16oz of down for $5 TQ time!

[Boothill]

Question: what should my dimensions for the quilt be? I am 6ft 1" and have a 12" shoe size? I would say 78" x 42"...but is that big enough for a foot box?

i would say that's a bit narrow, i'd suggest going with about 50" wide or so, i made mine even a bit wider than that (55") so that i can tuck it around me real good

don't forget to take your seam allowance into account, you will pry lose a couple of inches for seams

boot

[vinnya42]

Thanks for that...I do want to get this down to freezing or lower with the proper clothing on. I will look at the width of my sleeping bag because that is a great width for me to tuck and full coverage.

[vinnya42]

I did a test that I think tells me the down power. My understanding is 900 fill power means 1 oz of down will loft 900 sq " of space.

So I get exactly 1oz of my down put it in a 900 sq " container and fluffed up the down and put as much air in it as I could to get the maximum loft (this fluffing may be wrong?). I was able to fill 700 sq " of the container...does that mean it is 700 + or - down?

let me know where I messed up this experiment.

Thanks.

[wwk10]

Vinny,
I am patiently awaiting an answer.
Sound right to me though.

[vinnya42]

That would be something amazing if it were around 700 power down...and it gets better since I have recalculated the amount of down to 24oz!

I have enough to make a high loft down vest too. I think my starting dimensions will be 78" x 50"

[rbinhood]

Fill power is a measure of the loft or "fluffiness" of a down product that is loosely related to the insulating value of the down. The higher the fill power the more insulating air pockets the down has and the better insulating ability. Fill power ranges from about 175 cm³/g (300 in³/oz) for feathers to around 900 cm³/g for the highest quality down. Higher fill powers are associated with a larger percentage of down clusters and a larger average down cluster size.

Measurement

Fill power is the most frequently used measure of down quality. It involves measurements taken of a one ounce sample of down in a plexiglas cylinder with a weighted piston compressing the down. The test requires controlled temperature, humidity, and preparation of the sample. All other things being equal a parka (duvet or sleeping bag) made with high fill power is lighter and more compressible than an equally warm one made with lower quality down. Fill power is expressed as cubic inches per ounce (in³/oz)—a lofting power of 400–450 is considered medium quality, 500-550 is considered good, 550–750 is considered very good, and 750+ is considered excellent.

US 2000 norm : cylinder diameter : 241 mm conditionning : steaming+3 to 5 days in a sreen box compression cylinder : non-mechanized cylonder of68,3 grams. Mass of the sample : 1 oz=28,4 grams.

EN norm : cynlinder diameter : 284mm, conditionning : tumble dry +2-5 days in a screen box compression cylinder : Lorch machine= mechanized cylinder weighing 94,25 grams, Mass of the sample :30 grams


750+ fill is quite different from 400 fills. Almost all down commercially available is a secondary product of geese raised for consumption. It would be prohibitively expensive to raise geese for down alone. The geese that are the source for lower fill down are about four months old when they are "harvested" for food. Down from these geese can be carefully sorted, washed, and blended, but it will never loft like really mature down. The 700+ down fill comes from a small number of birds kept for breeding purposes throughout the year. These geese molt naturally in the spring. While their down is loose it is collected by hand. It is very rare and, of course, expensive. The larger individual plumules are what gives the greater loft. The only way to get down of this quality is by careful hand selection which is the major factor in its scarcity.

Insulation and weight

Depending on the intended application, the highest available fill power may not be necessary. A high fill power will provide more insulating ability for a given weight of down. The warmth of a down comforter depends not only on the fill power, but also on the quantity of fill. So the difference between a comforter with 550 fill power down and a comforter with 700 fill power down is that the 700 fill power down comforter will be lighter for the same warmth rating. High fill powers are most important for weight sensitive applications such as backpacking.

Down (or any insulation) provides warmth by trapping a layer of air that separates the cold side from the warm side. A thicker layer of trapped air gives more insulation. This thickness is often called "loft." A comforter that uses 550 fill power down, for example, would have to use approximately 40%-50% greater weight of down than a similar item that uses 800 fill power down to provide the same loft.

[rbinhood]

Vinny:

If the unweighted down only filled 700 cu. in., I would guess it's probably 550 fill power, which is fairly common for a lower to medium quality down comforter.

As someone else noted, a lot depends on how the quilt was treated before you bought it. If it was washed in a machine with regular detergent, the down may be ruined. Down pods have oil in them. If the oil is stripped by improper washing, the clusters will eventually crumble and have no lofting power.

If weight is not a critical issue, you are probably ok making a quilt from it and taking your chances. Even if you got a season or two out of it, it would be worth the $5.00 you paid, not factoring in your time to make the quilt. It could be a valuable learning experience, too. Good Luck.

[vinnya42]

Rbinhood thanks for the comprehensive explanation about down power. It is good to know where I am starting from.

I will make it with the down I have and then not do a doubled over stitch on the fill side of the baffles. I can then later suck out the cheap down and fill with 900 down when the $ is more plentiful.
I will do all the sewing on the TQ then weigh it and add the difference in down to make 20oz total weight. I am wondering if I should wait on the vest since removing the down would be harder on a vest?