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From: Melanie T
Date: 01-28-2006, 08:27 AM (1 of 2)
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Has anyone ever made a down/feather duvet (comforter) or remember their grandmother making one? I need directions or a good description of how to do it. I just recieved 5 large feather pillows on freecycle and would like to make them into a comforter. A Google search just gave me directions for a duvet cover or a sales sheet of what to buy and what products are available. Any ideas, please? Melanie
4 little sewing machine mechanics (6, 4, 2, Born June 14) Ontario Canada |
User: Melanie T
Member since: 09-21-2004 Total posts: 155 |
From: AndreaSews
Date: 01-28-2006, 07:59 PM (2 of 2)
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This article is a little funky b/c it's written for outdoors enthusiasts who want to make their own gear. It does give some useful info though: Thru-Hiker down quilt tutorial (http://http://www.thru-hiker.com/workshop.asp?subcat=5&cid=6) Yrs ago, my mother made me one, using a sewing kit she bought by mail order (there was no "online" yet!). It was Frostline (took me a while to remember that!), and you can run a search, but I'm not sure they'e still in business, and if they are, it's still only mail order, but totally worth calling them. They had coat kits and other warm stuff, too. Anyway, the method did involve making channels, filling the channels and then sewing across the channels, in order to keep the down evenly distributed. The kit came with several illustrations of various designs for that top-stitching. We tried the Baffle-style, and at least every couple of nights I'd have to shake and shift my comforter, b/c the feathers still worked their way around the baffle stitching and ended up only on the sides and corners! We finally redistributed it and then just did a regular grid pattern, and now it's always warm in all the sections. In the Frostline kits, the down was sent in these tube packs. You'd cut open one end, insert it into the channel, and sneeze. The tube packs made it easier to get the down into the channels--you sort of ...express it, for lack of a better term, by pushing the plastic packaging inside out while it's mostly inside the channels. Even with this method, lots of down drifts away, all over the house, and tickles noses for days! It is necessary to use a fabric with a very tight weave, and buy a better brand of thread, and start with a new needle. Even if it is lightweight, which is fine, the fabric must be tightly woven. This helps prevent the little feathers from poking out over time. Some always will, but if you use inexpensive fabric, you're bound to loose more than you retain, even before you try and wash it (washing's ok though!). A good bet--check on eBay or Overstock.com, and see if you can find very high thread count sheets. I mean VERY high. Not 200 or 400. Andrea
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User: AndreaSews
Member since: 02-18-2005 Total posts: 1007 
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