down quilt

looking for cotton down feather quilt, white/off white, double or queen size. someone said costco. does anyone know if this is sold in ajijic? or one of the malls in guad? if i cant find one, where can i get an all cotton blanket? (white off white, good quality).

LIVERPOOL

susan, are you looking for a down quilt or a feather quilt? There is a huge difference in price and quality. The Home Store (on the third floor of the Gallerias Mall) has a huge selection and variety. Costco had only one kind which I believe was down. Try and get one that has the chambers divided into squares. The ones that are in channels allow the down to "fall" to the bottom. They are all covered with white cotton.

And, as David says, they are also available in Liverpool.

Home Store, Liverpool, Costco. Have seen them at all these places. Prices were highest at Liverpool like over $3,000-4,000 pesos, was at Home store on Saturday (Acueducto) and for queen size they were $1,500 to $1,800 pesos.

Having spent a number of years in a previous life in the backpacking and mountaineering industry, I may be somewhat qualified to explain feather vs down. Technically speaking down is not a feather and is only harvested from certain areas of a duck or goose, primarily the chest. It is a byproduct of raising ducks or geese for food and the main source is China. Photo of down and please notice that it doesn't look like a typical feather:
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While down is one of the finest insulators in the world, there is a big difference between goose and duck and also the weather in the area where they are raised. The efficiency is measured by the cubic inches that one ounce will fill. Your finest downs will be rated at 600 cubic inches or higher per ounce and will almost always be goose down. Feathers have no where near the insulating power but will often be passed off as down.

As an aside, true down comforters should never be dry cleaned as it removes the natural oils and should also never be laundered in your typical laundry detergents for the same reason. Woolite is one of the best commercial products and down should be dried on an air dry setting with virtually no heat.

Yikes...I didn't know I should use woolite or dry them with no heat. Thank you cheenagringo for the information! I have two new ones I am getting ready to take out of the package, and will follow your advice for them. I have not shopped the Home Store yet...looking forward to it.

I neglected to say that it is advisable to wash in a front loader as the agitator in a top loader can stress the seams or baffles that contain the down in channels. When drying, it helps to have some other heavier clean items in the dryer to fluff the down while drying. We used to use white tennis balls but they have kind of disappeared.

Good goose down is one of the very best natural insulators in the world. Thickness and dead air space is what enhances the ability to retain heat. But it works best when kept clean!

Towards that end, many experienced down comforter users use a duvet or comforter cover. These are easier to clean and then help to isolate the actual comforter and the down from body oils and dust or dirt. Plus if you have a couple of different ones with different patterns, you can easily change the look of your bedding.

ferret/cheena: had many down/feather quilts. always w/the cross stitch pattern. i am on my 3rd one now since i have been here regularly. (bought 2 of them in bloomingdales, &sent to myself, postal-while visiting usa). i have seen feathers come out AND fuzz. (had them all). @this moment i am not picky, weight can be light. i have not washed this one in over 2 yrs, disgusting. usually bring quilts into the laundry, do myself in large front loader. leave it for the girls to dry, pick up same day. (they will never use air as it may take hours, this explains why my other 2 did not last more than 3-4 yrs. each)! april/may is when i wash this item, but machine was broken. waited for them to fix it.......you know this story. now they send quilts to another place, ready in 24-36hours. need another one while this is washing, its freezing @night. may go on dec 2nd "bus trip" -galleria/liverpool, get it there, or hire driver. (doute there is an all cotton/or 80% cotton temporary blanket in ajijic). one more question: does liverpool deliver to ajijic? or galleria? they used too, but not all of their stores do. had problem there years ago, could not purchase cookware. (remember this is not bloomingdales).

chevey57: go to "does price equals san...?" (topic on mirador) & your bedding questions are answered. yes start a business.

susan wrote:chevey57: go to "does price equals san...?" (topic on mirador) & your bedding questions are answered. yes start a business.

Well, starting a business lakeside has been a dream of mine...but I didn't know what the needs were. I guess I will have to try out a few different things on a small scale and see if anything works. Seems like down quilts, duvets, and all-cotton blankets are hard to find. I have found that a space bag works well to compress the quilt to fit it into a suitcase....that leads me to a question for Cheenagringo....would using the spacebag (where you use a vacuum to suck out the air) cause any damage to the down?

None what so ever. Think of the fluffy down sleeping bag that is often stuffed into a quite small nylon bag for carrying.

chevy57: correct. all cotton, bedding, blankets, quilts. (80% cotton @the least) brands like wamsutta. practical things are difficult to locate.

The Home Store tried it in Ajijic. By the time you get the goods here; buying, shipping, duties, the price you need to sell them for is higher than folks want to pay.

Perhaps they need to be made domestically in Mexico. There must be a supply of down and fabric?

One needs to keep in mind that quality bedding and quality down comforters are made from imported material even if they happen to be sewn in the US. The very best down comforters are sewn with vertical baffles which create boxes that not only hold the down in a confined space but also provide uniform thickness. These baffles can be .5", 1", 1.5", 2"and up. The taller the baffle, the greater the thickness and thus, the greater the insulation (warmth). Comforters that are sewn through (cheaper to manufacture) will not be as warm as those with a baffle system but their insulating factor can be increased with the use of a duvet or cover.

Also of real importance is just how down proof the fabric is. High count "Egyptian cotton" can retain down but the higher the thread count the better. The other option is a blended fabric that has been down proofed. This is often accomplished by applying heat (flame or high heat) to the back side of the fabric to seal the synthetic fibers to the cotton to prevent migration. Keep in mind that a down mix can contain up to 20% feathers and still be labeled as goose or duck down. Feathers will cut down on the "fill rating" of the down and are the most common culprits in escape.

CB: While there are domestic operations in Mexico raising both ducks and geese for food, cold weather does play a big part in the quality of the down. The other issue is processing. For example, when down is shipped in from China to the US, it comes packed in huge bales and is often filthy. I have been through a down processing facility in Seattle and it is a real science to not only clean in a proper manner that won't adversely affect the down but the raw product stinks to high heavens! After thorough cleaning, the down then has to be measured and categorized for quality.

"100%relleno de plumon de graso". medium weight, 11inch squares. all cotton. (martrimonial size). is this "down" "feathers"? or "combo"? this is ok, not top of line. liverpool is decent, all things considered. they are offering a promo 20% off, & 25% off dec. 10th. you get a merch voucher good for 2 yrs.

goose down...plumon de ganso

feathers crunch a bit when you scrunch them.

kind of crunches. but that could be the crisp cotton on the outside. very warm quilt, even if its not the top of the line.