OK, I now have over a dozen DIY synthetic hammock quilts of one sort or another under my belt, including 20F, 30F, 40F and 50F top quilts made with Climashield Apex isulation ranging in weight from 2.5 to 7.5 ounces per square yard; I've done a number of zipper/drawcord closures, but for this wintertime top quilt it is the first time I've attempted a sewn footbox...
What a nightmare!
I spent almost as much time last night picking stitches out of my first version of the footbox as I did sewing it together in the first place. I had to be extra-careful too, since I had chosen nicer and more expensive materials for this quilt than I usually do -- a Multicam Epsilon 1.55 oz outer shell, an Argon 90 0.9 oz inner shell, and Climashield Apex 7.5 oz insulation in between.
Long story short, my initial design of the top quilt's footbox was errant in its construction and left me with cold spots where the insulation fell away almost vompletely inside the shells because it wasn't properly tacked in place. I remedied this in the second version by adding an additional shaped layer of CS 3.6 in the footbox inside the 7.5, which I basted in by hand -- making the footbox super-warm with just over 11 ounces per square yard of fill and nearly 3" of loft!
Here is my result...
Type/Rating: 20-degree F synthetic top quilt
Outer Shell: Epsilon 1.55 oz ripstop nylon in Multicam
Inner Shell: Dutch Argon 90 0.9 oz ripstop nylon Coyote Brown
Construction: Rectangular (no taper), rectangular sewn footbox
Overall Length: 78"
Overall Width: 58"
Torso Insulation: CS 7.5
Footbox Height: 13"
Footbox Width: 15"
Footbox Insulation: CS 7.5 plus additional CS 3.6 (double layer)
Weight: 39 oz(!)
(Details on construction and lessons learned to be posted here later...)
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