The GEMINI Underquilt: $65 DIY, No-Sew, All-Season, Down, Convertible

**jdy98p** · 01-26-2018, 22:59

Originally Posted by TxAggie

You “could” make it no sew by either stagger overlapping 2 full sized CDT Castors. You’d have a center section that is double layered, but it would work.

True, but at that point i think the “no sew” may need to just become “little sew”

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**MoniqueWS** · 01-30-2018, 13:28

This is awesome! Thank you.

Am I the only person having a hard time with the KAM Snaps? I can get them on the grosgrain ribbon just fine but shaking down the down and applying them to the quilt has not worked out for me at all. I have read and read as many posts about this as I can and it appears I am the only person struggling with the layers or ribbon and quilt. I ordered some long shank snaps hoping to resolve this issue.

**leiavoia** · 01-30-2018, 13:41

A few tips from the trenches:

The corner of the blanket has several extra layers of fabric folded up inside that you will need to carefully dodge. That means the corner snaps are going to the most difficult.

Don't punch the snap directly through the seams or directly on the bound edges of the blanket. You want to set back about 1/2" from the edge and just to the side of any seams.

Some colors of snaps are more brittle than others. I ordered bronze and i was breaking 2 out of 3 of them. I quit and went back to gray.

**Tiger_993** · 01-31-2018, 13:41

Originally Posted by MoniqueWS

This is awesome! Thank you.

Am I the only person having a hard time with the KAM Snaps? I can get them on the grosgrain ribbon just fine but shaking down the down and applying them to the quilt has not worked out for me at all. I have read and read as many posts about this as I can and it appears I am the only person struggling with the layers or ribbon and quilt. I ordered some long shank snaps hoping to resolve this issue.

You should be able to press the Kam snap's pointed tip through the material with just a small bit of effort. The technique I used was to first press the pointed tip through the grosgrain and seat the ribbon fully on the snap, then I would press the pointed tip through both layers of the throw. The tips on my Kam snaps were quite sharp and went through the fabric without a fuss.

**leiavoia** · 01-31-2018, 14:45

And if it still isn't going all the way through, then you could omit folding the ribbon back on itself when attaching to the blanket. It will hold with just a single layer. I had to do this on my last project because I was trying to punch through some tough reflective ribbon and two layers was not going to happen.

**MoniqueWS** · 01-31-2018, 16:55

Originally Posted by Tiger_993

You should be able to press the Kam snap's pointed tip through the material with just a small bit of effort. The technique I used was to first press the pointed tip through the grosgrain and seat the ribbon fully on the snap, then I would press the pointed tip through both layers of the throw. The tips on my Kam snaps were quite sharp and went through the fabric without a fuss.

Thank you for the response. This is not my issue. :-)

**MoniqueWS** · 01-31-2018, 16:59

Originally Posted by leiavoia

A few tips from the trenches:
The corner of the blanket has several extra layers of fabric folded up inside that you will need to carefully dodge. That means the corner snaps are going to the most difficult.
Don't punch the snap directly through the seams or directly on the bound edges of the blanket. You want to set back about 1/2" from the edge and just to the side of any seams.

This was my issue. I moved the snaps in beyond 1/4" from the edge of the throw (moved in about 1/2+") helped. Thank you.

**Hang'emHigh** · 02-01-2018, 23:13

If I want to just use Castor as a top quilt with the tetra-box design, I would leave out the 1 snaps in the design, correct? I already made the Pollux and I'm loving it! Thanks for posting this and for all of the helpful ideas.

**leiavoia** · 02-02-2018, 01:22

If I were making just a top quilt, I would just sew it up and be done with it. Check out the "Show off your DIY costco quilts" thread for better designs for stand alone top quilts.

**leiavoia** · 02-04-2018, 00:24

Because the amount of info on the website can be sometimes be intimidating, I made a quick reference GEMINI Underquilt Construction Guide (1.0MB PDF). Prints on standard US Letter 8.5x11 to help you as you put the quilt together.