And so it begins

[zooshooter]

Having made a few tablecloth hammocks, a pillowcase for a little throw pillow, and bought a Hennessy Hammock (because I'm not ready to use my TC's for camping yet) I figured it was time to make myself an underquilt. So far I have: inner and outer shells hemmed, baffles cut (although they're a little zig-zaggy on the edges so I may have to redo them), goose down standing by to be weighed out into anti-static bags for each baffle, grosgrain, shock cord and cord-locks on standby, and a handy dandy printout from Catsplat's Underquilt Calculator to guide me along the way. Here's the progress so far: http://imgur.com/a/750NL#0 (these images are a little bigger than the ones in my gallery).

[VictoriaGuy]

It looks good!
Ambitious project! My wife made a couple of Frostline sleeping bag kits years ago..just watching made me tired!

A few hints (learned 'the hard way'... )
-Stitch tension- I was having a problem with 'too-loose' stitch tension and found the solution was to use a larger needle, so experimenting can be helpful. You'll probably find you need to do some test lines when you switch to sewing the baffles.

- Pinning- If you can, pinning perpendicular to your stitch line (for me, with the heads to the right) makes removing pins as you sew easier. Shorter, sharper, thinner pins with ball heads are easier for me to handle.

- Pressing- Pressing your seams before stitching takes time but it does make the result sharper.

-Cutting - I don't know if your baffle netting needs to be hot-cut? A couple of long strips (one about a foot wide as the under surface, the other ('ruler') narrower) of plywood or particle board can help. If you are not hot-cutting, a rotary cutter is a big improvement over scissors. Buy spare blades as cutting on a harder surface (who can afford those big cutting mats??) can nick the rotary blade.

Marking- you'll need to mark your baffle seam lines, I think. (?). Tailor's 'chalk' is a traditional non-permanent waxy marking item, and there are probably a lot of more modern alternatives - check the notions dept at your fabric/sewing supply. Not all of them will mark slippery nylon, though silnylon IME is a lot worse than other fabrics like the nylon you are using. The very last resort (permanent) would be the 'guy alternative' - Sharpie marker!

Carry on! and more pictures as you go, please.... !

[stevebo]

Good luck with your project!

[zooshooter]

It looks good!
Ambitious project! My wife made a couple of Frostline sleeping bag kits years ago..just watching made me tired!

A few hints (learned 'the hard way'... )
-Stitch tension- I was having a problem with 'too-loose' stitch tension and found the solution was to use a larger needle, so experimenting can be helpful. You'll probably find you need to do some test lines when you switch to sewing the baffles.

- Pinning- If you can, pinning perpendicular to your stitch line (for me, with the heads to the right) makes removing pins as you sew easier. Shorter, sharper, thinner pins with ball heads are easier for me to handle.

- Pressing- Pressing your seams before stitching takes time but it does make the result sharper.

-Cutting - I don't know if your baffle netting needs to be hot-cut? A couple of long strips (one about a foot wide as the under surface, the other ('ruler') narrower) of plywood or particle board can help. If you are not hot-cutting, a rotary cutter is a big improvement over scissors. Buy spare blades as cutting on a harder surface (who can afford those big cutting mats??) can nick the rotary blade.

Marking- you'll need to mark your baffle seam lines, I think. (?). Tailor's 'chalk' is a traditional non-permanent waxy marking item, and there are probably a lot of more modern alternatives - check the notions dept at your fabric/sewing supply. Not all of them will mark slippery nylon, though silnylon IME is a lot worse than other fabrics like the nylon you are using. The very last resort (permanent) would be the 'guy alternative' - Sharpie marker!

Carry on! and more pictures as you go, please.... !

I did end up ironing the hems toward the end. It helped some but my calculations for one corner were a little off. Ah well, it's a first attempt. The baffles being goofy is my own fault. I thought I'd save some time and fold over the baffle material to cut it. I bought plenty that it won't be a problem to cut new ones, just a bit of a waste for the stuff that is already cut. I haven't decided if I'm going to cut new ones yet or just use the ones I have already.

The pinning had to be parallel to the hem, it's too narrow otherwise and I didn't want to give my down some early escape holes. Wasn't too bad overall, just lots of busy work. I really wish I had a bigger table to work with though. I realize that my quilt is probably huge by most people's standards at 78" x 48" but I wanted it big enough to keep me nice & warm. I'm using my dining table and a folded out sewing table from an old Kenmore sewing machine at one end. It works out ok as they're about the same height. For fabric marking I picked up a pencil that has some white stuff inside that can be brushed or washed off. So far it has brushed off just fine, or it'll fall off as I cut over the marked line.

Hoping to get the down measured out tonight. Hoping against all odds that when I cut the bulk bag open it won't develop a mind of its own and go flying all over my bathroom. It's the smallest room I have short of a closet so I figure the air movement shouldn't be too bad as long as I sit still.

[stevebo]

no matter how hard I try, down gets everywhere. Im thinking about using a tent next time--easier to clean up when the jobs done! (just turn it inside out!)

[FLScouthanger]

zooshooter,

Here's a primer on baffles, in case you become baffled by them

[Catavarie]

I've found that a crayon makes for a cheap alternative to those fancy fabric pencils or tailors chalk. And come off better than a sharpie. Pins work good, but also look at fabric clips too. They don't damage the material by putting holes in it and they can be a bit easier to remove one handed while feeding fabric through the thread injector.

[zooshooter]

I've found that a crayon makes for a cheap alternative to those fancy fabric pencils or tailors chalk. And come off better than a sharpie. Pins work good, but also look at fabric clips too. They don't damage the material by putting holes in it and they can be a bit easier to remove one handed while feeding fabric through the thread injector.

Toooooo laaaaaate. All baffles already sewn to the inner shell. Moving on to the outer shell now.