Make a sleeping bag warmer

How to make a sleeping bag warmer

Do you wish to revive an old down sleeping bag that is losing loft? Maybe you are just looking for a simple way to increase the warmth of your existing bag without adding any additional weight. This fairly simple DIY project can do just that. Increase the warmth of your existing sleeping bag without adding any extra weight. And if you are unsatisfied with the results, it is possible to revert back to the original design with no harm done.

The basics for this are simple. Compressed down has little or no insulation value. We are going to move the down on the bottom of the bag to the top so it can keep you warmer. A bag with continuous baffles is designed to do just this, except the down never stays where you want it for very long. This project will keep the down in place. Keep in mind that we are not going to move all of the down on the bottom, only the down that you would be lying directly on all night. The area around your legs is best left filled since you would lose heat there if there was no down when you moved a leg or underneath your knees which do not lay flat against the floor.

Items needed:

  1.  Down sleeping bag with continuous horizontal baffles.These baffles will run perpendicular to your body when lying inside the bag. The down needs to be able to be shifted from the bottom of the bag to the top and sides.
  2. Sewing machine. Hand stitching would also work, although the machine would make it easier.
  3. Chalk pencil. The color of the pencil must be different than the fabric color of the bottom of the bag.

Steps:

  1. ) Work as much of the down from the bottom section of the bag toward the top. It might be easiest to zip up the bag and keep one hand inside and your other hand on the outside of the bag. Use a gentle clapping type motion. The bottom of the bag should feel thin and empty when done. Don’t worry about getting the bottom completely empty, just focus mainly on the center middle of the bottom section.
  2. ) Get inside the sleeping bag and position yourself just as you would if you were going to sleep. Try to determine the area on the bag that you have you body on for the entire night. This will most likely be in the center.
  3. ) Climb out of the bag and lightly draw a line around the area that you were lying on. A box or circle shape which widens toward the torso and tapers toward the abdomen is best. Try to stay close to your torso above your legs.
  4. ) Sew one half of the box area that you marked leaving a side open. Work any remaining down that remains inside the marked area out, via the unsewn side. You can use the existing baffles on the ends, there is no need to sew these.
  5. ) Sew up the last side and enjoy your warmer bag!
Completed bag.The stitch lines are marked in yellow.

Completed project. The stitch lines are marked in yellow.

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