(Els van Dam) wrote in message i
lived in Italy i was loaned a non patchwork quilt that i was told was stuffed
with wool. Even though it was the thickness of a regular quilt (rather than a
duvet) it was very snuggly. I loved it and I have been toying with the

The early settlers in Canada and the States also used wool as stuffers for
their quilts. this is how i would go about it. Card your wool on a
machine (Slinky's machine comes to mind...smile...) in batts, do not make
it to thick, the warmth is created by the air trapped inbetween the
fibers and because wool has such a good memory and crimp it will not get
sqashed easely. Once you have this batt the size of your quilts, you will

have to put it in a (I would use cotton) envelope and machine quilt it
tlightly, to hold it into place. Use this with your regular quilting. I
would make a little quilt first and make a sample and see how it works
out. I bet it will be lovely warm. Keep us posted on how you make out, I
am curious about this..

Els

Hello All, my grandmother made these and did NOT machine quilt. She
sewed the wool batts into a muslin (old sheets) bag. These went
inside the pieced top and the solid backing. She put the whole thing
onto stretcher bars and ran a very open hand quilting pattern with #5
pearl cotton at the 6"-12" range of spacing.
I think you could tie instead if you want.

She then machined the edges closed all around, and hand-stitched thick
rayon cord on with more pearl cotton.

The long-term care of these is a consideration in how much wool you
use. Dry cleaning is the only way to keep the batts puffy. We always
used a duvet cover to keep these quilts as clean as possible. With
care this type of quilt will last as long as a really good down
comforter.---Irene