, your daughter has awesome taste