Originally Posted by barbbrad
My husband and I own a outfitting business and bring hunters up from the states to hunt geese and ducks, would I be able to use the feathers that we get to make a quilt and how would I do that? :)
I made jackets and a sleeping bag with feathers from FrostLine kits many years ago. You have to have very tightly woven cloth to hold the feathers in - the kits used a very tightly woven nylon.
I have down comforters from Germany. They are made of VERY tightly woven cloth, too. The down is in compartments about 6 inches squares, so it doesn't bunch up at the end of the comforter. I made duvet covers for them from sheets, so that I have to wash them less often. I air them outside on the clothesline occasionally. They can be washed and dried in machines one at a time - using Orvus as you would for quilts. Put a couple old tennis shoes in the drier with it to help fluff it.
Thus, I wouldn't recommend making quilts using feathers unless you find fabric that is much more tightly woven that the cotton we use for quilts. Feathers have a way of poking their way OUT - even out of my 'fetterbetten'!