Refilling a down coat?
September 1, 2022 4:14 AM Subscribe
After a few years, my nice all-weather down coat now has virtually no down in the shoulders, just an empty fabric pouch (the inner waterproofing layers actually squeak together when I walk). Can I somehow re-fill that area of the coat with fresh down? Are there other options?
Re-fluffing/shaking hasn't worked, and because of the material I can't put it in the dryer. If anyone has had success reviving this kind of garment, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks!
Re-fluffing/shaking hasn't worked, and because of the material I can't put it in the dryer. If anyone has had success reviving this kind of garment, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks!
https://www.rei.com/repairs recommends one particular shop for down relofting.
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:13 AM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Down is challenging to work with when it's loose because it's just so incredibly fluffy. Are there perhaps baffles you could take apart from the outside with a seam ripper while leaving the down enclosed in the jacket as a whole, then reposition the filling and resew along the original lines?
posted by teremala at 6:05 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by teremala at 6:05 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
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You can buy loose down from certain kinds of cloth and clothing stores. You have to move very purposefully and slowly transferring the down to the coat. One quick move (or worse, a sneeze) will have you finding fuzzy bits for years.
(a not very patient thrifty friend thought he could repair his down jacket. He moved too fast *and* sneezed. His apartment was ankle deep in fuzz for a very long time. If you can afford professional repair/relofting, it's probably worth it)
posted by scruss at 7:32 AM on September 1, 2022
Down is challenging to work with when it's loose because it's just so incredibly fluffy
You can buy loose down from certain kinds of cloth and clothing stores. You have to move very purposefully and slowly transferring the down to the coat. One quick move (or worse, a sneeze) will have you finding fuzzy bits for years.
(a not very patient thrifty friend thought he could repair his down jacket. He moved too fast *and* sneezed. His apartment was ankle deep in fuzz for a very long time. If you can afford professional repair/relofting, it's probably worth it)
posted by scruss at 7:32 AM on September 1, 2022
I wouldn't attempt this myself - I'd contact Rainy Pass Repair (which is the shop recommended by REI in sebastienballard's link above) and see what they can do.
If the down hasn't been lost from the coat, it may need to be cleaned so it properly lofts and stays in place - down absorbs body oils and other dirts, then clumps up and doesn't stay puffy. Cleaning it will help that. Once it can loft, it can be moved back into the right places in the coat and stay there - or should, since there's always the chance that the coat is just poorly designed without baffles in the right places. Other possibilities are that down has left your coat somehow, baffles are damaged, etc. There are all sorts of things that may be going on with your coat causing the down to not be where you want it to be.
All of that complexity is why I say let the pros handle it - RPR should be able to figure it out, clean it, repair baffles that are missing/etc, and get the down into the right place.
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 7:36 AM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
If the down hasn't been lost from the coat, it may need to be cleaned so it properly lofts and stays in place - down absorbs body oils and other dirts, then clumps up and doesn't stay puffy. Cleaning it will help that. Once it can loft, it can be moved back into the right places in the coat and stay there - or should, since there's always the chance that the coat is just poorly designed without baffles in the right places. Other possibilities are that down has left your coat somehow, baffles are damaged, etc. There are all sorts of things that may be going on with your coat causing the down to not be where you want it to be.
All of that complexity is why I say let the pros handle it - RPR should be able to figure it out, clean it, repair baffles that are missing/etc, and get the down into the right place.
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 7:36 AM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
If you want to repair it yourself, could you make a couple of down 'pillows' from nylon and down, and patch it from inside? If you post on Buy Nothing or freecycle looking for a re-cycleable down jacket or vest, you'll likely get one you can re-purpose, and just cut out sections.
Wool patches would provide warmth and might look okay.
posted by theora55 at 8:31 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wool patches would provide warmth and might look okay.
posted by theora55 at 8:31 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
the best technique I've found for adding down is:
- source your down (new, or from a dead coat etc)
- make sure there's an opening into your coat that is going to be easy to sew or patch shut after.
- move to a bathroom or other easily vacuumed/swept room
- bring ALL of the supplies you need (including sewing supplies) in with you. DON'T open that door until you're done.
- attach noseeum netting over the top of a vacuum cleaner tube (still attached to the vacuum)
- fit another tube (maybe an extension for the vacuum, or a carboard tube... anything that fits snugly) over the end of the noseeum netting
- vacuum the loose down so it fills the tube
- slide the tube off of the vacuum (carefully), and insert it into the opening where it needs to go
- push the down through the tube using a non-sharp stick
- repeat until down is transferred
- immediately put tape over the opening!
- sew it or patch it shut however you'd prefer. Tight stiches, though.
It's not that hard, and it's not the worst kind of mess unless you do it in your bedroom or something foolish like that.
posted by Acari at 10:14 AM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
- source your down (new, or from a dead coat etc)
- make sure there's an opening into your coat that is going to be easy to sew or patch shut after.
- move to a bathroom or other easily vacuumed/swept room
- bring ALL of the supplies you need (including sewing supplies) in with you. DON'T open that door until you're done.
- attach noseeum netting over the top of a vacuum cleaner tube (still attached to the vacuum)
- fit another tube (maybe an extension for the vacuum, or a carboard tube... anything that fits snugly) over the end of the noseeum netting
- vacuum the loose down so it fills the tube
- slide the tube off of the vacuum (carefully), and insert it into the opening where it needs to go
- push the down through the tube using a non-sharp stick
- repeat until down is transferred
- immediately put tape over the opening!
- sew it or patch it shut however you'd prefer. Tight stiches, though.
It's not that hard, and it's not the worst kind of mess unless you do it in your bedroom or something foolish like that.
posted by Acari at 10:14 AM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Feel free to ignore this heresy but, shoulders? Poly fiberfill is available everywhere, less sneezy, and would make DIY less fraught. How warm do your shoulders really need to be?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:46 AM on September 1, 2022
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:46 AM on September 1, 2022
I don't have direct experience but one of my hobbies is (was? On hiatus) hammock camping. There used to be a pretty big DIY community making ultralight down quilts, so there are (were? I haven't looked in years) lots of entertaining working with down guides and sources of the down and other fabrics you need.
posted by freethefeet at 11:54 AM on September 1, 2022
posted by freethefeet at 11:54 AM on September 1, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
Can you put it in the dryer on just air with a few tennis balls? That’s a classic way to refresh a down product by redistributing the feathers and breaking up clumps.
posted by rockindata at 4:53 AM on September 1, 2022 [3 favorites]