The feather beds we had when I was a kid were covered in blue-striped ticking, which was kinda like canvas.
My mother took the last one apart to make pillows for each one in the family, including spouses.
Years later I took the two for my husband and myself, and made them into one big pillow for our only son when he was about ten years old.
He loved that pillow and it went with him into his marriage. His wife was very tolerant for a lot of years, but the time finally came...

My grandfather had a mattress factory when I was young. He had a big machine he put the cotton or feathers in and it ran and I guess sterlized them. Then he sewed a ticking out of striped heavy ticking and then hand sewed with heavy yellow thread around the edge. People brought their old mattresses in to be refreshed. He added new to their old and made a new cover. He had an old Sewing commerical machine he sewed the ticking on. He did all this while totally blind. Amazing.

Have you ever heard of stripping feathers? My mom told us about doing that. The result would be much like down. Featherbeds and pillows were made. I slept between featherbeds many times. I didn't like them but you were definitely warm. Mom had several of DGM featherbeds,. We used them and as each of us married, they were used to make us pillows. Even each of the DGC received one when they were born.

Thought I was the only one who remembered that. LOL Don't remember that they were tied either. I'm certain that they were not, but I could be wrong. (senior moment?)

That's where the stripping comes in. Everything is stripped off the vein. Believe me, it takes a lot of feathers and it isn'e something you will make in a short time.

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'!

We had feather beds and feather quilts growing up. No heat in the upstairs of the farm house. The Feather beds were made with ticking and then stuffed with feathers. Feather quilts were done by using a tightly woven cotton fabric, tunnels were stitched and each tunnel was stuffed with feathers. Flannel sheets and a heavy wool quilt topped everything and we were kept warm and snug, even when it was below 0° and the wind was howling outside. During blizzards the snow would sift in around the windows as there were no storm windows in the upstairs.

You can make feather ticks. It is a tubelur tipe quilt, after the caseing is made one end of the tubes are left open for stuffing.These are very warm,and perfect for a hunting lodge.covering a tick with a washable cover is a good idea as the feathers do not wash well.
Gloria :thumbup: :thumbup:

My daughter has a feather mattress, feather pillows and a down comforter on her bed. She likes to burrow. When I visit her I use her bed since she stays up much later than I do..I have to throw the pillows and the comforter to one side...I feel like I'm being smothered.

Are you talking about feather beds? I remember those when I was growing up. Mother made them from duck feathers/down. She used what they call pillow/feather ticking as the outside. The feathers have to be washed and air dried to sanitize them. She would make it similar to a pillow case except it would be the size of the bed you were making it for. She would sew all the way around, leaving an opening large enough to put in the feathers. Then when it was the firmness you desired, you would sew the opening closed. They still sell the ticking, but I don't know if they sell the really wide ticking anymore. I re-covered one of Mama's feather pillows and she used it at the nursing home. She never did like any other pillow. I bought the ticking at Wal-Mart.

We would have these on our beds in the winter time especially, underneath the bottom sheet (of course we didn't have fitted sheets back then). (Oh my am I that old.....Yeh!!!)

I found one for a twin bed at Mama's home when I was cleaning up recently. Of course it is no longer usable since it was made years ago and has been upstairs so long.

They were so soft and warm to sleep on in the winter.

My Dh has an old feather pillow. Looks too flat for me but when I think it needs washing, I throw it in the washer and then throw it in the dryer and it does fine and fluffs right back up in that dryer. If there was any mites or anything, that dryer would surely kill them from the heat. I don't even know where he got it. Probably from his momma's estate.

I inherited an old "feather ticking" made with downy feathers as the lining from my mother-in-law when my DH and I were first married. I have stored it in a cedar chest all these years. It is in dire need of repair and I did not have the heart to throw it out.

I think that if the feathers are the real downy feathers (the softer ones) and dry, they would work in a quilt.

I 'repaired' a down pillow by simply buying ticking and making a cover and putting the OLD pillow in it and sewing up the end. Then I washed and dried the whole thing by machine. that way, I didn't have to take a chance on having feathers fly everywhere.

I actually saw a quilt made of duck feathers, etc. in a museum in Juneau, Alaska. They produced a book and that quilt is on the cover. Sorry, I don't remember the name of the book, etc. but know that feather quilts exist so it can be done. Perhaps if you contact the museum in Juneau, AK they could help you out if the internet doesn't. Go for it!!!

Oh, I do remember how I loved my down pillows and covers! Now, however due to illness I've had to switch to the alternatives which are nice, but just not the same soft lofty fluffy thing!

Roxanne

Just read through some of the replies and was happy to see that you got a lot of good responses.

To make a real down feather quilt, you need to strip the fluffy part of the feather from the spine. It takes lots of work. Then you need to get feather proof fabric which is very tightly woven so that the feathers won't come through the fabric. It takes quite a while to gather enough for a quilt, but once you do it's like sleeping under a cloud and so warm and toasty, there's nothing like it. To make you quilt you can either sew channels and put the down in each one or make sort of like double channels so that there are no cold spots on your quilt. I used to sit in our small half bathroom to fill the quilts. That helps to eliminate feathers flying all over the house.

Trust a Canadian to think of something like that. Just kidding! I know the Hutterites make their own feather pillows.

Judy

I have someone wanting me to make them a down duvet. They have bags full of cleaned down. Thanks for all the good ideas, I think I can do this for her now.

Yes you can. use the softer feathers as they are the best and will hold the warmth in better. My MIL and SIL all made the feather downs for all their family members. Was the feathers in pillow cases and warm soapy water, rinse then hang out in the sun for a few days until the feathers are properly dry. You lastly lock yourself in the smallest room you have and proceed to exchange them from the pillow cases to the bed size casing made from ticking ,sew up the end then you will have one of those expensive covers for next nothing.

I don't know about the f eathers, but as soon as I read your message, I began sneezing. Aaah-choo! :lol:

I love your avatar. Have we seen that one in full view? I may have missed it.

I have made pillows from goose feathers and down ,so quilts are only same but larger.
YOU MUST buy PROPER feather proof cambric to enclose the feathers which is now very difficult to get here as they will "poke" their way throughany other fabric which can be uncomfy.
You must cut up the larger feathers and discard the quill ends AND MOST OF ALL you must fumigate/stove/ them.
When done it is very satisfying , after all our Grandparents/G G parents [depending on your age!!!!] did this .