How down duvets are made
About 70% of the world's down comes from China, mostly from geese already raised for the table.
- stations
- 8
- things upstream
- 25
- raw sources
- 10
- steps from the ground
- 8
The short version
Down is a by-product of raising geese and ducks for meat. It is washed and rinsed many times, steam-dried, then blown through a separator where air and gravity split fluffy down clusters from heavier feathers. The clean fill is blown into a tightly woven cotton shell that is divided into stitched pockets, so it cannot drift to one end of the bed.
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Gather the down
Down and feathers are collected from geese and ducks, usually birds killed for meat. Goose down is preferred for bedding because it carries little or no smell.
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Wash and rinse
Raw down is washed and rinsed over and over to strip out dust and contaminants. Cleaner down lofts higher and is less likely to set off allergies.
10 rinses at one plant
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Steam-dry the clusters
Wet down goes into dryers that steam it quickly and thoroughly. The clusters come out open and lofty, and some makers add a sanitizing chamber heated to 200 °F.
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Blow-sort by weight
A separator blows the fill upward through a series of chambers. Light down clusters float farther, heavier feathers drop out sooner, and each chamber collects one grade.
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Measure the fill power
Technicians put one ounce of down in a graduated cylinder, drop a small weight on top, and read how many cubic inches it holds up. Higher numbers mean bigger clusters and more warmth for the weight.
about 550 to 900 cubic inches per ounce
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Weave a down-proof shell
Cotton yarn is woven tight enough that down cannot work its way through. Guides call for at least 180 threads per square inch, and 250 or more is better.
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Stitch the baffle boxes
Thin strips of fabric are sewn between the top and bottom sheets, standing up like walls to form three-dimensional pockets. Cheaper sewn-through designs stitch the two layers straight together, which leaves cold seams.
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Blow down into each box
A filling pipe blows an equal weight of down into each pocket through a small opening, which is then sewn closed. Sealed pockets keep the fill from shifting, and the finished duvet is checked again.
Worth repeating
- In the United States, anything labeled goose down must contain at least 90% goose down.
- Eiderdown is collected from wild duck nests, and 50 to 60 nests yield only about one kilogram.
- A Viking ship buried around AD 820 at Oseberg in Norway held down duvets among its grave goods.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and down duvet starts as these 10 raw sources.
Everything it is made of See it on the map
Open the whole family tree
Keep walking
Sources
- Down feather
- Duvet
- Down Buying Guide
- Understanding Down Comforter Construction Styles
- Down Comforter Guide
Cite this page: "How down duvets are made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/duvet