in the bag

This one is all wrapped up!

I ended up getting too bored to do a straight, simple strip patchwork top. So after starting out that way, I cut up my strips and pieced them together willy nilly, with the goal of keeping same fabrics kind of spread out. Love how the addition of Kona Lime added some much-needed contrast and a place for the eye to rest.

Inside I used mostlyTrellis in pink, a nice basic from this collection. Other than the Kona Lime, all fabrics are Up Parasol by Heather Bailey.

We have a camping trip coming up in just a few weeks... Perfect!

Pondering the wherefores and whys of handmade sleeping bags? I was inspired to make these a few years ago after a particularly warm summer camping trip. It was too warm for the kids to get inside their store bought, synthetic sleeping bags, so they were writhing on top, their skin sticking and sweating on the slick polyester surfaces. Ew.

Light bulb moment - synthetic polyester sleeping bags have several disadvantages:

Easily too warm and sweat-inducing
Uncomfortable to lay upon
Made of oil-based materials
Noisy (as in, you can here everyone in the tent toss and turn)

Since I made Liam's sleeping bag two years ago, it has seen lots of use. It's plenty warm for our spring through autumn camping trips and for sleepovers at a friend's house. Quilted sleeping bags are also more compact than fluffy polyester fill, folding easily rather than slipping away as a child attempts to carry them to the car. They wash, dry, fold and stack like a quilt. Win-win. The only qualifier is that they are not as warm as most manufactured sleeping bags. If you're going to be outside on a cold night, best take something suited for cold extremes.

Anyhoo, we like our quilted sleeping bags. If you'd like to make one, I shared a tutorial here.