DIY Apex Quilt Complete

WoodBow

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Jul 21, 2015
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After I discovered Apex insulation on here, I decided I suddenly needed a quilt. I have been running a very cheap mummy bag because I did not want to drop the cash for a nice sleep system. But if I could have a high quality quilt for $50, I was in. I stop by hancock fabrics about once a month to check out there "spot the bolt" sale. It is just a bunch of random bolts of fabric stacked up with various colored stickers that indicate the percent it is on sale up to 90%. Guess what 90% off of $10 a yard fabric is? Dang near free. I even caught this fabric at 80 and 90% off and then 50% off of that due to another sale. I just bought the entire bolts of the fabrics I liked. I had no idea what I was going to do with them yet but when you find good quality nylon for 50 cents a yard, you better stock up. So my shell is a lightweight water resistant nylon taffeta.

I had planned on using 5 oz apex, as it is rated to 20 or 30 degrees I believe. Upper 20s is as cold as we typically see. However, I let someone on here talk me into going with 7.5 oz. I ordered 3 yards from rip stop by the roll.

Some of yall who have seen my other projects on here know that I am not new to sewing. I have gotten spoiled to working with heavier material like cordura and I did not enjoy working with this thin stuff. Holding all that insulation in place on slippery fabric was not much fun. I sewed the shell together first to make it easier to manage when sewing the insulation on. A tip to make this part easier is that I layed a line of masking tape around the borders of the insulation and sewed through it. I couldn't keep the insulation from snagging on the presser foot other wise. The tape also allowed me to put tension on the insulation. It worked well but was a bit of a pain to remove after it was sewed on. I did not follow instructions of any kind. I looked at a friends EE quilt and got an idea of what needed to happen. I just winged it from there. It is about 85x56". I am 6 foot and wish I had made it just a few inches longer but it will work just fine. I went with a non tapered design because I wanted more square footage to use as a woobie. I am not an ounce counter either. The only perk to a tapered design for my purposes is that there is less fabric to cinch down for the foot box closure.


ifvrx1.jpg


I went super simple with the system to hold it to pad. I just sewed on buttons and gutted paracord loops. My "straps" are just 1/4" flat elastic with loops tied in the ends that hook on the buttons. This works very well so far. It is non adjustable but I don't see why I would ever need to adjust the lower ones if used on the same pad. There is a button at the very bottom and 20 inches up to form the foot box. I used 7/8" grosgrain to form my cord channels at top and bottom.

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I was not very happy with how large the foot box hole is when fully cinched. I'm assuming this is partially due to the grosgrain not wanting to bunch as well.
p0pbo.jpg


So I added another loop in the middle of the bottom to hook on the same button to help compress the hole.
2z4znuv.jpg


That helped but was still obviously unacceptable. I figured I could just stuff a spare shirt down there to block the hole but I wanted something more legit than that. So I decided to make a plug of sorts. Kind of like a tiny quilt. I planned to just stuff it in the bottom of the bag but had no idea how I would keep it in place.
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When I went to try it in the quilt, the solution was immediately apparent. I just laced it from inside the bag, around the cord loop used to close the hole up, and back into the bag. It works awesome and actually looks like I planned it.
5zf61t.jpg


Her is a shot of the cord channel and a button on the corner.
2w3unpl.jpg
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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I threw together a stuff sack and it all compresses down to 14x7. If I had compression straps on the stuff sack it would compress down a good bit more but that is plenty good for me.
1j4xew.jpg
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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Will get a weight soon. I'm afraid the keeping up is the other way around most of the time.
 

elmcreek

FNG
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Dec 12, 2015
Messages
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Location
northern WI
Looks good! I'm finishing up a diy megatarp and am thinking about doing a quilt next. You're right about this thin, slippery fabric being tough to control. Add insulation to the mix and I bet it gets messy. I will have to look into that more before I jump into this project.
 

coop2424

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Feb 28, 2012
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Spirit Lake, ID
Nice work!! I have fabric pinned to sew up into quilt... I really am not looking forward to seeing this light material.. Probably why it has been sitting on the table ready for a couple weeks..
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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Nice work!! I have fabric pinned to sew up into quilt... I really am not looking forward to seeing this light material.. Probably why it has been sitting on the table ready for a couple weeks..
Remember to tension the fabric on the infeed and outfeed sides and it helps a ton.
 
Joined
Jul 3, 2012
Messages
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Location
Central Cal
^^^^^ This really does help.

Great work Woodbow!

I can imagine trying to peel off masking tape was a real chore. The Primaoft I have came with a thin material on both sides referred to as scrim. It keeps it from getting tangled around the presser foot and you just cut it off after you've laid down a stitch line.
 

yardwork

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 31, 2014
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163
Location
Rosemount, MN
I saw on another MYOG thread about quilts a tip on using strips of newspaper pinned in place to keep the insulation from grabbing the presser foot.

I'm going to have to spend a little time on youtube checking out thread tension tutorials. I've been winging it in that department.
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2013
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1,109
Location
Beaverton, Oregon
Just a tip on sewing thin slippery materials.......
spray on quilting adhesive.

It is just tacky enough to ease sewing, yet can be repositioned if nessessary, and it washes right out.

Excellent when sewing up pullouts as well.
Not sure if I'd use it when sewing up tipi's though, as it may interfere with seam sealing.
Hunt'nFish
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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I have been working out the details for a tipi build. I am planning to pre glue my seams together with a fabric adhesive. I have done some research but have not selected one yet. I have made 2 hammock tarps and the worst part is managing all the fabric and keeping everything lined up. I figure if i pre-glue, the sewing should be pretty straight forward.
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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I saw on another MYOG thread about quilts a tip on using strips of newspaper pinned in place to keep the insulation from grabbing the presser foot.

I'm going to have to spend a little time on youtube checking out thread tension tutorials. I've been winging it in that department.
Thread tension is fairly simple but very important. Improper tension can really make sewing a nightmare. Your bobbin tension is adjusted by a small screw on the bobbin case. The tension should as such that when you hold the end of the thread and drop the loaded bobbin case, about an inch or two of thread pulls out. For top tension, if your top thread is showing on the bottom side, increase tension. If your bottom thread is showing on the top, decrease tension. Try to always do a test run on scraps of the fabric you will be sewing.
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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I think 7.5 oz is rated for the mid teens. I had my quilt to at least freezing on an auodad hunt the last few days, and it performed very well. Im still learning how to use it properly. The first night i was a little cool because i did not cinch the top down to seal it. After that i buttoned the top around my neck and it was crazy warm. Im running a klymit insulated pad with a 4.4 r value.
 

xrangerx

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Jun 2, 2015
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338
Thinking about giving this a try! Did you sew it inside out on 3 sides, then flip it and grosgrain the 4th to hide the insulation? I haven't been able to find anything definitive and I am a noob when it comes to diy stuff
 
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