Has anyone had any experience with using Qiviut for UQ filling? My friend (Alaskan) is making all the qiviut she recently harvested from musk ox hides into batting and she's hoping we can make a pair of UQ's with it.
Qiviut won't compress like sheep's wool does when it gets wet and it is substantially warmer and softer than wool and shares some of down's characteristics. Has anyone ever tried using it for UQ's?
honestly ive never even heard of it until your post. after a little bit of google fu i wouldn't see why you wouldn't be able to and considering the price and rarity of qiviut it would definitely be a one of a kind item. it would also be extremely light weight considering the loft of it but the compressibility is an unknown as well as its ability to rebound from the compression. im going to assume that your friend up in Alaska has a decent knowledge of the material and would hopefully be able to fill in the blanks. if you do decide to make an UQ out of it you MUST document and post the process as im sure Im not the only one that would like to see the process and end result.
From the sounds of it, qiviut is extremely light weight (finer in diameter than cashmere and softer than cashmere) and eight times warmer than sheep's wool. It's the only natural fiber that doesn't compress when wet. It doesn't shrink if washed in hot water. In fact, washing it makes it loft higher. It doesn't lose its insulative value when wet, either. It's hypoallergenic and does not have an odor, even when wet. It's extremely durable.
I only know what I've read and what my friend has told me. I'm curious to see what the batting looks like after it comes back from the mill. Normally people have their qiviut spun into yarn, but my friend is having hers made into batting in hopes of making two UQ's out of it. She had two hides, so she should wind up with about six pounds of qiviut once the musk ox fiber is milled. It took her and her husband three entire days, working all day late into the night each day to comb all the qiviut from the two hides.
I read that an ounce of uncompressed qiviut is the size of a soccer ball.
Last edited by Dublinlin; 03-25-2016 at 00:18.
Actually, I've just now talked Lisa in to hiring a professional to make the two UQ's. It scared me to ponder the two of us undertaking a DIY with such an expensive material when neither she nor I have the least bit of prior experience.She had way more confidence in my abilities than would be wise to have! The more I thought about it the more concerned I got!
that might be a good way to go about it. I know that someone (at least a while ago) offered baffled underquilt blanks that you just stuff yourself and then sew up the ends but im not sure if anyone offers them anymore. hopefully someone can chime in on the subject or you may get in contact with some of the cottage vendors and see if they will sew up a shell for the project. I would love to see the finished product either way and if it works out well I would think you could have an extremely warm UQ that's crazy light. keep us updated on it and if you ever make it down to Arkansas I would love to see it in person.
Sounds like it is better as a blanket then trying to use it as a lofty insulation. Similar to polartec 300 . So do a windproof outer shell and then a blanket of the QUIVIUT.
Dublinlin you are gonna be the go to on this in my opinion. Build it and let us know. Gonna be hard to find any anecdotal info on such a rare and $$$ pricey item.
Personally, I wouldn't waste quiviut on an underquilt. Such a fine/rare material should be used against the skin. Have you considered making some clothes or a top quilt instead?
Interesting. I had never heard of Qiviut before either. Please keep us up to date on your work with this.
My thoughts originally, too! It's not my call, though. The qiviut belongs to my best friend. She has been taking PLENTY of heat from her Alaskan neighbors for insisting on using it in UQ's, but it's her qiviut and it's what she wants to do with it! And, the more I think about it, the more excited I'm getting! I've recovered from my intial horror of the "waste" and have caught her dream! I am super excited! Shoot, I've been pining for a down UQ forever that I couldn't possibly afford..now I'm being handed a qiviut one instead! I'm totally liking her idea these days! There have always been qiviut blankets and scarves out there...but I bet there has never been a qiviut UQ! These may be the first and LAST two ever...cause who else but my wonderfully impractical friend would ever dream of "wasting" qiviut to make batting instead of lace weight yarn!Originally Posted by bser272
Lisa (owner of the qiviut) has slept on musk ox hides (with most of the qiviut already removed) and even with what remained she was overly hot, sleeping on TOP of the hide in a yurt in remote Alaska. She says her husband stuffs handfuls of qiviut in his boots before he goes out days on end on Arctic hunting expeditions when the high is often no more than forty below. She says just those few loose fibers in his boots make an incredible difference in how warm his feet stay.
Bladerunner, I had totally forgotten about the "stuff your own" quilt kits! I remember seeing those offered, too, a while back. That is a great thought! I'm not sure, though, that the qiviut will be "loose" once it returns from the mill. Lisa is having them make it into batting, so I'm guessing it would need to be handled more like batted Climashield than like loose down.
(I live in Southern Missouri...so Arkansas is in my back yard! My daughter nor I have ever made it to any group hangs, but if you ever hear of one in Arkansas you'll have to give me a holler! I'm suspecting I won't have my qiviut UQ before next winter. The musk ox fiber is presently at a mill in Conneticut. Originally they had told Lisa to allow up to six months for them to process it, but it sounds like they are already starting to work on hers. They reported to her a few days ago that the shipment of musk ox fiber she sent them was of excellent quality. The mill folks are also baffled that she's insisting they make it into batting. What a wonderful world...where we have the freedom to do things so ridiculously impractical!!!)
Last edited by Dublinlin; 03-25-2016 at 09:04.
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