The Hygge Hugger --the cheapskate's synthetic underquilt (under $25)

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"Hygge (pronounced hue-guh not hoo-gah) is a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary as cosy, charming or special. Some also refer to hygge as an “art of creating intimacy” (either with yourself, friends and your home). While there’s no one English word to describe hygge, several can be used interchangeably to describe the idea of hygge such as cosiness, charm, happiness, ‘contentness’, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, kinship, and simpleness.

Hygge literally only requires consciousness, a certain slowness, and the ability to
not just be present – but recognize and enjoy the present."*

If hammocking does not embody that last sentence, I don't know what does!

The Hygge Hugger is an attempt to create a low-cost synthetic underquilt using something that is at least as available as the Costco down throw (CDT) for those who are allergic to down or want an alternative. It's also a good choice for the beginner who wants to try a DIY project that is even less expensive than the CDT. It uses a product from Ikea, which has stores world-wide and thus is available to even more people than the CDT. I saw these in the store when I accompanied a friend, didn't see that anyone had ever used one for hammocking, and decided to give it a try.

This project uses the lowest cost lightweight comforter from Ikea, the Myskgras:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/pr...gras#/40271891

Myskgras in packages.jpg

The twin size costs $7.99, and is listed in the catalog as 64" x 86" and weighing 23 ounces. Twelve ounces of this are reported to be the insulation material, presumably the rest is the “fabric” polypropylene covering plus thread. (On my scale the twin weighed 25 ounces, but it was still in its stiff plastic bag.)
The full/queen size costs $9.99, listed at 86" x86", weighing 30 ounces, 17 oz being filling (insulation).

Supplies you will need:

• the Myskgras, your choice of size
• Ripstop nylon, about 2-1/2 yards for twin size (60" wide--wider would eliminate patching)
• Grosgrain ribbon, about 25 feet
• shock cord
• cord locks

My hope is that by showing what I have done so far (and periodically updating as I make more versions), others will also try this out to improve and innovate the design and options and that you will post your experiences here as well. As of now, I have made one Hygge Hugger with a twin comforter, and will make another with a second one, using the knowledge I gained making this one to improve it. I will also make a larger quilt from the full/queen size, perhaps to be used as an outer layer for the smaller one, stackable depending on the weather.

*from http://hyggehouse.com/hygge

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I decided to fold the comforter in half, to create a double layer UQ approximately 43" x 64". The quilt has lines of stitching from side to side to stabilize the insulation. Since folding would create a double layer of the "fabric" in the middle, it seemed redundant so I chose to remove the "fabric" from one side of it, thereby also removing some weight. I carefully used scissors to slit the fabric away in between the lines of stitching, thereby removing long strips of the polypropylene (this fabric is sort of like those lightweight reusable shopping bags). The removed strips weighed about 5 ounces.

One problem is that when the insulation is exposed, it is quite fragile. In the photo below you can see near the top a section is flipped up, and below that is a spot where a piece of insulation popped out completely. Fortunately, it is quite simple to “repair” these issues, and once it is folded over on itself it no longer seems to shift around. However, if I make another folded version of the Hugger, I may not remove the “extra” fabric to simplify the process and avoid the potential for damage.

Issues w quilt fluff.jpg

After removing the fabric, I folded the quilt slightly off center to avoid having the lines of stitching lay atop one another, in case it would create lines of cold when in use. Once the quilt had been out of the bag for a couple of days, it lofted enough that I don’t think that this would actually be an issue. However, folding the quilt without removing the fabric may allow for cold spots, so I would offset the fold in that case. To hold it together, I hand-stitched the edges as seen in the photo below – this was quick, only needs to be basted, as the entire quilt will be machine stitched around the edges shortly.

Handstitching edges.jpg

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After a couple of days out of the packaging, the quilt lofted up quite a bit – I was surprised at its puffiness: at least 1-1/2”. This is more than the SnugPak Jungle Blanket that I recently turned into an UQ, which cost a bit more than the Myskgras!

Loft measurement.jpg

Had a remnant of HyperD ripstop, and pinned it to the quilt. I considered leaving the polypropylene inner layer exposed, but quickly realized that out in nature, lots of stuff would immediately stick to that fabric, so ended up finding a nylon scrap to cover the inner layer as well. Here’s a photo with the HyperD pinned on before I added the nylon inner cover.

Edges pinned before stitching.jpg

Once the cover fabric was pinned on, I stitched around the entire perimeter to hold it together. Because the edges were raw and shock cord channels stop short of the corners, I bound the corners with grosgrain. (Yes, the lining does say “we’re the inside guys”!)

grosgrain corner.jpg

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[Placeholder for continuation -- photos have not yet "synced" to my laptop!! ]

[geneaut]

Any more updates on this project ?

[P-Dub]

Why yes I do! Thanks for asking. I had forgotten that I never posted the rest of the pix.

I added the channels for shock cord using grosgrain (I think I will make ripstop channels in the future b/c it's lighter weight)

grosgrain channels.jpg

I decided to "quilt" it with ties to stabilize the fluff inside, just in case...

Quilted.jpg

Here's what it looked like on the initial hang

initial hang (cropped).jpg

And here it is on the Chameleon it was designed for (yes those colors were requested!), along with a SnugPak blanket UQ. (apologies for diagonal photo)

on Chameleon (cropped).jpg

The above photo has DIY "triangle thingies" to help the SnugPak well, snug up properly

What I don't have is a report on how well this works, how low a temperature it can handle, etc. etc. The person I made it for last fall was suddenly no longer hanging outside, so sadly I cannot tell you how warm it is!

It did, however, fluff up even more -- the final loft was 2"

Final loft.jpg

I am hoping to make another one or two of these in different sizes (perhaps one as a wooki-like UQ) in the next couple of months, and when I do, I will report on those as well. I'll probably use KamSnaps so they can snap together for stacking!

[kitsapcowboy]

Beautiful work and an excellent write-up. Well done. Your modifications were well thought out indeed.

This project is much like a high-end version of my Cowboy Cheapaskate summer UQ with buckets of Scandinavian sophistocation -- and no crappy components from Wal-Mart!

What were the final dimensions of the insulated area, total finished weight, and pack size when fully compressed?

[P-Dub]

Thank you KC for the kind words. Also, thanks for the link to your low-cost UQ project, which I did not see before. It seemed like someone must have tried to do a cheap synthetic UQ! but I didn't find yours before.

I will need to corral my friend and get final dimensions, final weight, and actually stuff it in a sack to give you full specs! (It was being hauled back and forth in a suitcase until it wasn't, so it has never been out in the woods -- just suburban hangs in the Boston area).

EDIT: One other note on this product. I took a piece of the "fabric" cover out into the yard to drag around on the ground to see how much crud it would collect... and... nothing. Grass, leaves, weeds, spruce needles, sticks, nothing stuck to it. Presumably one could use it without enclosing it in ripstop (at least as far as collecting unwanted natural trash), though the durability is not great.