Making Your Own Sleeping Bag
Perhaps the most discouraging thing about leading a
life full of outdoor adventure is the prohibitive cost of the equipment you
would have to buy. Take backpacking,
for example. As a beginner with no
equipment of your own, one would have to get a backpack, a tent, hiking
gear, first aid kit, cook wear, and a sleeping bag.
All of that stuff can set a person
back more than a thousand dollars. If
you’re just a beginner, though, and uncertain about this potential lifestyle
shift, you may be reluctant to spend that much cash.
There is an intriguing alternative to all that spending, however --
you can just make your own camping gear, starting with your very own,
customized sleeping bag. Even
experienced outdoorsmen might want to try this just for the fun of it.
When making your own sleeping bag, there are a bunch of
things to consider. Start with
picking out the material. You can
just get a pair of old comforters or buy four sheets of nylon.
Having comforters on hand is a little
less complicated as you won’t have to worry about the insulation.
Still, insulation material is widely
available so purchase enough to fill in the nylon.
The type of insulation is up to you.
I could suggest down, but you might
as well buy a sleeping bag as this is a little more difficult to find and
more expensive. Next, you would need
a number 5 zipper, needle, heavy thread, and a pair of scissors.
For the first step measure how big you want the
sleeping bag to be. Take your size
into account, as well as how much you want to be able to move inside it.
Add an extra inch or two for the
seams. Cut the nylon sheets to the
desired measurement and sew two sheets together on three sides.
Leave the top open to allow for the
insulation material to be inserted. Do
the same with the other two sheets of nylon.
It would be better if you had a sewing background and an industrial
sewing machine handy. If not, hand
sewing the materials should be sufficient, if a little tiring.
After inverting the two nylon sacks to hide the
stitching, get your insulation material and cut it to the size of the sacks.
Insert the filling at the top of the
sacks and sew the top ends shut. Next,
quilt or stitch the insulation into the nylon.
After you’ve cut out any extra seams,
you’ve got the two halves of your new makeshift sleeping bag.
Afterwards, you can either sew the sides together, add
a zipper on either side, or both. Either
way, you should still stitch into the insulation material to provide better
fortification. Once you’re done,
congratulate yourself; you’ve just crafted a decent amateur sleeping bag.
There is, of course, always room for
improvement. You can learn how to add
a hood to the bag. You can also learn
how to make baffles if you really want to use down filling.
If you’ve learned to do all of these
things, you can call yourself something of a sleeping bag design expert.
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