DIY OutdoorINK Synthetic Summer Top Quilt ("Tiger Stripes")
Type/Rating: 40-degree F synthetic top quilt
Outer Shell: RBTR OutdoorINK 0.9 oz MEMBRANE 15 poly taffeta in "Tiger Stripes" (Bengal)
Inner Shell: RBTR 1.1 oz ripstop nylon in Black
Insulation: Climashield Apex 3.6
Construction: Rectangular (no taper), snap footbox with drawcord closure and security tie
Finished Size: Approx. 80" long x 57" wide
Weight: 20.5 oz (580 grams)
"Game-changer" is a phrase you often hear applied to Ripstop by the Roll's OutdoorINK product line of custom on-demand digitally printed high-tech outdoor fabrics and components since its introduction last year. Now in the hands of enthusiastic DIYers and cottage vendors for many months, we have seen a growing wellspring of colorfully patterned OutdoorINK gear -- in patterns from subtle camouflages to wild paisleys -- grace the pages of Hammock Forums and crop up on the trail.
I am fortunate to have been part of Kyle's cadre of OutdoorINK designers from the inception of the product line, and I find designing outdoor fabric patterns for Ripstop by the Roll to be one of the more rewarding ongoing projects in which I'm involved as a graphic designer. I try to put a lot of time, research, and creative energy into developing original patterns specifically designed for the OutdoorINK product line, not only because I find it to be a fascinating medium with unique design challenges but also because I am continually inspired by the wonderful projects shared here by the endlessly creative HF DIY community.
I made this synthetic summer top quilt from an RBTR OutdoorINK fabric printed with my own original design. It is a pattern simply called "Tiger Stripes", the first in a series of animal hide patterns on which I've been working over the winter; unlike so many commercially available patterns that merely suggest or approximate tiger stripes, for this graphic I studied and vectorized detailed photographs of an actual Sumatran tiger skin to try to capture the unique fingerprint-like pattern of an individual animal representative of this species. Presently, there are six color variants for this design on the RBTR website. (This specific color variant is called Bengal.) The "Tiger Stripes" pattern is an original full-width linear yard design without repeats or reflections; it was vectorized by hand with a high level of detail and individual variation designed to give it depth, texture, and character. They were designed expressly for RBTR's OutdoorINK product line with versatility in mind, and they should be suitable for hammocks, quilts, stuff sacks, or any other hammock and outdoor gear applications you can dream up.
The RBTR MEMBRANE 15 poly taffeta upon which the design is printed is a great fabric. It's lightweight (under 1 oz per sq yd), calendared, downproof, and perfect for crisp digital printing. It makes a beautiful and practical outer shell for a top quilt or underquilt. It is extremely easy to sew compared to other lightweight calendared fabrics with which I've worked.
My synthetic top quilt design was very simple, but I did strive for precision, good cosmetics, and nice practical details. I cut my materials to appropriate dimensions as follows:
* MEMBRANE 15 outer shell 60" wide x 86" long
* 1.1 oz ripstop nylon inner shell 59" wide x 92" long
* 1.5" grosgrain bases (2) for snap footbox each 16" long
* 1" grosgrain security ties (2) each 20" long
I wanted to build this top quilt with integral end channels to form the footbox and cinch the neck, so I cut the inner nylon shell long and pre-sewed the two short edges. To form a channel on each end, I folded the corners of the shell blank in 5" toward the "right" side (when finished) and clipped it into place with quilting clips. Then I folded the entire channel in half parallel to the short edge of the blank, forming a 2.5" wide tube for the drawcord, and stitched it into place with a single row of Mara 70 thread. I repeated the process for the other end of the inner shell blank to form the second integral channel.
After sewing, the inner shell blank was 82" x 60", which left me with an inch or so on each side to wrap up around the Climashield insulation during asssembly as a "glide strip" for the sewing machine presser foot. In similar fashion, the outer shell of MEMBRANE 15 was 2" longer than necesary on each short edge to provide a similar excess to aid the progress of the presser foot.
To assemble the quilt, I laid the nylon inner shell blank face up with the end channels folded inboard toward the center of the fabric. Then I positioned the four grosgrain ribbon pieces and secured them to the shell blank with masking tape, taking care to keep them out of areas where my seams would run. Next, I laid the MEMBRANE 15 outer shell face down on top of the inner shell blank, allowing the "glide strips" to run past the top and bottom edges. I positioned the Climashield Apex insulation on the top of the materials stack, folded the strips up around the entire perimeter, save for a 20" wide section at the midpoint of the foot edge of the quilt, and pinned the layers in place with extreme care every 4" along the edges. I took the pinned quilt to the sewing machine and, starting at one side of the open foot-end gap, stitched clockwise around the entire perimeter of the quilt about 1" in from the edge, making sure to avoid puckers and to capture a good thickness of insulation as I went. Then I inverted the quilt and sewed across the foot-end gap to achieve closure. I finished off the footbox with a series of four KAM snaps at 5" intervals, and I threaded drawcords through the two end channels, installing cord locks to allow for cinching.
Total build time was a surprisingly efficient 3 hours. Project cost came in at about $85 for all materials. Weight comes in well under 21 ounces, and the snap/drawcord footbox gives me the flexibility to use this quilt as a casual blanket (laid flat) when I'm not on the trail. This was a fun, easy project, and I expect this quilt to serve me very well for three seasons this year. It will be the ideal complement to my matching OutdoorINK HyperD hammock and OutdoorINK MEMBRANE 15 underquilt protector.
Please feel free to inquire or comment below, and thanks for reading this project report.
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Originally Posted by mathineer
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