Goose to comforter

[ChickieBooBoo]

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My grandma said you should use a special fabric to sew the pillow together. Then you put your pillow case on top, she said it can be bought at a fabric store. I forget what it was called though...

 

[goosedragon]

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Because it is false! I have both goose and duck down pillows that are over 70 years old! During the early years the down may have been topped up as was needed but they haven't in the last 30 years. The part about the age of the bird when harvested is exactly TRUE. older down is thicker and heavier than on a young bird therefore it is stronger.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

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Because it is false! I have both goose and duck down pillows that are over 70 years old! During the early years the down may have been topped up as was needed but they haven't in the last 30 years. The part about the age of the bird when harvested is exactly TRUE. older down is thicker and heavier than on a young bird therefore it is stronger.

What age would you consider the down to be 'old'?

 

[goosedragon]

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Because it is false! I have both goose and duck down pillows that are over 70 years old! During the early years the down may have been topped up as was needed but they haven't in the last 30 years. The part about the age of the bird when harvested is exactly TRUE. older down is thicker and heavier than on a young bird therefore it is stronger.

What age would you consider the down to be 'old'?

When the down breaks down in a pillow and starts to appear as very fine dust it is very old, When it will no longer fluff up like it used to it is ageing. How fast it ages depend on how it is used. If you have pillow fights it would wear out fast. Just in case you are talking about down on a goose, they aren't harvested just for down until the 3rd year. Don't know age for ducks.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

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What age would you consider the down to be 'old'?

When the down breaks down in a pillow and starts to appear as very fine dust it is very old, When it will no longer fluff up like it used to it is ageing. How fast it ages depend on how it is used. If you have pillow fights it would wear out fast. Just in case you are talking about down on a goose, they aren't harvested just for down until the 3rd year. Don't know age for ducks.

I have some ducks I am planning on doing, they are just a bit less then a year old. Would they be too young to make a good pillow with?

 

[mch0638]

UPDATE: GOOSE TO COMFORTER

I have completed my first down project, a baby crib/throw blanket, measuring appx 45inx60in. I had down from 4 adult geese and 3 adult ducks, plus the downy fine feathers.

I tried to wash the feathers, but that in itself was a bit of hysteria! The washing didn't seem to penetrate the down, as only the outer layer of down was even wet. Down must have some sort of oily factor that keep them waterproof? Maybe a better method of washing might be to submerge the feathers in a tub or bucket and wash loosely by hand. That is, if I ever try to take on such a thing again! WHAT A MESS!

I wanted to find the highest quality cotton to use, and ended up with a Muslin from the fabric store (the highest grade I could find). I wanted something with a high thread count, thinking that it would be better at preventing the down from escaping through the weave.....

I sewed the outer perimeter of the comforter, leaving a 12in gap top center, and then turned it inside out (right side out). The size of the gap was nice because I was able to fit the entire trashbag full of down and shake it out into the comforter (only 1 or 2 stray feathers!) I wasn't sure how well the down would even out inside the comforter, but I decided to dump all the down in anyways, and then sewed it shut!

Then I layed it out on the floor and the down out spread easily and evenly throughout the comforter. The only real difficulty I had was pinning the comforter to ease in sewing it. What worked best in the end was to pin all 4 corners of the comforter to the carpet to hold it tight. Then I measured my grid (15inch boxes, which in hindsight, is a little large. I should have gone with 10-12in.) Then I used a marker to make dashed lines of my grid directly onto the comforter.

Rookie Mistake: I placed my pins parallel to where my stitches were going to be, which was a BAD idea! The pins should be placed perpendicular to where you are stitching to help keep the bottom layer of fabric flat!! My sewing would have been SO much easier!

For the sewing, I used a tight stitch for the exterior stitches (appx 10 stitches per inch). For the "quilting" I did a loose stitch (appx 5 stitches per inch), hoping that the less stitching holes I place in the surface of the comforter, the better.

Now, I just need to be brave enough for the first washing!!

 

[goosedragon]

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When the down breaks down in a pillow and starts to appear as very fine dust it is very old, When it will no longer fluff up like it used to it is ageing. How fast it ages depend on how it is used. If you have pillow fights it would wear out fast. Just in case you are talking about down on a goose, they aren't harvested just for down until the 3rd year. Don't know age for ducks.

I have some ducks I am planning on doing, they are just a bit less then a year old. Would they be too young to make a good pillow with?

Not to young, but the down and fine feathers will be better at 2years. (that is far as I have taken duck feathers, older yet MAY be better)

 

[goosedragon]

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[ChickieBooBoo]

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I have some ducks I am planning on doing, they are just a bit less then a year old. Would they be too young to make a good pillow with?

Not to young, but the down and fine feathers will be better at 2years. (that is far as I have taken duck feathers, older yet MAY be better)

I think I'll try at 1 year and save the rest for the next year to try both

 

[mominoz]

I've read somewhere that duck down only last about 5 years and goose down can last 30.....I have sewn up a few down items, even re-harvesting some from a comforter. Down can easily go thru many fabrics, that is why on pillows they use "pillow ticking" usually a bluish stripe fabric or a pink pattern one. Been sold for years like that. They have a very tight weave. Had down pillows and comforters for years and used to have to sew up the holes, very tight stitching with several parallel runs. I have dust mite allergies so I no longer use down pillows or comforters.... Have fun