DIY 6 oz Climashield UQ - Questions

[mathineer]

I bit the bullet yesterday and ordered an UQ kit and some extra stuff from MYOG. Received notice from Dutch that it shipped today. I hope to finish it before 1/6 as there is a scheduled hang I hope to attend. I've read a bunch of threads on this forum about making top and under quilts, but I have a few nagging questions (that have probably already been answered somewhere but I missed it). Also, I'd appreciate any advice the more experienced diy'ers may provide.

The instructions

http://community.makeyourgear.com/20...ld-underquilt/

specify cut dimensions of 64" long by 52" wide. The kit provides 2 2.5 yd sheets of fabric and 2.5 yards of Climashield (I chose the 6 oz), shock cord, cord locks, and quilt hangers. It calls out the standard inside-out construction approach with channels for the shock cord between the layers. Stitch this stack first, and then add the CS and stitch it. Then turn it inside out and stitch the final unstitched section. It calls for hanging by the shock cord running through the long channels.

1. Width: Hammock Gear and Loco Libre quilts have a standard width of 44 and 45" respectively. Is that wide enough, or should I make it a bit wider? One thing I notice is that the the fabric is 58" wide with 57" usable specified. The channels are specified at 3", so I wouldn't be able to get two 3" long channels out of the usable width if I cut to 52" wide as called out in the instructions.

2. Length: I'm 5' 8" (68") tall. I realize that TQ are usually recommended to be a bit longer than your height, but what is a good length in a full length UQ? I'm inclined to make it a couple of inches or so over the 68". Advice?

3. Sewing Gap: I'm trying to visualize sewing the final gap closed after inside outing the quilt. Does it pucker out like an outie? Or should I try to tuck it in and sew that?

4. Suspension: It looks like most UQs have a second (or perhaps primary) set of shock cord for hanging the quilt at the long ends. This is usually attached to the quilt by grosgrain sewed to the outside ends of the long ends via a lineloc. I bought some of those and some grosgrain. Is this recommended? Also, it looks like some quilts actually hang by both. Is this recommended?

5. Fabric Dimensions/Differential Cut?: Is it worthwhile to make the fabric slightly longer and wider than the CS to avoid compressing it? Or maybe a slight differential cut? I estimate the loft of the 6 oz CS at just under 1.5". If I were to try diff cut, I'm estimating about 1 to 2" difference in widths.

6. Sewing with CS: I've read all sorts of stuff about sewing with CS. Some prefer up, some down. Some add a strip of fabric, newspaper, tp etc over the CS to keep it from snagging. Some use a walking foot for the sewing machine (thread injester). I'll probably play around with some of this prior to getting started, but any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions.

mathineer

[kitsapcowboy]

All responses below IMHO; YMMV...

1) Width on a flat-cut synthetic hammock underquilt is largely subject to personal choice. It has to be wide enough to cover all the occupant's contact area with the hammock body and not slip off the occupant the hammock when under tension. It only really has to wrap around your body enough to ensconce your shoulders and hips, and the top quilt can do the rest. If you don't sleep like a mummy in a sarcophagus, if you sleep restlessly, or if you enjoy lounging in your hammock in more open positions (e.g., "Figure 4" legs), you may appreciate a wider underquilt. I have fairly long femurs and like the option to move around in the hammock and still stay warm, so I personally prefer a 50" wise UQ, although I have made do just fine with ones as narrow as 38" in a gathered-end hammock. Basically, if you're willing to suck it up and deal with the added weight and bulk (the latter often more problematic), you can choose as wide an underquilt as you want to maximize your comfort and freedom. Most people compromise a little to keep the size and weight manageable.

2) Unless it pushes you over your limits on size and weight in combination with your chosen width and temperature rating, going with a full-length underquilt eliminates most of the "fiddle factor" and complexities of hanging and using your UQ. Of course, "full-length" sometimes means different things to different hammock campers. For me, I use the height of the occupant plus 4" to 6" as a good rule of thumb for a true zero-hassle length; you just hang it, cinch the end up a bit, and get in your hammock. If you're looking to save weight or pack space, you can measure from your chin to the bottoms of your feet, and an inch or two, and make that your length; it would still be considered "full-length" because, as long as you're wearing a hat and/or using a pillow, that length of UQ still wouldn't require any supplemental insulation, like a foot pad. The more weight-conscious will choose some sort of fractional-length underquilt. The next size down, more or less a three-quarter UQ, covers you from your shoulders to your calves or ankles; it may or may not have sliding channel primary suspension to position it along the hammock (and your) body, but it will require some head-foot adjustment, as well as a pad under your feet (which needs to be factored into the weight). Truw gram-shavers favor half underquilts, which are trimmed down to cover from your shoulders to somewhere on your thighs; the hardiest half UQ users make do with just a foot pad under their heels, but others pack a larger piece of thin closed-cell foam or reflectix to insulate their lower legs. For me, the colder the expected conditions, the more crucial a no-brainer full-length underquilt becomes. Underquilt length ultimately boils down to a balance between size/weight and ease of use, but if cold spots here and there don't bother you, you can definitely push the envelope.

