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? :)

"Never heard of making a quilt with the feathers, but you could sure come up with some expensive down pillows!

that is a great idea, it is just I butcher all the birds for meat and throw the feathers out, I figured I might be able to use them instead of wasting them, Thank you

Don't they just use the smaller feathers for "down"?
Maybe someone would be interested in purchasing the larger feathers? I bet you could sell them on ebay to someone :D:D:D

maybe for crafts great idea!!!Thanks

I found a place on google that shows you how to make down pillows, it is easy now I have seen it.thanks for the idea.http://www.ehow.com/how_2363884_make-down-pillow.html

When I spent the night at my grandmothers, the thing I enjoyed the most was jumping into bed and sinking down in the feather bed, and then I covered up with another one. gosh, that was the best feeling! Especially in the winter when there wasn't any heat in that room.lol I don't know how easy it would be to make one, but it can be done.

I would like to try but I can only find pattern for pillows,

You could make a duvet, and then make a quilt for the cover.

I think the insides were heavy , like pillow ticking, and grandma just kept adding feathers until it was thick enough. After the ticking was fullo, it was stitched closed and then a duvet was put over it. That way she could take the duvet off and wash. The feather bed itself was just aired oiut and shook real good each time it was used. I d0on't remember that it was tied anyplace, because we use to shake the heck out of it to get it fluffy all over.

thats a good idea!!! my mom has a feather duvet and always getting poked but if I can make a quilt cover for it, it would be better.

we had feather pillows and feather beds when i was a child. to the best of my remembrance they were not tied just stuffed with 'down' not the hard outside feathers and you just 'fluffed' it when you made the bed. AND you never sat on the bed after it was made cause it would smash the feathers.

you use high quality muslin, if you buy the wide stuff (90" or 108") you can just get 2 separate pieces. (or of course what ever size you want to work with. lay a piece out, and draw 'channeles' across it...9"-12" apart is a good size, then turn and cross them again making squares of your chosen size. (you may want to make a little one to get the hang of this) put the two pieces of fabric together with your marked side facing in. stitch around 3 sides with 1/2" seam; turn right side out (markings now outside) press edges and stitch again around it with the first seam enclosed in the new seam (this helps keep the feathers from working out of the seam) now, this depends on how big you are working with....if it's big you only want to stitch your channels a little way at a time. if it's not too long, start at the seamed bottom of your (big pillowcase) at the center line, stitch up that channel. then working from one side stitch the channels so you have tubes. pour into each channel your clean feathers, so they are even across and as full as you want them, stitch the cross line, enclosing them... add more, stitch across...when you get to the top double fold the top and double stitch...this then can be used as your (batting) in a quilt :)

I would think you'd have to heat sterilize the down feathers. Otherwise...eeeewwww. Mites, critters and whatever else lives in feathers.

I once bought 2 feather pillows. They were very nice but once in a while, a feather would poke out and stab you in the cheek. I guess you have to cut the hard part of the "vein" of the feather up high, else it will poke through the fabric.
What an interesting idea. I'd like to know if you do follow-up making feather quilts--I bet your process is a good story.!

My memory is the same... remember you could hardly move but so warm and comfy!

mseva,

I love your Avatar quilt!

I can't resist posting these dimensions for a feather bed: "It was nine feet high and six feet wide, soft as a downy chick
It was made from the feathers of forty 'leven geese, took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick
It'd hold eight kids 'n' four hound dogs and a piggy we stole from the shed
Didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun on Grandma's feather bed."
Thank you, John Denver.

I do know for a fact that you HAVE to get a special fabric that doesn't let the tips of the feathers poke through - it is very tightly woven - for pillows it is called "pillow ticking". As with another poster - you would surely have to sanitize the feathers first - not sure how you would do that - maybe search the internet for that. I think that it was be a very big job to get enough "good, clean" feathers gathered up to stuff a quilt with them.

hmmm, wouldn't they have to be cleaned some how first?

I think the best way would be to make tubes, then fill all the tubes to a certain point, sew across to close that section and keep doing it that way. My MIL gave us a huge down comforter, way too hot, so I've thought about making winter vests or jackets doing the same method.

