New karo step top quilt in the works

**ksbcrocks** · 06-19-2015, 20:07

I never thought that I would take on a down quilt, but after watching kduvey's instructional video I changed my mind. I ordered some membrane 10 from RBTR and some 800 fill WR down from downlinens.com. It came in earlier than I expected and I got started on it today.

I drew up my plans on paper first, then made the plans to scale in Google Sketchup. I did this because I decided to try and project the template for the baffles on the wall and just trace it to the fabric.

Once I used a tape measure to make sure I had the projector setup perfectly I taped up my fabric to the wall and got at it with a washable fabric pencil.

Doing this made it really easy to make sure all my baffles were going to line up perfectly.

Next I needed to cut my baffle material since I didn't want to put in a separate order to Dutch just for the precut material. I ordered 1 yard of .67 noseeum along with my order from RBTR and cut that in to 2.5 inch strips. I just folded over the fabric until it was just a few inches wide and used a rotary mat to make the cuts. I had considered ordering the NS50 to use as baffle material but I wasn't sure how easy it would be to work with in small strips compared to the .67. And I think it's like 3 dollars more for less than half a gram of weight savings so. That actually kind of seems worth it now...

This method worked pretty well and I got some really nice baffle material with little effort.

Now I'm just waiting on my microtex needles to come in the mail so I can start sewing. I can never find them in any local stores.

Some more information about the quilt and sizing. I'm shooting for around 20* F with this one. It's going to have a sewn in foot box with a shape yet to be determined. The raw length is 76" long. The width is 56" at the top with a full taper to 44". I went a little wider because I do have to go to ground occasionally and I want the extra coverage. I'm 6 feet tall and around 190 pounds.

I like the feel and color of this fabric a lot. I didn't think the lack of ripstop grid would help the feel that much, but oh man what a difference. This is much smoother than the Argon 67 on my other quilts. The inner shell is charcoal grey and the outer is olive yellow. These colors are so awesome to see in person.

I'll upload the template picture when I get a chance in case anyone wants it. I can also send the sketch up file to any interested. Thanks for reading!

**Michael_qrt** · 06-19-2015, 23:56

Looks good so far, and that's an awesome way of marking out the fabric. How much down are you planning to use? Also a fine universal needle works well for these fabrics as well in my experience, just in case you can't wait to get going.

**ksbcrocks** · 06-20-2015, 04:20

Originally Posted by Michael_qrt

Looks good so far, and that's an awesome way of marking out the fabric. How much down are you planning to use? Also a fine universal needle works well for these fabrics as well in my experience, just in case you can't wait to get going.

Thanks! I think somewhere between 12 and 14 ounces of down will get the job done. Good thing with the karo step is I can put some in or take some out without much trouble

I usually use a universal needle on these projects, but I tried the needles I have on this fabric and my machine was skipping stitches. I'll have to wait...

**slugbait** · 06-20-2015, 11:06

A quilting shop might have microtex needles.

**boulderv7** · 06-20-2015, 12:10

That is a cool way to transfer lines. I wish I had a wall with enough space on it to do that.

+1 on the quilt shop stocking those needles. Thats where I get mine.

**kduvey** · 06-20-2015, 18:54

Looks awesome dude. Glad my video provided you the motivation! looks like you're doing an awesome job... taking your time and being patient and meticulous - thats more important than skill/experience with these things and will lead to excellent results.

Really cool idea of hanging it on the wall. I think thats a great idea for people who don't have nice hardwood floors and open space.

Yep, sometimes quit shops have the microtex needles, but they never seem to have them in the really small size I prefer for these 10d fabrics. Best just order them online. Get a bunch because they don't last long, its not uncommon for me to go through a whole pack of them (5) for each quilt.

I might also add I think your overall design, from the dimensions of the quilt to the karo layout, is near spot on. It's exactly how I would do it. I'd put 14oz of that 800fp down in there and you'll be happy. Do a circle foot box and sew it up 24-30 inches, it will be good.

I recently make a top quilt with these exact same colors (and dimensions!), except I put the grey on the outside and the olive yellow on the inside. It looks awesome.

**ksbcrocks** · 06-20-2015, 22:29

Thanks for the tips on the quilting shop. The closest one is 30 minutes from me, but it's still the closest place with sewing supplies. I considered driving over there today, but I'm glad I didn't. My needles came in way earlier than expected! I'm working on baffles now. This is going quicker than I expected, but still pretty slow.

Kduvey, Yep I saw yours! I think this charcoal grey is significantly darker than what you used (and darker than I was expecting), but as soon as I opened the package I knew it was a good choice. I made a pillow and a down hat out of some of the scraps while I was waiting for the needles just so I could get a feel for the fabric and I love the contrast.

**ksbcrocks** · 06-23-2015, 06:40

It is finished!

Stuffing the down was way messier than I anticipated. It took me about an hour. It would have been much nicer if my down had been packed in smaller bags instead of a large 1 pound bag.

I expect this should take me down a little lower than my goal, which is fine with me. It has more loft than my 20* Phoenix.

Final weight is 19 ounces. I can't wait until winter!