Reviews > Do It Yourself > Kits > Ray-Way Standard One-Person Quilt Kit > Owner Review by Pamela Wyant

Owner Review:  Ray-Way Standard One-Person Quilt Kit

Product Information:

Product Description
The quilt kit I ordered consisted of a piece of black fabric approximately 90 inches long x 60 inches wide (229 x 152 cm), two similarly sized pieces of 0.75 inch (2 cm) thick Polarguard 3D insulation, several yards of blue yarn, a small piece of grosgrain ribbon, and sewing instructions to make a one person quilt.  The fabric in my kit was a 0.75 ounce per square yard (21 g per .8 sq m) treated nylon that is no longer listed on the website.  The fabric I received had a slippery, slightly plastic feel to it, almost like an ultra-thin trash bag, and a semi-translucent appearance.  It appears similar to silnylon, but softer.  When I tested it by running a stream of water across one corner, the water beaded right up and what didn’t run off could easily be wiped off, leaving the material dry to the touch.  I’m not sure it’s waterproof, but at the least is highly water resistant.  The kit came in a large cardboard shipping box with the insulation packaged loosely in a large plastic bag, the instructions, grosgrain ribbon, and yarn packaged in a smaller plastic bag, and the fabric unpackaged.

• A request not to pass them along to anyone else
• Background information on how the quilts originated
• List of tools needed that were not included in the kit
• List of materials included
• Information on handling the insulation (i.e. not to stretch it)
• Instructions and illustrations showing how to custom-size the quilt
• Cutting layout and cutting instructions
• Assembly instructions and illustrations
• Sewing instructions and illustrations
• Quilting instructions and illustrations

Materials Layer View

Initial Impression:

I was impressed with the thickness and quality of the insulation and the thorough nature of the instructions.  I was not immediately impressed with the fabric, due to the slippery, plastic-like feel.  Before making the quilt, I tested the feel of the fabric by lying under it, and I did not care for how it felt against my skin – sort of sticky and clammy.  I even considered purchasing a different fabric to use, but decided to go ahead with the included fabric for expediency, thinking I could re-make the quilt later with different fabric if I really hated the feel of the material once I was sleeping under it.

Making the Quilt:

I used a standard household model sewing machine to make my quilt.  The only stitch required is a standard straight stitch, so it doesn’t take a fancy machine to make the quilt.  I purchased the recommended thread from Ray-Way Products, which is sold separately.  According to the Ray-Way website, this polyester thread is thicker than normal thread and has very soft, smooth continuous fibers, making it less fuzzy than most store-bought thread and more resistant to sun rot.  It is supposed to ease the sewing of the seams and cause the machine to need less frequent cleaning and maintenance.  I did find the thread thicker and less fuzzy than any other standard cotton or poly/cotton thread I have purchased.  The website states some machines may require different tension settings for their thread, but I was able to use it with my normal settings.  Other than the thread, the non-included items needed for construction of the quilt were common household items I had on hand – a yarn needle, clothespins with springs, sewing machine, scissors, tape measure, a dinner plate, and marking pen.  I found the instructions easy to follow, and although there were numerous steps involved, each was well described, and several illustrations were included.  I did end up making my quilt about 8 inches (20 cm) wider than recommended in the custom fit directions, because I was nervous about cutting it too narrow.  Although I like having the quilt large because I like some space to toss and turn, if I made another quilt, I would probably make it only 2 inches (5 cm) or so wider than recommended, in order to save some weight and bulk.  The slippery material had a tendency to slide around as it was fed through the sewing machine, making it a little difficult to sew, and the thick insulation tended to get caught in the feeder foot of the sewing machine.  The instructions did provide some advice on coping with both of these problems that was helpful – to use clothespins to hold the fabric in place, and to use a seam ripper to loosen the insulation and to nudge it in place as needed.  The quilt is not actually “quilted” in the traditional sense of sewing tiny stitches in patterns to hold the insulation in place, but is “knotted” with yarn instead, which reduces both the time to quilt and the number of holes in the fabric.  The quilting is very simple in that it runs straight through all layers, but this doesn’t seem to cause any cold spots, probably because the thick fluffiness of the yarn fills the holes punctured by the needle.  After quilting, a foot pocket is sewn, using the piece of grosgrain ribbon at the top to make a “gusset” to prevent the seam from ripping out when using the quilt.  It took me about 8 hours to make the quilt from start to finish.

Field Conditions for finished product:

I made my quilt late last fall, and so far have only used it on one backpacking trip, one outdoor camp, and a couple of indoor overnighters in a lodge.   The outdoor temperatures on both occasions were in the 40 F (4 C) range, and the backpacking trip included rain and gusty wind.

Field Use of finished product:

The quilt has kept me adequately warm each time I have used it, so I believe the 40 F (4 C) rating advertised on the web site is accurate.  My quilt packs into a stuff sack measuring 10 x 21 inches (25 x 53 cm) with some room to spare, and could be compressed smaller if the need arose.

Summary:

The Ray-Way quilt kit is a quality product.  The instructions are very detailed, and walked me through all the steps in making the quilt in a very efficient manner with no redundancy.  I didn’t find anything confusing in the directions or anything I thought needed improving.  The illustrations were particularly helpful, and were well placed to correspond with the directions.  Although the sewing was a little harder than I would have liked due to the slipperiness of the material and coping with feeding the thick insulation under the sewing machine feeder foot, overall I found it easy to make a sleeping quilt at a cost much lower than a finished quilt or sleeping bag of similar quality and weight.  I now have the satisfaction of using a custom sized piece of gear I made myself.  After the quilt was finished, I found I actually liked the smooth feel of the fabric, with the insulation sandwiched between it no longer felt sticky or clammy.  The quilt is very easy to use in a hammock sleeping system, since I don’t have to worry about positioning a sleeping bag just right in order to zip it up.  The foot pocket helps keep the quilt in place, and I can easily ventilate if I get too hot by just moving part of the quilt aside or taking my feet out of the pocket.  The Ray-Way website currently has a deluxe kit available, with added features, however I am very happy with mine as it is.

Reviews > Do It Yourself > Kits > Ray-Way Standard One-Person Quilt Kit > Owner Review by Pamela Wyant