Barbbrad,
I have to add my 2 cents worth here. I remember my mother making feather pillows and "quilts". Lots of good suggestions here, web site ok but did not say this is at least a 2 person job.
Before doing anything all feathers were washed in soapy water, then dried, (she air dried them, away from any movement of any kind) Probably could be washed and dried in drier if put in tied pillowcase. Her preferance was the down of geese and ducks, usually found on the breast portion of the birds. She never used larger feathers as they came off the bird. They were stripped, pulled off of the spine.. It was my job to hold the case open as she put the feathers in. Very time consuming projects.
I still use the pillows she made 3/4 of a century ago. My pillows are over 65 yrs old. They have had new outer cover put on. Every time I change sheets the pillows get aired out side, fluffed a couple of times during airing.
Fabric for quilt or pillow was very heavy fasbric called feather ticking, don't know if it is still available or not.
Good luck. End product definitely worth it if you have the time and patience to do this.
Keep us posted.

One of my favorite songs! Memories...... :thumbup:

You don't use the "feathers" - it would be really uncomfortable and not that warm.
You use the tiny, tiny "feathers" known as down, even though it's called "feather pillows" etc.
It's the fluffiness of the down that traps the air and insulates from the cold. Kind of the same theory as the puffy fiberglass you put in your house walls for insulation.

we have an artist in our area who paints wildlife scenes on turkey feathers...just amazing. Maybe the same on goose feathers?

If you have the patience to collect enough downfeathers (the really small ones), you measure the size of your bed: king, queen, etc. Add 6ins, make a large pillowcase, leaving approx 12in on oneside to stuff the feathers. After you have it stuffed, stitch your open area closed. The hard part is whether or not you want to hand quilt this to stablize it. You are making a duvet basically.

My mother and grandmother always made feather pillows and they used pillow ticking. It is actually good for making any pillows as it is a heavyer fabric. You only use the down feathers not the wing feathers. I couldn't sleep on feather pillows as I would get ear aches.

oh how this takes me home to england my parants have gone but this memery willstay for ever
thank you

Oh, the sweet memories of sleeping in my grandmothers featherbed (chicken feathers). Thanks for bringing those memories back.

My husband and I have had down blankets for years. Down is the soft feathers under the coarser feathers. You don't want to use the coarser outer feathers for a down quilt. The nice thing about a down quilt is that they keep you warm in the winter and cool (don't ask, I don't know why either) in the summer. You can check at garage/rummage sales and find some old ones, and have them redone in new ticking. I make duvets out of two twin sheets for the case on the blanket, sew on three large snaps and VOILA! just saved about $75.00! I get four twin flat sheets and I have enough duvets for one on and one in the wash! We each have our own feather blanket (in a double bed) and cocoon ourselves! If it were me, I would make channels, stuff the channels and close up the blanket. I would then turn the quilt and make "boxes'. I have learned over the years that the boxed blanket keeps the down in place and they don't wander either to the top or to the bottom. Channeling, alone, would cause that problem. You can wash the blankets, dry them in the dryer. It takes quite a while. You can't really hang them out, because they are settled and will take a million years to dry. You can wash down pillows the same way. We generally get our federbetten from Germany.
They have the best! We think! Edie

I have a featherbed, bought from QVC. They state that they wash the feathers up to 15 times to get them really clean, whereas the industry standard is 4 times.

A duvet IS eseentially a quilt.

I love that song, too.

For the larger feathers, there is definitely a market for them in the crafting world, especially among the historical re-enacting community.

We have friends who are trying to raise the 'pretty' chickens, ducks & geese of various varieties for that specific purpose. For them the eggs are just a bonus.

I used to use goose wing feathers for faux finishes, like doing marble veining. I have seen spiderweb "brooms" made of turkey wing feathers.

I used to use goose wing feathers for faux finishes, like doing marble veining. I have seen spiderweb "brooms" made of turkey wing feathers.

We have a feather blanket/quilt that we bought in Germany. It is actually too warm for us here in SC. but was great when we were still in Mi.

I loved that song!

The "feathers" aren't used...the "down" from the chest and belly areas are used. They are small and softer.My mom made all her feather pillows and feather beds for 5 beds, I don't ever remember any mites, bugs or other critters in the feathers she used.

Brings back memories when I was little and would go the farm, they had the feather beds and I was always told not to get on it, I would mess it up, but I was a little girl and you know what I did. It was so cozy. Butttt, if you allergies they are not the best thing for you, pillow or what ever. Little mites or what ever the dr. called them love the feathers.