Dealing with Down

[Tengu]

I fancy a down quilt.

I was thinking where to get down....Ill ask the poultry farmer.

But it will need cleaning....

Should I sew tightly in a pillowcase and send to the dry cleaners?

[sxmolloy]

Nikwax do Down Wash / Cleaner. No reason why you can't use the pillow case as above then put it in the washing machine.

[Ray Britton]

Right. Apart from the fact that washing down in a washing machine can destroy its properties if you are not very careful, that's one idea .

What birds will the down from the poultry farm come from? Down for quilts comes from geese or ducks, and not chickens or turkeys. Its a shame as the poultry farmers down would have been free wouldn't it?

Two easy ways to get enough down for a quilt are (but they do involve money) buy a cheap down quilt, or buy a couple of cheap down sleeping bags (tescos are currently selling a down bag at £39).

Sorry if I am teaching you to suck eggs here, but the fill power of down varies massively, and so you really would need to know the mix quality in order to be able to determine the end result in tog rating.

Here is a basis explanation on fill power:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fill_power

As per above. Sorry if you knew that already....or you live next to a goose producer lol

[unsponsored]

You'll need to make sure the down isnt just washed but actually sterilised to ensure no nasties are left in place.

The down in cheap sleeping bags will probably be 500 fill at the very most.

[Ray Britton]

Just for reference, here are the specs Tesco give for their lightweight down sleeping bag. I know its not comprehensive, but it is a start. This bag has been popular with backpackers, due to its very low price, and small pack size.

The Explorer single sleeping bag is ultra lightweight and in a compact mummy style. It has a 290 tog micro polyester ripstop shell with a 290 tog polycotton lining and a 225g/m2 single layer goose down filling. This sleeping bag features a 4-way compression sack and a 2-way reversible zip. It has a comfort rating of +3.8 - +8.3, an extreme rating of -10.6º and is suitable for use from late spring to autumn.

[Teepee]

Others may be able to help better, but If you want really high quality down, John lewis sell 850+ fill power goose down pillows. I think they have 20 ounces in them, which is enough to make quite a bit of gear.
They are £150 quid though. Euro quilt, a scottich firm, sell 815+ fill power pillows for about £120. It may sound a lot but the high quality down lasts much longer than lower grades, so probably works out much cheaper and better in the long run.

[ged]

I have a couple of large down cushions that I use to pack furniture and things in the van, you can have them if you want them. One of them got chewed by a mouse but I think the down is OK. The cases are pretty grubby. I'm allergic to down so I can't sleep anywhere near down filled things, otherwise I'd use the down myself.

[Tengu]

Ged you are a saint.

The guy rears turkeys. (but theres no reason I cant find a goose or duck farmer...)

I should have borrowed some down off of the Eiders when I was on N Rona...

[Matt.S]

My tupp'orth: make sure the fabric you use to sew the envelope is truly feather-proof. A good tight calico ought to do if you're wanting to go non-synthetic.

[sxmolloy]

Right. Apart from the fact that washing down in a washing machine can destroy its properties if you are not very careful, that's one idea

Just be VERY CAREFUL then and you won't have a problem, I never have!

[ged]

Ged you are a saint.

Actually I think the jury's still out on that.

I've weighed the cushions and between them they are a little over 5kg. I guess the fabric containers will weigh at least half a kilo so there should be at least 4kg of whatever is in there. I took a sample out of the one that got chewed (never looked at the filling closely before) and although I'm no expert on down it seems a little coarse to me. I'll pop the sample in the post tomorrow so you can see if you think it will do for what you want.

[Tengu]

Thanks ged