So she's not wanting you to make her a quilt, its more of just making the comforter for her? I've got a down comforter and its done in boxes, that way the down doesn't just end up at one end of the comforter as if you just put in baffles. It makes fluffing up the comforter much easier and the warmth is all over then.

If this is want she wants then this is how I would do it. I would sew 3 sides together, then turn inside out and do a topstitching along the 3 sides to stregthen the seams. I would put some down in and then do a line of stitching across the top and then restuff and sew till you get to the end and then sew the top closed and re-enforce with a topstitching.

And I would charge her a WHOLE lot to do this. You'll end up with a house full of down and be vaccuuming down for months afterward. Buy the highest thread count fabric you can find.

Hi
I sleep under a down "duvet" every night, all year round, if it isn't on me, it is next to me. That being said, IMO down is not a filler for a quilt. As mentioned in another post, there is a specific process for making down duvets or as they are called in Norway - dyna (deena). We purchase or make covers and pillowcases to match and change them weekly. The feather duvet is put out in the sun or into the dryer to make sure any "living things" are killed. Kind of like taking the time to steam your mattress or use an ultraviolet light on it.

A down duvet is for life, is you have bought a good one because there are places where they can remove and wash the feathers and replace them into a new cover.

I have 3 down duvets which I love. They are light weight and warm. There is a difference $$$ between down and goose feathers!! I do not have mine covered with a duvet cover as I use them as a blanket. One is over 50 years old, and to me it is priceless.

Years ago, I made several Frostline kits - down jackets. The packets of down were very compressed into narrow packages (maybe she could do this for you) Then when you were putting it together, you had a packet for each section - channel, and you carefully squeezed the down out of the plastic bag it was in, and into the channel. If she was willing to "package" the down, it would make it much easier for you. I don't know if Frostline is still doing business, but their products were very good - my daughter and I wore the jackets and vests for years.

I just checked for the Frostline kits - not available any more, but there is a Thru-hiker.com site that has down jacket kits and also a down quilt kit, that might give you an idea of how much down to use - just more info to use in deciding whether or not to deal with a lot of "fluff". It is really very light and warm, and I couldn't live without my down pillows! I love that I can punch them into support right where I want it.

I agree !!!

All of you on this board are just wonderful and can't thank you enough for all the help and information you are willing to pass along. It is very much appreciated!

Hey, Gal, my Mother did the same thing in Iowa when I was a child except that there was no feather bed on top of the straw filled mattress. The straw was great when it was fresh, but not as soft when you slept on it for awhile. I still have some pillows that my Mother made for me out of feathers and I treasure them.

Check with an upholstery place or if the local school have an upholstery class. A student used down for the back and seating of her chair, used a vacuum type tool to suck the down into a bag and then reversed the tool to push it into channels for the back and seat.