Air Duvet and Insulated Mat of Recycled Materials

Families displaced by natural disasters or violence sleeping without heat during cold winters need low-cost insulated bedding. Cheap supplies and repurposed trash can help protect the vulnerable.

Camping in the snow when I was younger showed how long and uncomfortable winter nights can be. Expensive camping equipment has multiple thin layers trapping air to insulate, but becomes heavier with frost day by day as moisture from the body condenses and builds up inside.

Trips to Haiti and Africa showed me how few resources refugees often have. Access to pieces of fabric, tarps, plastic film, grain bags, and other types of plastic trash can be precious. But although Ubuntu-block walls and crocheted bag blankets have shown the benefits of trash, few use repurposed materials to help those in need survive frigid temperatures.

Sew scavenged fabrics into a layered pocket 'air duvet' cover that holds a blanket and/ or solar blanket at night. Remove the blanket to wear during the day. Cover thin film (dangerous to babies) with fabric lining. Stuff stiff plastic scraps into an insulated recycled mat to stop cold creeping up from the frozen ground. Use the air duvet and mat to fight summer heat too!

The air duvet cover and recycled mat are made with thread and several layers of fabric.

Tools:

• Needles and (optional sewing machine)
• Scissors or sharp knife
• Serrated bread knife
• Flat wood cooking stirrer or stick

Air duvet supplies:

• Packing or duct tape (Optional: Painter's tape)
• Light rope, webbing or fabric to sew straps
• 6 layers of fabric or plastic film the size of the quilt, 205 x 210 cm (80 x 82") or larger, including:

1 wearing surface top layer- tarp, canvas or tight weave fabric or woven grain or sand bag

1 wearing surface bottom layer- light fabric, sheet or pillow cases

2 light fabric lining layers- thin fabric, landscape fabric, burlap or mesh bags

2 plastic barrier layers- light or medium weight plastic film, shower curtain, or plastic bags

Insulated mat supplies:

• 2 pieces of fabric 100 x 280 cm (39 x 110") (types listed for wearing surface or linings above) or mesh tubing
• Hard fill- clean small plastic bottles, soft plastic containers and lids, plastic foam egg cartons and packing
• Soft fill- fabric scraps, medium weight plastic film or bags, down or synthetic pillow fill or life jacket fill

Work is easiest if you have a clean floor area or several tables to join together.

Mark the duvet cover size with painter's tape or chalk.

Lay out materials for each layer on the size marks to see if you have enough material before sewing.

The top layers of the air duvet will be cooler than the bottom layers close to sleepers' heat. Cotton, linen and silk should only be used near sleepers' bodies, because they lose their warming ability when they get damp. If cotton is used near the top of the duvet cover it will need to be dried out more often than wool or synthetic cloth.

Check your fabric content by burning a thread.

Use minimal amounts of cloth with fibres that burn into ash. Fibres that melt (synthetic) or that smell like hair when burnt (wool) are the best to use during long cold periods.

Lining fabrics inside do not have to be as strong as the wearing layers.

5 or 6 pillow cases should make a layer, or 6- 8 grain bags. Make sure the plastic film is clean from food residue or grease.

If you have a lot of film, leave bags intact. Lay them side by side and tape them together.

If you have less film, cut the bags and spread them open before taping.

Connect pieces of fabric or film into flat panels the right size.

If tape connecting plastic film pieces is loose in spots, sew these pieces together, or tack them at corners with thread.

Extra mesh layers from vegetable bags can be added inside the center pocket or between other layers to increase air spaces. Strips of mesh covering about 1/3 of the middle of the layer will hold a little more air inside during normal use.

Work with one side of the air duvet pocket at a time.

First spread the lining fabric out smooth within the size marks. Any seams should be aiming up toward you.

Above that lay the film layer. On top lay the bottom wearing surface next. If it has seams they should be hidden from you, with the nice surface showing.

Pin the edges of all three layers of the fabric and film together.

The fabric will need to extend further on one side for a neat hem. Turn the fabric back 5 cm (2") on this side and trim the lining and plastic film layers back.

Sew the three layers together on all sides.

Hem the longer side by folding the wearing fabric over the film and lining. Sew the hem.

Cut rope, webbing or strap into two 9 cm (3.5") lengths. These loops will hold string to tie the quilt sides together and hold a blanket inside during the night. They can also hold straps to tie the quilt into a roll.