3) if you minimize the opening left unsewn on the bottom edge of your inside-out quilt to around 12" to 16" wide, you can simply fold the raw edges of the shells into the seam after you invert it and sew a short, neat row of stitches on your machine to close it, or blind stitch it by hand if you're worried about aesthetics.

4) If you're going for a dead simple UQ with fixed-point primary suspension at the corners (like an AHE Jarbidge), you won't need any secondary suspension. Conversely, if your build includes sliding side channels for your primary suspension, you will probably want to add those LineLocs at the corners as a secondary to combat the dreaded "accordion effect". The heavier your full-channel UQ is, the more indispensable secondary suspension becomes.

5) I don't really think differential cuts are worth doing on Climashield underquilts with insulation weights under 6 oz/sq yd, but you will see some of the real craftsman cottage vendors (like George Carr at Loco Libre Gear) accomplish exquisite differential cuts on synthetic quilts of all ratings. If you think your sewing and arithmetic skills are up to the task, go for it, but one of the upsides to building a Climashield quilt is that the same springiness that makes it less compressible in a stuff sack makes it more forgiving of a flat-cut shell in terms of thermal performance that a down quilt with the same rating would be.

6) I have built several CS quilts and tried all of the tricks you mentioned (plus a few more). If there is enough width to the fabric, I have always had the most success with cutting one of the shell blanks with an extra 3" on the perimeter and wrapping that up around the insulation on top when I am pinning the edges. In lieu of that, I take extra strips of matching scrap fabric and pin that on top of the Climashield as a "glide strip" for my machine's presser foot. A walking foot is a luxury for this kind of project but not a necessity. Pins, on the other hand, are a necessity, and securing your material stack every 3" to 4" along your edges will aid you greatly in your Climashield underquilt assembly.

HTH. Good luck.

[james_e84]

This is how I made my first UQ, and two more since...

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...eld-Underquilt

1. I started with 48" wide and ended up with about 45", seems plenty wide for me.

2. I'm about 5'10", 190lbs, I went with 72" raw length simply because it was 2 even yards of material, the finished product seems to be plenty of coverage.

3. A 12" gap should be plenty to get it turned right-sized out. It can be a little frustrating getting the final gap closed up, just take your time.

4. I added channels along both sides but have never used them, I hang mine from the grosgrain in the corners with no problems.

5. I did cut my outer shell larger than my inner shell and insulation, I just doubled the loft of the insulation and added that to my dimensions. I am glad I did.

6. I like to sew my channels and grosgrain to the inner shell first, and then pin my stack together, I also sew climashield down with no issues.

Have fun!

[jellyfish]

You can watch me sew 6 oz CS here.

https://youtu.be/5UQVLGdTxH

Definitely baste first and put the CS against the feed dogs.


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[ylnfrt]

You can watch me sew 6 oz CS here.

https://youtu.be/5UQVLGdTxH

Definitely baste first and put the CS against the feed dogs.
Jellyfish- your vid link "does not exist".???

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[mathineer]

You can watch me sew 6 oz CS here.

https://youtu.be/5UQVLGdTxH

Definitely baste first and put the CS against the feed dogs.


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When I click on the link it tells me that the video does not exist.

[CharlieChan]

You might want to give this link a try, it is well worth watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UQVLGdTxHs&t=514s

[mathineer]

You might want to give this link a try, it is well worth watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UQVLGdTxHs&t=514s

Ok, that link works. I got a little lost with the clew suspension parts (I know, I just don't have a "clew"), but if I watch it a few more times, I think I can figure it out. Thanks for the working link.

mathineer

[jellyfish]

Thanks for reposting my video. Maybe the link didnt work because I posted with my phone.




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[jellyfish]

Just take your time, use pins, and don't tug on the CS when sewing. You'll do fine.


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