UnderQuilt Build - Dutchware Raffle Project

[Dutch]

I want one too

[Mcdoc]

I layed out the liner tonight and measured/marked both sides for the baffle attachments and for the shirring.
The black Argon67 Taffeta is the full size of the quilt 44" x 74", plus seam allowance of 1" on each edge.

On the backside (calendared side) of the liner is the baffle attachments at 3" spacing. Where everything else has been marked with chalk, for this I used a yellow water-soluble marking pencil. It needs to stay in place through the shirring process and then be visible enough to see after all the ruffles are created. It is on the inside so it could be permanent; I just don't want it to bleed through. I tested a few different marking implements, and this seems to work the best.

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Then I flipped it over to the outside (non-calandered side) and chalked lines horizontally at 1.25" spacing for the shirring. A total of 58 stitch lines across the 44" width: this is going to be a lot of sewing.

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Also for comparison, this is the quilt size next to my 28oz LaFuma summer down bag which I plan to use for a top quilt in the shoulder seasons. In a tent I've used this bag alone to just under freezing temperatures- lower with a fleece liner. (actually my wife and I have a left-and right-hand pair of these bags that zip together and that have seen 11 great years of trips).
I think the quilt will be plenty large to cover me nicely.

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And finally a quick check-in on the scale of the shell, baffles, and liner material for the quilt so far: 6.0oz on the nose.

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[Mcdoc]

I completed the shirring on the liner. It was about 65yds of thread injection- giving the stretchy ruffle pattern.

It was very boring. Doing the same thing for about 3.5 hrs. Glad that's behind me!

I started with the bulk of the liner rolled up under the machine arm and sewed the lines left-to-right. It wasn't difficult at all.

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When it was all said and done the width had shrunk from 46" to 21". It is a very mild stretch, and should envelop the hammock nicely. For completeness, I weighted it before and after, and the shirring added 0.32oz.

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So because this is somewhat new and made-up as I go along, I decided another "totally-scientific-and-completely-legit" test/demonstration was in order to show how the shirred liner performs. The whole point is to get it to conform to the body better and eliminate cold spots. I made a curved cutout from a cardboard box and weighted it with a 2x4. This was lowered into both the shirred liner and a regular nylon "liner" hung from some shock cord- similar to how it is suspended on a hammock. A secondary goal was to learn how to use iMovie. This is the first time I've tried it.

[Fellowship of the Rain]

Awesome stuff. Just so I understand, the shirred liner will be the top-side of the quilt, right? From there you will attach the insulation and the outer layer? Do you think the shirred top-side will be strong enough to pull the weight of the insulation and outer layer towards the body?

[Mcdoc]

Awesome stuff. Just so I understand, the shirred liner will be the top-side of the quilt, right? From there you will attach the insulation and the outer layer? Do you think the shirred top-side will be strong enough to pull the weight of the insulation and outer layer towards the body?

Correct. The next step is attaching the baffles/shell to the shirred liner.

I tested the strength of the shirring before and tried to match it to the weight of the quilt. Even if it doesn't stretch at all, or wears out at some point, it will be just like any regular under quilt (+ the 0.32oz).

[FLScouthanger]

Mcdoc,

Can I borrow some of your patience?

I like how you've approached the build of this quilt--research, take some away from project to keep head clear, develop concept, take some time away from project to keep head clear, complete a small portion of project, maybe do a "proof of concept" test to see if you're getting expected results, take some more time off, etc., etc. Very methodical. Engineering background perhaps?

Unfortunately I need to learn to have more patience with larger projects like an underquilt. I'm of the ilk that "it needs to be done yesterday". Looking forward to seeing and hearing about the results of all your efforts on this project.

[Mcdoc]

Mcdoc,

Can I borrow some of your patience?

I like how you've approached the build of this quilt--....... Very methodical.
Unfortunately I need to learn to have more patience with larger projects like an underquilt. I'm of the ilk that "it needs to be done yesterday". Looking forward to seeing and hearing about the results of all your efforts on this project.

Thanks. It certainly helps to step away sometimes and wait for inspiration/thought process to catch up with things. In this case, however, I think my one-or-two-hours-here-and-there approach is more a product of being too busy with many other things that keep me from devoting a single large block of time to this project.

I talked a little in post #1 about how (for me) DIY is usually more about the process and learning than the end product. Nothing stopping me from just buying the gear I need: that would definitely be easier, faster, and sometimes less expensive. I find value and enjoyment in the DIY approach, though.

A lot of the time it is a forum tutorial or build-log that gives me the instruction or research to do something new. My hope in sharing details/pictures is that someone else (or maybe many people) will find it useful. That, and I can only bore my wife so long with the nerdy details

...And in this case the material cost was free [ THANKS DUTCH ] So I can experiment with some fringe ideas and share results here with little risk.

[Mcdoc]

The Shell is now attached to the liner. This involved sewing the baffles (already on the huge shell) to the diagonal lines on the scrunched-up liner. I was worried about this step, but I was careful to take my time and it turned out alright. It was slow going, however, as there was a lot of material under the arm of the machine. I could see the yellow pencil lines if I searched for them, but I wouldn't have complained if I had used something brighter as the pencil line often was lost in the shirring.

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I didn't pin or clip anything, but just held both pieces where they should be and sewed 12" at a time. I did have trouble keeping the tension equal on both the no-see-um baffles and the shirred Argon67 liner. Sometimes I got to the end of the baffle and the liner would be an inch short, and sometimes I would get to the end of the baffle and the baffle would be an inch short. I made it work, but I think a roller foot might have helped this a little.
This was definitely made easier by the no-see-um baffles: I realize how much more difficult it would have been to do a sewn-through quilt with no baffles. Im also very glad I had pre- hemmed the baffles: that made this part a whole lot easier.

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Where everything else has been using black thread, I went with a contrasting bright green thread to highlight the direction of the baffles against the black shirred liner.

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Here you can see the finished product showing the shirred liner, shell, and baffles. Everything actually lined up really well and again I'm glad I put the time into the planning.

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[shipsgunner]

Fantastic work! I'm very impressed. Thanks for taking the time to share with us. By the way... Dig the stripes!

[Uphill]

I sure am glad lil Dutch pulled your number from that stuff sack. I don't know that my description, or project would have been this involved.

You can almost see the finish line! We will all be there to cheer you on in the final stretch.