L Squared
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Portugues (2021)
Camino Frances (April 17, - May, 15, 2015)
I have spent a lot of time on the forums trying to decide what equipment to get for my Camino in 2015. One of the decisions was between a silk sleep liner or a lightweight sleeping bag or a fleece liner. Originally was thinking I would walk in the summer and decided that the silk sleep liner would be the appropriate thing to have. I figured I could use my towel and poncho and layer on clothes if it got really cold. So, I purchased a silk liner.
I am now considering trying to avoid the peak pilgrim times and am considering walking spring or fall. Yikes, I like to sleep warm so I was back to thinking of getting a sleeping bag. Then I kept reading posts where some people are using their sleeping bag more as a sleeping blanket. So I thought, maybe what I want is a sleeping blanket. Then it occurred to me that if I’m going to use it as a blanket that it would not need to be as large as a sleeping bag unzipped into a blanket. Why not just a single size down blanket with no zipper?
I found my husband’s old down parka with hood in the closet. Since we live in Arizona he hadn’t used it since he move here 25 years ago. I asked him if I could have it. Next I purchased super lightweight uncoated rip stop nylon. I got a piece that was 72” wide and 2 ¼ yards long. The first thing I did was to sear the seams. This involves running the cut edge of the nylon through a candle flame for just long enough for the edge to melt, but not catch on fire. Practice this step on a scrap first. If it does catch on fire blow out the flame before it melts the entire piece of fabric.
I folded the nylon in half and sewed the two narrow ends and about 3 inches along the long side on each end. Then I turned it inside out. Next I marked with a colored pencil lines every 9” across the short 36” width. I laid out the fabric on the floor and pinned the top to the bottom along the horizontal lines. At the open end I folded the top and bottom to the inside ½ inch. Then I top stitched these lines creating horizontal tubes in the blanket.
That is the easy part. If you are recycling down from a down jacket then you need to find a good way to open the garment, grab the down, and shove it into the tubes sewn into the down blanket. I removed all of the quilting stitches in the parka leaving me with four sources of down, the two fronts, the back and the hood. I cut a hole just large enough to get my hand into the down and grabbed a fistful then shoved it to the bottom of one of the blanket tubes. When each tube was filled enough then just pin the end shut and move on to the next tube. As you can imagine, this part of the process is kind of messy. Since it was 100F in Arizona when I did this, I was sweating and the down was sticking to my skin. I looked like I had been tar and feathered. Big hint - do this step outdoors.
Once all of the tubes are filled I folded the open side to the inside ½ inch then I topstitched all four edges of the blanket. I left the bottom tube unfilled as I was thinking that perhaps it could be tucked in under the mattress to keep the blanket in place on the bed. But I’m also thinking of sewing buttons on all four corners and attaching elastic loops to the four corners of the silk sleep liner so the blanket doesn’t slip off while I’m asleep. I’m also thinking that maybe the blanket should go into the silk sleep liner which would keep in in place and be protected from bugs. I’m still working on what I want to do to finish it. I probably need to test it out before I go. Weight of my puffy down blanket is 381 gms, which is less than a sleeping bag.
Here is a photo of my finished down sleep blanket plus the old down parka as well as the unfilled blanket. Now I’m thinking of other things I can fabricate an improved version of. I still want a poncho and am debating between the popular Altus or sewing a poncho where I can add ventilation and other features that I think would be useful.
Anybody else have an old down parka sitting in their closet? This is a pretty easy project if you have beginning sewing skills. I only have $6 invested in the ripstop nylon.
I am now considering trying to avoid the peak pilgrim times and am considering walking spring or fall. Yikes, I like to sleep warm so I was back to thinking of getting a sleeping bag. Then I kept reading posts where some people are using their sleeping bag more as a sleeping blanket. So I thought, maybe what I want is a sleeping blanket. Then it occurred to me that if I’m going to use it as a blanket that it would not need to be as large as a sleeping bag unzipped into a blanket. Why not just a single size down blanket with no zipper?
I found my husband’s old down parka with hood in the closet. Since we live in Arizona he hadn’t used it since he move here 25 years ago. I asked him if I could have it. Next I purchased super lightweight uncoated rip stop nylon. I got a piece that was 72” wide and 2 ¼ yards long. The first thing I did was to sear the seams. This involves running the cut edge of the nylon through a candle flame for just long enough for the edge to melt, but not catch on fire. Practice this step on a scrap first. If it does catch on fire blow out the flame before it melts the entire piece of fabric.
I folded the nylon in half and sewed the two narrow ends and about 3 inches along the long side on each end. Then I turned it inside out. Next I marked with a colored pencil lines every 9” across the short 36” width. I laid out the fabric on the floor and pinned the top to the bottom along the horizontal lines. At the open end I folded the top and bottom to the inside ½ inch. Then I top stitched these lines creating horizontal tubes in the blanket.
That is the easy part. If you are recycling down from a down jacket then you need to find a good way to open the garment, grab the down, and shove it into the tubes sewn into the down blanket. I removed all of the quilting stitches in the parka leaving me with four sources of down, the two fronts, the back and the hood. I cut a hole just large enough to get my hand into the down and grabbed a fistful then shoved it to the bottom of one of the blanket tubes. When each tube was filled enough then just pin the end shut and move on to the next tube. As you can imagine, this part of the process is kind of messy. Since it was 100F in Arizona when I did this, I was sweating and the down was sticking to my skin. I looked like I had been tar and feathered. Big hint - do this step outdoors.
Once all of the tubes are filled I folded the open side to the inside ½ inch then I topstitched all four edges of the blanket. I left the bottom tube unfilled as I was thinking that perhaps it could be tucked in under the mattress to keep the blanket in place on the bed. But I’m also thinking of sewing buttons on all four corners and attaching elastic loops to the four corners of the silk sleep liner so the blanket doesn’t slip off while I’m asleep. I’m also thinking that maybe the blanket should go into the silk sleep liner which would keep in in place and be protected from bugs. I’m still working on what I want to do to finish it. I probably need to test it out before I go. Weight of my puffy down blanket is 381 gms, which is less than a sleeping bag.
Here is a photo of my finished down sleep blanket plus the old down parka as well as the unfilled blanket. Now I’m thinking of other things I can fabricate an improved version of. I still want a poncho and am debating between the popular Altus or sewing a poncho where I can add ventilation and other features that I think would be useful.
Anybody else have an old down parka sitting in their closet? This is a pretty easy project if you have beginning sewing skills. I only have $6 invested in the ripstop nylon.
Thanks for the great pics, too!
