Save My Feather Bed

Probably about once a month I get a call or email question about a leaking or poking feather bed and what can be done.

For starters – even the best feather beds will have leakage or poking due to the nature of them – i.e. they are filled primarily with feathers. Feathers unlike down have quills – quills which can poke through the fabric under the weight of your body. Aside from any skin poking they can also cause unsightly leaking feathers whcih can cling to a mattress and or your fitted sheets.

Relax we have a few suggestions on how to prevent and limit the poking and leaking that can occur. The first thing we would recommend is to use a feather bed protector – which basically completely envelops your feather bed kind of like a giant duvet. There are many styles available and range in price from $20 to $80 based on thread count, features and others bells and whistles. Of course we are partial to our own collection which feature an innovative three sided zipper – which opens up clam style for ease of placing on. I would generally recommend a twill style fabric as it tends to be think and durable regardless of the thread count. Do make sure the feather bed protector can fit your size – sometimes the thickness of the feather beds require some fancy math – in other words some protectors come in slightly larger sizes to accomodate the height of the feather beds. The DOWNLITE model is appx 2 inches larger in both dimesnions and is gussetted to allow for a proper fit.

The next step in feather bed heaven is to get an old white comforter that is largr then your mattress. You can simply place on top of the feather bed and tuck it underneath and then add your fitted sheet on top. Or you can buy a cheap mattress pad and cover the feather bed and then add the fitted sheet on top. The goal here is that both methods provide extra cushion to your feather bed.

Lastly, you have to understand that most feather beds on the market feature a 95 percent feather blend and only 5 percent down. Some luxury feather beds feature a 90 percent feather blend with 10 percent down for comfort. Some feather beds feature a pillow top made of polyester or down once again for added comfort.

Please note even the best feather bed with a down top still can use the tricks I mentioned.

What Are Duvet Loops?

Some high end down comforters feature duvet ‘loops’ which are used with special duvets featuring ‘ties’. In essence, a comforter with duvet loops can be used with our without a duvet. They were designed to help ‘hold’ the comforter in place within the duvet. Most duvet comforter protectors you find in a store do not have internal ties. Really the only time we see this system used outside of the hospitality industry is in fine european style linens. An easy fix for those concerned about internal sliding is comforter clips which can hold on to the comforter and duvet inside to some degree.

What Bedding Is Made In The USA?

Frequently, we will be asked this question from customers wanting to buy American bedding only. The answer is tricky, because most fabrics are woven in China, with some higher-end fabrics woven in Germany or Western Europe. Just like buying a car, your bedding contains elements from across the globe - whether it is the origination of the yarn material (Supima cotton vs. Egyptian cotton vs. just plain cotton), to the fabric finishing location, to the filling process. In this blog entry, we will try to cover each of the elements that result in a finished piece of filled down bedding.

It’s all about the Yarn

The predominant material used in bedding is cotton. Cotton is grown across the globe, with the majority of it grown in the U.S., India, China, etc. Superfine cottons – Supima, Egyptian – are grown in unique locations.  Notably, Supima is long-staple American-grown cotton, and Egyptian cotton is grown in Egypt. Please note that just because a cotton is Egyptian does not mean it is long-stapled.

Weaving

Most fabrics (90% or more) are woven in China due to the high labor cost involved in the milling process. Some fabrics are woven in other countries – Portugal, Italy, Germany, etc. When cotton is first woven, it has a rough texture like muslin.  This unfinished woven cloth is called “greige” cloth or “greige” goods. Most fabrics woven in China are greige cloth.  The appearance of this cloth is off color and speckled – more organic looking. While most greige goods are usually finished in China, a small percentage are finished abroad in Germany, Japan, etc.

Finishing

The finishing process involves mechanical and chemical treatments to improve the feel and/or performance of the cloth. The finest feeling fabric in the world tends to be German or Japanese goods (Korean too).

Assembling

Once woven and finished, it goes next to the assembly of the pieces. Most ‘cut and sew,’ as it is called, is handled in the finishing country (so if finished in China, it is cut and sewn there; if finished in Germany, it is finished there or a nearby country – Ukraine for example). This assembled material is now ready for filling – whether it is down or a down alternative.

Filling

Natural fillings (down, feathers, etc.) come from two locations – China or Eastern Europe. Usually, this is where the meat is consumed and the down or feathers are a byproduct of the poultry industry. The filling for most DOWNLITE products is processed in the United States – approximately 75% or so of all bedding we make.

In Summary

As you can see, filled bedding is an international effort, with materials from several countries. I often have a consumer seeking an all-American product, but the reality is that what I consider American still involves materials from around the globe. The underlying issue is that consumers are looking for products not made in China. In this case we recommend some of the European down comforters we make with fabric finished in Germany. The hand and feel of the fabric is quite amazing – our best comforter features a batiste cotton fabric filled with 800-fill-power Canadian white goose down.

Some of our retailers insist on only the finest fabrics for their bedding collections, such as the ‘Flair Down Pillow‘ series we make for Bloomingdales private label collection.

Removing Natural Down Or Feather Odor

Over the years we have gotten requests from customers along the lines of ‘How long will the pillows have an odor?’

Anyone who has bought a down or feather blend pillow knows that natural products have a natural odor. Typicaly the reason a product may have an odor is related to heat, humidity or moisture. Every down bedding manufacturer has to meet specific industry standards for cleanliness. In addition, most bedding manufacturrs have their own ’story’ about how they clean their fillings above and beyond government standards. Some manufacturers process their fillings domestically or they bring in the fills pre-cleaned.

DOWNLITE is unique in that 85% percent plus of its fills are processed in the states for domestically made items including pillows and comforters. Our special cleansing process is called RestAssured and it certifies that our fillings are processed to the same standard in the USA with 3-4 times higher standards then the governments.  Although we process all of our fills ocasionally the filling material might become moist or heated in which case the ‘natural’ odors can come out and cause discomfort. DOWNLITE stands behing all of its products and any cases of ‘odor’ are replaced and researched to pull those fillings off the market ASAP.

If a product smells is it bad?
Aside from the unpleasent sensation caused – it is likely that the filling has remnant oils inside the clusters or small feathers which when heated have an odor.  This is an occassional happening with duck down products [duck down or duck feathers have higher oil content].

All you need to do is wash the items in question with a teaspoon of dawn which is a degreaser. Be sure to dry the items extra well so that all moisture is removed. To learn more go to our informational website on bedding care.

A cheap trick for a feather pillow used as a sham stuffer on your bed is to place a fabric softener sheet in the sham or case [just don’t sleep on them as the scent can be too powerful].

Can A Comforter Be Embroidered?

I just had a customer send us an email asking if a down comforter can be embroidered as a gift? Well the quick answer is not really. I wrote the customer and gave two examples of alternate solutions. Solution #1: Embroider a ‘Corner’ Silk and attach to the lower corner of the comforter. You can have a local seamstress take a piece of satin and embroider it and then attach it to the comforter. Solution #2: Buy a Duvet and embroider the duvet instead. Because filled bedding – whether it is down or polyester or whatever are finished – it is nearly impossible to embroider a filled item. There are a couple reasons for this. First – the filling can leak out of or near the embroidery. Secondly – the process of opening up the item embroidering and then stuffing the filling back in – is very messy. 

So – when buying or making a gift – the cheaper solution is to buy a duvet and embroider that instead. Actually an even cheaper and maybe more visible option is to embroider the matching duvet shams. Finally – you can also just buy ala carte shams and embroider them and simply toss on the bed – a far cheaper solution.  Embroidering shams at a local gift or embroidery shop should run you about $12 or so.