How down jackets are made

The warmth in a down jacket comes from air trapped between clusters of soft under-feathers that have no stiff shaft.

stations: 6
things upstream: 47
raw sources: 17
steps from the ground: 9

The short version

A factory checks shell, lining and down against the specification, cuts the panels and sews or forms them into empty chambers called baffles. In a separate room, machines blow a pre-weighed charge of down through tubes into each chamber. Fill openings are sewn closed, sleeves, hood and zipper go on, and the jacket is shaken so the clusters spread evenly and loft before final inspection.

Inspect the materials

Shell and lining are checked for shade, width, weight and visible defects. Down papers are matched against the order, and trims are tested before any cutting.

Goes in
Nylon
Cut panels, form baffles

Panels are cut from patterns, and seams sewn with ultra-fine needles make up the chambers. Stitch and baffle sizes follow a quilting map.

Goes in
Sewing thread
Blow in the down

Down is weighed for each size, and a calibrated machine blows it through tubes into each chamber in a separated area that controls dust. Fill weights are recorded.

Goes in
Down
Close the openings

A closing seam seals every fill opening, trapping the insulation inside for good.

Goes in
Sewing thread
Attach sleeves and trims

Sleeves, hood, zipper, snaps and labels are joined to the body, and seams and measurements are checked.

Goes in
Zipper
Shake, loft and pack

The jacket is shaken hard to spread the clusters through their chambers, then cleaned, checked for full loft and packed.

End of the lineDown jacket

Worth repeating

Down quality is measured in fill power, the number of cubic inches that one ounce of the down fills.
A mountaineer named George Finch is credited with wearing an early down jacket in 1922, made from balloon fabric and eiderdown.