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Down Quilts

Down quilts are a comfortable choice of bedding. They are a longlasting solution which makes them a price wise decision.

There are many ways to construct a quilt in the efforts of keeping down even across the whole area, preventing down from shifting. It is crucial to choose one that actually achieves this goal. As I do a fair share of repair and renovation of down quilts and pillows, I see substandard quality on a regular base. Sometimes the fabric (ticking) is not downproof, in which case the client will have down fragments and small feathers flying in their bedroom or especially when changing bedding. Other times the ticking is good but there is less amount of down than the customer was made to believe. Or clients think they buy a down quilt and it is all feathers, which are much less costly then down.

I offer you a choice of the baffled channels or the square box construction. In the channels the down can shift from head to feet, giving you a choice of a less warm quilt at times by letting the down slide away from your body. It requires readjusting of the down to keep it evenly spread but also gives you access to the channels if you would require adjustment of filling volume.

The square box construction is the most efficient way of keeping down even. This is only true if each square is closed individually. This process is done by hand and is not found in commercially made quilts.

More Details on the Type of Quilt Construction

Channel Construction

The long channels will allow the down to travel all the way from your shoulders down to your feet. To some this is an advantage as they can adjust the warmth to a certain degree this way, for example; in summertime you can let most down stay down by your feet and have a cooler quilt. In winter however, to have an even warmth every night you will have to turn the quilt or shake the down back in position. this is what some people choose to do. The channel construction also allows you to fill in more down as it looses volume, as each end allows you access to each channel.

Square Box Construction

On the other side we have clients that do not want any shifting of the down at all. Then the square box construction is the answer, but only if each box is sealed off and no connecting space is left open. This you will have a hard time to find or even to find anyone able to know what you are talking about if you would ask for this information. Most sales personnel are not familiar with the construction of the quilts. Most quilts are filled by machines with long filler tubes and they leave a hole open in the baffle that separates each square. Between Murphy's Law and gravity the down will eventually find its way through these spaces out to the edges, which always are hanging lower than your shoulders or hips and this will leave you with lots of cold, empty spots where it is the most important to have the warmth.

Where does this leave you?

With me. I make every quilt individually and fill each channel or square by hand. As I fill one square it is immediately sealed off before I fill the next one. This will make you a quilt which will keep its warmth and shape as long as the ticking holds up which can be from 10-15 years, then the down can be taken out and moved into a new cover in my renovation process. This also means that you will not have the variation in warmth so naturally, against all other advertising you can read about, it will be too hot for the summer. Nothing can be warm in the winter and cool in the summer unless adjustment is able to take place, this is a myth. As each square is closed it is also not possible to take out or add more down. So you may have to have a separate summer quilt or start the night with a flannel sheet and as the room cools off, slip the quilt back on.

Is there a "One size fits all" solution?

Sure, as always it is a matter of how much you want to spend. Let me make you two light weight quilts and we'll snap them together for the wintertime's cooler nights. Be proud of yourself for taking this time to research your important purchase and congratulations for finding this site, not everywhere can you find this abundance of information in regards to this subject.

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