looking at it this way, it’s obvious that it came from a sleeping bag 
when I walk around on the street, nobody looks twice, so it must not be that obvious that we made this from a sleeping bag.. 
again: down WANTS TO ESCAPE. even through the tiniest holes 
piping at the seams stops the down from coming out. you would think it’s soft, but when it’s poking out like that it’s quite pointy. 
down REALLY WANTS to escampe
Requirements
- must be made of the really big, really warm sleeping bag we haven’t used in years because it’s too warm
- must be warm
- must have a high collar and warm pockets
Design
This is a bit an upside down way of designing a clothing item. The main requirement is to use the old sleeping bag that we never used because it’s too warm even in winter, so instead of having a particular end in mind, we start with the material and see what we can do.
We have the general body warmer shape in mind, taking into account the requirements for the high collar and warm pockets, so now we have to figure out how to upcycle the sleeping bag. This is more complicated than we thought, so that process deserves its own chapter.
How to upcycle a down sleeping bag
A few important notes, which we learned along the way but which you should really know before start on such a project:
- down is extremely fluffy, so it really wants to escape. If you start cutting up the bag, you have to do it in such a way that the down doesn’t end up all over your work room. Trust me on this one: when you try to vacuum it, the draft from the vacuum cleaner will whirl the down around the room and you’ll end up chasing it through the house.
- A sleeping bag is often shaped wider at the shoulders and more narrow at the feet, so don’t use the existing side seam as mid front or mid back, you’ll end up with an unsightly bulge
- after you cut through the layers and you use the overlock to seal the edge, you will still feel the insect leg tickle of the down in the seams, so use piping to close off the seams.
mistake 1: we used a side seam as mid-back, causing a hump that we’ll have to get rid of somehow 
cutting through a down sleeping bag allows all the down out and it’s really hard to get rid of. the best solution we found is to stitch two parallel lines and cut in between 
stitch two parallel lines to separate one part of the bag from another. best to do it in a contrast colour too!
Required Tools
Surprisingly enough, this project didn’t require any special machinerie. Though keep your vacuum cleaner handy. Start from a pattern, be smart about containing the down and use piping to finish the seams.
Credits
All ideas & work by Febe & Kristien
Febe writes 
Totally absolutely fabulous dear ? Get Outlook for iOS ________________________________
LikeLike