Great video. I now have a new appreciation of why these quilts are in the hundreds of dollars. Had no idea the baffling was that complicated. Very nice work. Funny you opened the down bag and looked at it like it was nuclear material. Bet that stuff gets everywhere. You make this look so easy.
+akayaker Thanks. It's nothing too difficult, but it takes patience and time. I've worked with down enough to learn that everything should be done slowly (it's amazing how much wind you create grabbing for something).
Best ever of the DIY videos on quilt making out there! Could use a little more details only because I like more details :-) But now I can see from your vid what a baffle looks like and how you stuff the down in, PLUS where to get a good price on down. So far Wilderness Logic is the most inexpensive at this time (out of 3 popular places for down that I could find on the net). One thing I did learn is that making your own quilt is really a love for making things, because the cost saving I calculated was between $50 - $75 (maybe $100 if you don't have to get any other supplies other than the fabrics & down). The least was $50 without any other extra expense put out for supplies like thread etc. (btw helps too if you have a sewing machine ;-) Was I right that some cottage vendors can sell them at a fairly decent price? (If you shop around??)
L Drake Thanks. Yes, cost savings over an off-the-shelf product is minimal, but by DIY you can customize a piece of gear. For most of my down projects (a winter top quilt ~10 degrees, a 7/8 (full for me) winter underquilt, down hat and summer top quilt) I used some down that was harvested from old jackets and new puffer jackets, so that saved a fair amount of $. It is definitely an advanced project, but doable. There are a lot of vendors to choose from, and I don't think any of them overcharge. Most will run sales once or twice a year. You can also keep a lookout for used gear.
+chris calabrese Thanks! It really will depend on the size of your quilt and the fill power of the down you are using, but somewhere in the 6 - 8 oz range if you are using 900 - 750 fill power down. A higher fill power will need less weight to achieve the same loft.
North Country Outdoor Guys Thanks. I never really thought about it. One part that I didn't film that is a PITA is separating the down into individual baggies with the correct amount of down. I'm not sure I would do it any cheaper than the cottage vendors that are currently making quilts.
Did you get your down from Wilderness Logics? I see they sell it in 1 ounce bags. And its from non-live birds which I'm more comfortable with. I have a problem with live plucking.
North Country Outdoor Guys I got my down some time ago, and yes I got it from Wilderness Logics (a pound). This quilt was filled with the leftover from a winter underquilt I made plus some scavenged from a JCP Puffer jacket that I had picked up a while back when they were selling them cheap.
+daniel burgess One bag in each channel. I bought down in bulk and packaged Ziploc bags with the correct amount for each channel. In my case they ranged from 13 grams to 16 grams. I figured out everything in an excel spreadsheet and calculated down to a tenth of a gram, but in the final fillings I rounded to the nearest gram since that's as accurate as my scale can measure.
+daniel burgess You're welcome. If you haven't checked hammockforums.net, they have an excellent DIY section. I have several threads there on quilts. My first one didn't have any video, just still pictures, but if you're like me you like to research a lot. Let me know how it goes.
Great video. I now have a new appreciation of why these quilts are in the hundreds of dollars. Had no idea the baffling was that complicated. Very nice work. Funny you opened the down bag and looked at it like it was nuclear material. Bet that stuff gets everywhere. You make this look so easy.
+akayaker Thanks. It's nothing too difficult, but it takes patience and time. I've worked with down enough to learn that everything should be done slowly (it's amazing how much wind you create grabbing for something).
Very nicely and thoroughly done. Thank you for sharing and I hope your quilt serves you well.
M00nsplitter Thanks, I get great satisfaction from making my own gear.
Best ever of the DIY videos on quilt making out there! Could use a little more details only because I like more details :-) But now I can see from your vid what a baffle looks like and how you stuff the down in, PLUS where to get a good price on down. So far Wilderness Logic is the most inexpensive at this time (out of 3 popular places for down that I could find on the net).
One thing I did learn is that making your own quilt is really a love for making things, because the cost saving I calculated was between $50 - $75 (maybe $100 if you don't have to get any other supplies other than the fabrics & down). The least was $50 without any other extra expense put out for supplies like thread etc. (btw helps too if you have a sewing machine ;-)
Was I right that some cottage vendors can sell them at a fairly decent price? (If you shop around??)
L Drake Thanks. Yes, cost savings over an off-the-shelf product is minimal, but by DIY you can customize a piece of gear. For most of my down projects (a winter top quilt ~10 degrees, a 7/8 (full for me) winter underquilt, down hat and summer top quilt) I used some down that was harvested from old jackets and new puffer jackets, so that saved a fair amount of $. It is definitely an advanced project, but doable. There are a lot of vendors to choose from, and I don't think any of them overcharge. Most will run sales once or twice a year. You can also keep a lookout for used gear.
Thanks for the video. Very informative. In your experience, how many ounces of down would I need for a 40 degree quilt?
+chris calabrese Thanks! It really will depend on the size of your quilt and the fill power of the down you are using, but somewhere in the 6 - 8 oz range if you are using 900 - 750 fill power down. A higher fill power will need less weight to achieve the same loft.
Extremely impressive work! Do you take commissions?
North Country Outdoor Guys Thanks. I never really thought about it. One part that I didn't film that is a PITA is separating the down into individual baggies with the correct amount of down. I'm not sure I would do it any cheaper than the cottage vendors that are currently making quilts.
Did you get your down from Wilderness Logics? I see they sell it in 1 ounce bags. And its from non-live birds which I'm more comfortable with. I have a problem with live plucking.
North Country Outdoor Guys I got my down some time ago, and yes I got it from Wilderness Logics (a pound). This quilt was filled with the leftover from a winter underquilt I made plus some scavenged from a JCP Puffer jacket that I had picked up a while back when they were selling them cheap.
what size bags are those and how many did you put in each channel?
+daniel burgess One bag in each channel. I bought down in bulk and packaged Ziploc bags with the correct amount for each channel. In my case they ranged from 13 grams to 16 grams. I figured out everything in an excel spreadsheet and calculated down to a tenth of a gram, but in the final fillings I rounded to the nearest gram since that's as accurate as my scale can measure.
How wide and long are your channels? thanks.
+daniel burgess I made them 6" wide and they varied from 40" to 50". Wider at the shoulders, narrower at the foot.
if I were to go by your measurements, how many ounces of down would I need to complete the quilt?
+daniel burgess I used 6 oz of 800fp down.
ok that's all I need. thanks for all your help and for your informational video.
+daniel burgess You're welcome. If you haven't checked hammockforums.net, they have an excellent DIY section. I have several threads there on quilts. My first one didn't have any video, just still pictures, but if you're like me you like to research a lot. Let me know how it goes.