I just finished my DIY top quilt and took it out for a night. When I woke up in the morning, there was down all over my smartwool shirt. I inspected the quilt and found there were numerous feathers poking through the fabric, and not at the stitching, but in the middle of the fabric. I picked about 20 feathers that were poking half way through.
The material is Brown 1.1 oz ripstop from DIY Gear Supply and the feathers are 850 from Wilderness Logics.
Is this normal?
Last edited by awilder; 05-14-2013 at 16:54.
not all ripstop is downproof, maybe you got some that wasn't?
boot
The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us. ~Bill Watterson
yeah you have to make sure that your material is calendard
Coyote Brown???
No, not at all, at least not with "down proof" (i.e., "calendared") ripstop.Originally Posted by awilder
From Backpacking Light site --
"It can't just be basic ripstop nylon, it must be calendared."
Rain Man
.
"You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims." --Harriet Woods
http://www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker
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OK, I guess I should have done a little more research on fabrics.
However, this is what DIY Gear Supply says on their site:
"1.1oz (30d) Ripstop Nylon. 64″ wide. Breathable.
NOTE: While these fabrics are not guaranteed downproof, we have used all of these fabrics (except the Light Blue and Woodland Camo) in down gear (850fp) with no leakage.
Sold by the linear Yard."
Hey awilder -
Are the feathers coming through (they have tiny quills that poke through fabric) - or the actual down clusters (no quills to poke through to speak of)? Featherproof is not the same as downproof. I get feathers coming out of even my highest priced commercial down quilts.
I also get a fair amount of down dust (don't know how better to describe it - like shreds of down clusters) on any down gear I build - that persists for a while until it's all cleaned off. Losing lots of actual down clusters, not dust and not feathers, is a different story. I tried really hard to get some to come out in testing and couldn't get it to leak.
Also, just to clarify an above statement - Calendared does not equal downproof. It helps, but it's not what makes something downproof.
If this brown is leaking down clusters (not just down dust and feathers), I really want to know about it. Let me know a bit more details if you can and I'll do what I can to make it right.
- Scott @ DIY Gear Supply
DIY Gear Supply - Your source for DIY outdoor gear.
Is it the olive brown or coyote brown? Both should be good though
The down coming out is from the quills poking through. It freaked me out a little, because of all the work I put into the quilt. You're right, that a lot of the down on my shirt was probably down dust from a newly constructed quilt. I was just really surprised to see the quills poking out.
I'm going to take another look at the quilt and clean it off really well.
I wasn't sure if I had chosen the wrong materials or if there was sort of a breaking in period.
@Scott, this is such stand-up offer and one of the many reasons why I like going through your shop! Really cool of you to offer that
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