Feather Eiderdown - Any ideas on how it is done?
 

Hello All,
I am brand new to the forum, what a great site you have, I am so excited I discovered it!
I love feather eiderdowns - with all the decorative shaping - and while I have a vintage one, I would love to make my own! I have done so many searches on the internet and can't find the information anywhere on how to make them. Can anyone share their knowledge? Or is there a book that I can source?
All I have gathered so far is that feathers are messy to work with ;) !
The bits I was not sure about is how to ensure evenness of feathers, whether specific fabric needed to be used, I don't have a clue! If anyone has any advice, I would really appreciate it! I don't want to have to take my vintage eiderdown apart just to learn from it...
I would appreciate any of your help.
Thank you!

Hi from Germany!Okay - this is what I know about eiderdown featherbeds: the feathers come from eiderdown ducks (Norway), and are the feathers that the ducks use in their nests. The feathers are harvested - about half stay in the nest to keep the eggs warm. That makes the feathers very expensive. You would also need a special, very densly woven cotton fabric to keep the feathers from poking through. I have never heard of anyone who attempted to make her own eiderdown featherbed! If I were you I would look for a specialty shop that makes featherbeds - and look in Europe, we still have featherbeds on our beds! And we quilters use quilts too.
Let me know if I can help you with more information!
Greetings from sunny Tyrol!

Hello Tirolgirl!
Thank you so much for coming back to me ! I didn't know that an eiderdown was also called a 'featherbed'! That could help me with my searches! I thought this was a good site to start a discussion on, as the top (and reverse) has quilting patterns on it.
I live in the UK, but it is interesting to know that people in Germany also have eiderdowns!
I think that some eiderdowns have a mix of other down to help keep the cost a little lower... Do you know any companies that manufacture eiderdowns? I saw one - englisheiderdowns.co.uk but they don't provide any detail on how to make one for yourself ! I might have to take my eiderdown apart :( but there is nothing like experimentation.. !

Hi and welcome to the board from Iowa.

Are you talking about a "quilt" or blanket that is stuffed with Eiderdown feathers? Or are you talking about a whole bed of feathers (Featherbed)? I got the impression you are talking about a quilt, or a blanket.

A long time ago my mother introduced my brother to sewing by buying him a kit from a company named Frostline, the kit he got was to make a feather stuffed sleeping bag (not Eider, but other "down" feathers (the "down" feathers being the "inside" feathers which are shorter, lighter, fluffier and have a smaller quill)). For that, and down parka's as well, the first step was to sew "tubes" of fabric - then stuff the tubes with feathers. He had bags of feathers that he would insert the whole bag, then use a ruler to flip the opening the of the bag - empty the feathers and pull the bag out of the tube.

If I were you, I would start this way, by making the horizontal tubes and stuffing them, then if you wanted to keep the down from moving within the horizontal tube - quilt vertical stitches over it after it's stuffed.

Hello All - what a friendly welcome! Hello Iowa !
DogHouseMom - yes - I mean a quilt/blanket stuffed with feathers! The tube idea does make sense. And I see what you mean about trying to push the bag in, rather than trying to stuff the feathers by hand. Have you ever heard of a book on this topic? I think I might be finding it hard to locate because it is mostly a vintage concept. Would you have any idea of the fabric I would use to keep the down in, to prevent the feathers from escaping through the fabric? Do you think I might need some kind of interliner?
Thank you again for all your help and advice!

Welcome from Connecticut

If you go on this site http://www.cuddledown.com/category/featherbeds.do
They have cut aways showing how they are constructed. Maybe that will help?
We lived in Germany and Denmark for a long time. We own several down comforters and also feather beds. I've recently purchased from this site and am very happy with the quality.

We have a store that carries featherbeds and comforters made from eider down. The Company Store. They do have catalogs. I do know that they use downproof fabric to make these products. they also use some sort of machine to blow the down into the channels etc. I went thru ther factoy years ago.

Good Luck

suzy

Hello Connecticut!
CarrieC - Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Having checked the website link, it is not a featherbed that I would like to make (Phew, that keeps the search list down!) but something that is decorative, in a cute fabric, that I have stitched in interesting shapes. I think there must be another name for Eiderdown in the States? I use one at the foot of my bed, over my normal quilt. Kind of like a quilted blanket, but inbetween the quilting that you would do, there is feathers. I am beginning to think it is more niche than I originally believed!