Fold the rope or strap pieces in half and pin these loops on the wearing surface facing the hem. Space them at 1/3 and 2/3 the length of the quilt.

Sew multiple rows of stitching over each loop to hold it securely.

Run string or cord through each loop.

Repeat Steps 5- 7 to create the other side of the quilt.

A layer of woven polyethylene (PE) grain or sand bags will fray easily. Sew an extra line of stitching 15 mm (3/4") in from the trimmed edge on layers of this rough woven fabric. For a hem on a PE bag fabric wearing layer either leave the lining fabric longer or cut a strip of another fabric 12 cm (5") wide to trim the exposed edge of the grain bags.

Add three extra hanging loops 12 cm (5") long on the top wearing surface (which should be the strongest fabric). Locate these loops 125 cm (50") from the end opposite the hem. Two loops should be near the sides and one in the middle. These loops can be used to hang the quilt to the south tent wall during the summer, (usually only 125 cm (50") high to the roof) to reduce solar overheating.

Lay the two wearing sides together, with hems matching and sew the three sides of the air duvet.

Turn this padded pocket right side out.

Sew channels running across the mat fabric for short channels that will be easier to stuff.

As you fill the channels, the length perpendicular to the fill logs will get shorter. Match the UN issued mattress size of 90 x 190 (35 x 75").

Sew two sides together every 14- 16 cm (5.5- 6.25"). Stop these seams 1 cm from the edges.

For mesh tubing, stuff the tube lengths first and then sew and tie them together after filling. A large crochet hook or yarn needle makes this step easy. Tie or sew the tubing together on both sides to make the mat stronger.

Crush clean plastic containers underfoot. Cut larger ones into strips to fit inside the channels using a bread knife.

Plastic bags insulate and also cushion sharp edges best if twisted and bunched into multi-layer wads. Cut fabric into pieces as wide as the channels. Plastic foam works very well and can be trimmed into narrower strips.

Twist or fold soft plastic pieces and slide them into the channels all the way to the middle. Keep the channels uniformly full. If there are few plastic bottles and containers, cut plastic strips and roll them into a spring and insert.

Stuff plastic into channels about 30 cm (12"), then add soft fill.

Wrap hardest pieces in soft fill to prevent sharp plastic edges cutting the mat fabric. For most scrap plastic, cushion the top surface of the fill with soft fill. Fold twisted bags or fabric over a flat cooking stirrer or a stick and slide it into the channel on top of the hard plastic.

Step on the channel- it should not flatten completely. Empty air spaces are ok as long as the mat overall holds up a person laying on it. Sew the channels closed.

If you have a solar blanket (a shiny mylar emergency blanket), lay it under one or more insulated mats, shiny side up.

If you can blow through your foam mattress, use a piece of heavy plastic or tarp on top of your insulated mat during cold weather. Then place the foam on top.

Put a blanket into the pocket of the air duvet cover and tie the loops together to close the pocket.

Wrap up in cotton blankets or quilts, or thermal blankets that let air pass through. Then pull the air duvet up on top.

If weather is freezing for several nights, use a hat and scarf around your head and face. Don't breathe into the inside of your bedding to keep it drier. Shake any frost out every morning, turn inside out and air it in sunshine as often as possible.

Sewing an insulated duvet cover to last is a long process! Many displaced people spend years in tents. But many also arrive suddenly.

Instant option: temporary air duvets can be made quickly using a folded tarp for the two wearing surfaces heavier plastic film layers. Fasten it with big safety pins (diaper pins).

Arctic option: air duvets will have higher insulation value the more thin layers they contain.

Natural option: if natural fibres are locally available, use straw, chopped corn stalks or rice husks in fabric tubes to fill insulated mats. Channels should be narrower for 13- 26 mm (1- 2") thick mats.

Enabling those in trauma to improve their living situation can increase hope and emotional energy. Improving comfort will allow more effective sleep and improve health.

Set aside work areas to use for quilt sizing and washing or cutting plastic.

If scrap materials are locally available (i.e. bottles, plastic bags, grain bags from the feeding program) supply the materials that are lacking. Mat fabric could be supplied already sewn into channels. Some fabric or film portions of the quilts can be provided to supplement available supplies.