Top Quilt Layout Questions

[SteelToe]

The topquilt I have planned is loosely based on what seems to be a common pattern used successfully by many other DIYers on here; full 58" fabric width, tapered from the waist to about 48", 78" long, horizontal baffles, drawstring both ends, and either a permanently sewn or unfastenable footbox closure for about 2ft

I still have a few questions about the details & use of these top-quilts (I've only ever used sleeping bags or blankets);
-Are the drawstrings generally elastic, or inelastic cord?
-I assume the typical usage is to tuck the sides under the arms & shoulders as needed?
-Is the purpose of the drawstring at the head-end simply to make tucking oneself in slightly easier?
-Is there any advantage to securing the quilt in place over the user (such as by tie-outs to the sides of the hammock), or do they tend to stay put pretty well, even when they aren't tucked-in tightly around the user for coldest weather use? I am considering this for the foot-end and possibly one of the shoulders.

My last question is about a possible design improvement to this concept; if down is expensive & bulky, and if insulation beneath the body against the hammock fabric is worthless due to compression...why design the underquilt so that much of the insulation is tucked under the legs (footbox) and arms/shoulders? Would it not make more sense to produce a narrower insulated area that is held in place by wide (+6") margins of uninsulated material that the user tucks under their body? Taken together, that would seem to 'save' a good 4 baffles worth of down, which can be either omitted or placed on top of the user's body.

[cmc4free]

The cord at the collar is elastic.
Yes, the sides are tucked under your arms and shoulders, as needed.
Cinching the collar at the head end will help close the topquilt around your neck to limit drafts getting in.
I don't attach the topquilt to the hammock in any way.

[SteelToe]

Okay, that's sounds pretty straightforward.

I think I may have found a way to at least try out my 'less insulation at the edges' idea; I just read about the Revelation-style baffle pattern that follows the perimeter. You basically end up with horizontal baffles at the feet when it's folded up where migration is the hardest to fight, and long vertical baffles along the torso where it needs to shift the most for comfort. By making this series of nested U-shaped baffles terminate an inch or four short from the shoulder-end of the quilt, down can be moved between the layers, albeit with some level of difficulty --which I say is a good thing. Plus, when that end is cinched down even a little bit, the connection between chambers will be pinched off so as to keep everything situated, and can be left that way to be packed up as well, without shifting the down around.

For the dimensions I'm looking at, it seems I'll have 13 total baffles, for 4" wide (and 3" tall) chambers, plus one 5" wide hairpin-shaped chamber at the center line. I suppose the logical way to build this is to work outward from the innermost baffle?

Off to order a couple yards of .5oz noseeum, I guess, as well as some monolite for a bugnet!