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  1. #1
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
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    Just finished my first Karo Step quilt (seven D fabric and wearable)

    OK, I've been tempted to make a karo step quilt after looking at all the posts of other's quilts that look so nice. I've also been renewing my efforts to lighten my pack and the new "seven D" fabric from TiGoat has had me salivating.

    Here are the specs.
    Total weight: 10.0 oz
    Length: 68.5" at the edge, 79" along the center
    Width: 40.5"
    Thickness: 1.60" average
    Baffle height: 1"
    Baffle length: 6.5"
    Box size: 10.25" long by 10.5" wide

    Materials:
    Fabric: Seven D at 0.63 oz/sy from www.tigoat.com
    Down: 6 ounces of 800FP from www.hammockgear.com
    Baffles: polyester tulle at 0.3 oz/sy from JoAnn's Fabrics
    Thread: Gutterman Sew-all 100% polyester

    If there is one mistake that I learned while making my first karo step quilt was that I did not leave enough room between the baffles, only 4". By this, I mean the gap between the squares. This came back to bite me in a couple of ways.

    First, this small gap limited my ability to maneuver the fabric to sew the baffles to the 2nd side of the fabric, at least for the baffles running in the head to toe direction. When sewing these baffles the fabric has to be rotated 180 degrees and 4" of slack was barely adequate and made the sewing difficult.

    Second, the small gap between the baffles limited my ability to hand stuff the down into the chambers. Admittedly, I have very large hands. But, I put way more stress on these tulle baffles than I would have liked while trying to get my fist full of down into the chambers.

    Therefore, I would recommend a 6" gap between the baffles.

    I have made a few "regular" down quilts and all in all, I did not find the karo step method any easier than the normal baffled quilts. For the 1" high baffles in this quilt, the karo step method is practical because a normal quilt would have lots and lots of baffles.

    I think this will be my last karo step style quilt. But, it came out great in the end. Here are the pictures....
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by MAD777; 10-01-2011 at 20:16.
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

  2. #2
    Senior Member Fronkey's Avatar
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    That looks awesome dude!

    I thought the same thing about a karo style being a little bit of a pain. But, that's really cool you went for it and made one fine looking quilt.

    How do you like that seven D fabric?

    Fronkey

  3. #3
    Senior Member hangnout's Avatar
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    Great looking quilt! You know we are going to be asking how much it weighs

  4. #4
    Senior Member JerryW's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hangnout View Post
    You know we are going to be asking how much it weighs
    Yes we are! How could you forget that, Mike?

    Great looking quilt. Enjoy!


    Jerrry
    The "Search" function is your friend!

  5. #5
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hangnout View Post
    Great looking quilt! You know we are going to be asking how much it weighs
    Oops! I was in a hurry to see the Florida vs Alabama game!

    It weighs 10.0 ounces!
    6 ounces of that is pure down! Only 4 ounces of all else.
    I made a footbox closure with snaps.

    This is the first time I have ever filled a quilt by hand - NEVER AGAIN!
    I was expecting the humane society to bust in claiming that I was slaughtering ducks in the house!

    In the past, I've always used the vacuum cleaner tube method and I lost at the most one cluster per ounce of down. I'm going back to that method.
    Last edited by MAD777; 10-01-2011 at 21:06.
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

  6. #6
    Senior Member dmrichm's Avatar
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    WOW! That is fantastic. Great looking quilt and an super light weight multi-tasker... I like it! When are you going to start taking orders?

  7. #7
    Senior Member HappyHiker's Avatar
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    Another fantastic piece of handiwork! Looks great

  8. #8
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fronkey View Post
    That looks awesome dude!

    I thought the same thing about a karo style being a little bit of a pain. But, that's really cool you went for it and made one fine looking quilt.

    How do you like that seven D fabric?

    Fronkey
    The Seven D fabric is fantastic stuff. It's so thin, you can't tell if you are holding a single layer or two. It is shiny black on both sides and very smooth to the touch. You have to hold it up to the light and look through it to see the ripstop pattern.

    It is a little bit stretchy in the hand. So, it is mandatory that you hold the fabric on both sides of the foot as you feed it into the machine, both on the side going in and the side coming out. Also, you want to use the maximum stitch length and I used a tension of "1". If you don't do these things, the very thin fabric will bunch up on you. However, if you do all this, it is just like sewing silnylon.
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

  9. #9
    Senior Member Redoleary's Avatar
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    Brilliant work there MAD, that thing looks awesome!
    Good luck,
    RED

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  10. #10
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
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    Someone sent a PM asking about the assembly. Basically, I make two quilts, one is the head half and the other is the foot half. Then, I sew baffles onto one side of each half.

    After that, I sew 12-13" of omni-tape (two sided velcro) to the two halves at the center. Then, I stick the two halves together at the velcro strip and sew the two halves together outside of the velcro area. Then the two halves are one with the ability to separate the omni-tape strips to create the neck hole.

    Finally, I sew the baffles to the opposing side of fabric, hem the edge all around except for a 12" opening for stuffing down. Since I essentially have two short quilts, I have to leave a 12" gap unsewn in each half.

    The last touch is to sew two 18" long strips of 3/8" grossgain about 16" up from the corners on what will be the back side in "jacket mode." I simply tie these together in a bow in front of me to close the "jacket."
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

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