I am going on a backpacking trip. I want to carry as little as possible if I can, so I tried to make a lighter and smaller sleeping bag.
First, I cheated by starting with a sleeping bag. It is one I have had as long as I can remember. Its okay for warm car camping nights, but too heavy and non-insulating for anything else. I decided to take it apart, replace the insulation, and put it back together as a mummy bag, instead of a simple rectangle. The image below shows the bag with the insulation removed. I am in the process of shaping it to have a similar taper shape to an actual mummy shaped sleeping bag.
![mummifying the bag](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3763.jpg?resize=637%2C701)
I purchased 2 yards of Primaloft insulation (60″ wide) from Quest Outfitters. Basically, you can buy almost any sort of material from making outdoor gear from them. I went with synthetic, instead of down, since its easier to work with, cheaper, and will stay warmer when wet. I am going to see how it works out without sewing any baffles at all (because I am lazy and trying to make this bag with the least effort). Hopefully the friction between the layers and careful handling will keep things in place. Otherwise, I may stitch a few points through all the layers to keep things from shifting. We’ll see.
![Primaloft synthetic insulation](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3870.jpg?resize=637%2C540)
![remaking insulation scraps are loosely hand sewn together for the hood](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3895.jpg?resize=637%2C786)
![hood pieces. The two middle pieces are also from the original bag, but I ran out of original material and bought some blue uncoated ripstop for the rest.](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3905.jpg?resize=637%2C722)
![hood is crudely stitched to the top of the tapered bag](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3907.jpg?resize=600%2C800)
I know its not great to sew through the insulation along a line since it compresses the loft along an entire line. However, for this bag, I am ignoring this fact.
For adding the zipper (and sewing on the hood for that matter), the proper time to do so would have been much earlier. Instead, I just sewed the zipper directly to the outside of the bag. I made sure to sew one side of the zipper to the edge of the bottom of the bag (the side I end up laying on) and to sew the other side of the zipper 2 inches in from the edge. That way there is a strip of insulation directly behind the zipper.
![oops, time to add a zipper now](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3908.jpg?resize=600%2C800)
![I used ripstop to add some tubes around the head opening so that I can since it down around my face](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3948.jpg?resize=637%2C477)
Clearly quite thrown together, but it resembles a sleeping bag! Next I needed a compression sack to keep it packed down. To estimate the volume needed, I put the sleeping bag into an existing cylindrical stuff sack that was a little too short and large in diameter for what I needed. But I could measure its height and length to calculate volume needed for my bag, and I used that volume to decide the dimensions of my new stuff sack. I settled on 20″ long at 6″ diameter.
![pieces](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3913.jpg?resize=637%2C372)
![folded and sewed one edge of each skirt.](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3915.jpg?resize=637%2C336)
![also folded and sewed what will eventually be the opening of the pull cord tube](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3914.jpg?resize=637%2C321)
![adding webbing to one of the skirts, I am using 3/8" wide](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3916.jpg?resize=637%2C724)
Below image shows the pull cord tube sewn, and the addition of triangle piece of material, which will offer some strain relief on the opening, as well as create a larger opening to help make stuffing easier.
![adding triangle piece of strain relief of the bag opening](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3917.jpg?resize=600%2C800)
![skirt with webbing tentacles attached to the bag body](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3918.jpg?resize=637%2C695)
![finally, the body becomes a tube. Starting at the strain relief triangle, the edges are sewn together.](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3919.jpg?resize=637%2C405)
![circular end cap is sewn on. The edge is folded and sewn again (maybe not necessary)](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3921.jpg?resize=637%2C621)
![The cap is made with one skirt sewn to one end cap](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3920.jpg?resize=637%2C427)
![The first stuffing!](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3923.jpg?resize=637%2C315)
![squish!](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3922.jpg?resize=637%2C463)
As it turns out, the skirt on the cap ended up being too short and the cap would slide side to side depending on which side was being tightened. I added an extra strip of ripstop to make the cap just a bit deeper. This seems to do the trick.
![the skirt on the cap ended up being too short and the cap would slide side to side depending on which side was being tightened. I added a strip of blue ripstop](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3947.jpg?resize=637%2C433)
![don't forget to add a pull handle! I used 1" grosgrain ribbon.](http://amymakesstuffdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_3949.jpg?resize=637%2C477)
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