My first few MYOG projects - 6.0oz Apex Top-Quilt, 6'x9' silpolyXL tarp & 3.6oz Apex UQ/TQ hybrid
I recently finished my 3rd project - the 3.6oz quilt - and wanted to share some pictures
I remember scouring this sub for days collecting all sorts of great info when starting out; it was such a huge help, so I thought I could make a post to hopefully help anyone interested with their own, similar projects.
Unfortunately, I didn't really take enough pictures for proper tutorials (kept forgetting until after a few steps had been completed), but hopefully the info here can be of some use to somebody. Happy to answer any questions, and I'll try to link some of the most useful resources I found for each project as well -
6.0oz APEX sewn footbox top-quilt
In hindsight, this was probably not the best "first project" (not counting some stuff sacks). The sewn-footbox design was a bit of a bear, especially with the 6.0oz APEX, which was a real challenge to work with and sew, at least for me. The good news is, starting with this one made the subsequent projects feel like a breeze
tips/resources:
- u/KyleKoppenhaver's 'sewn round footbox' post, along with the links he included, inspired the circular footbox design
- u/craderson's subsequent 'sewn footbox construction tip' sold me on giving it a shot. I didn't love the idea of the inner being detached from the footbox, but couldn't figure out how to get it attached until coming across his post
- another post from u/craderson which was helpful for closing up the quilt cleanly
- tips for sewing apex (apex-side-down didn't work for me, hence the tape over my walking presser foot; I'd recommend trying both to see which you prefer)
pretty straightforward - a (small) rectangular tarp
tips/resources:
- the most notable change was sewing the tie-out box stitches a ways off the edge of the tarp "to hide them better". I would not recommend that; it makes the edges of the tarp fold back awkwardly as pictured
- I would also probably go with slightly longer tie-out ribbons if I were to make another version
3.6oz APEX top-quilt/underquilt hybrid
designed to be able to function well as an underquilt, a cinched footbox top-quilt in warmer weather when I don't need the 6.0 quilt, and as a casual blanket. Very simple & versatile
tips/resources:
- loosely based upon Backcountry Banter's classic top quilt tutorial
- highly recommend making secondary suspension tabs if using the grosgrain-style primary suspension channel, as it turns out grosgrain slides very easily against shock cord
- prusik'ing secondary suspension to the primary was inspired by Jacks R Better's video on it
- I'm still experimenting, but it seems the secondary suspension tabs may work well as a primary suspension, that way the long lengths of shock cord can be ditched. Kind of like this, but attached to the hammock ridgeline via prusiks
- spliced prusiks were inspired by Jeff Myers' video(s)
That's all - really appreciate all the contributions that have been made here. Hopefully this too can be of use to someone
Edit: one last general tip which has been valuable - Google-based subreddit search has been way more useful for me than Reddit’s search functionality. Just tack “site:www.examplesite.com” on to your google search, and it will restrict the search to that domain/subdomain. Works with or without subreddits. For example you could search “top quilt site:reddit.com/r/myog” and the results will be restricted to this sub. That’s how I found the majority the posts which were most useful