A question about using wool? bit OT

....in a quilt?

Ok i know this is not exactly yarn related but it does relate to wool...When 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
prospect of stuffing my patchwork quilt with wool as i know it would be warmer.

I know that you can get hold of wool batting but i know the maker of my quilt
must have used fleece- So how would i go about doing it with fleece? I imagine
i would have to use ticking to create a sort of cotton covered batting, and i
can see that to stop the wool migrating into a heap at the bottom edge i would
have to quilt it into compartments. But i cannot imagine how i would start,
and how to go about getting a nice and relatively flat end product. In my mind
i would use wool locks- something pretty felt resistant (so i could wash if
absolutely necessary) maybe Suffolk?

Your suggestions would be so appreciated.

Regards
Sarah
p.s. the mattress was also wool filled and (apparently) would be slit open
every 2 years in order to wash the wool...and the pillows- I can't even imagine
the amount of work not to mention drying the wool! Not planning on filling my
mattress lol

Wool batting makes better quilt stuffing. It is mostly uniform across
its width, and the random alignment of the fibers helps prevent
settling you get with down comforters.

I have a wool-stuffed quilt my g'g'gramma made back in the stone age.
I take it to the laundromat once a year, and keep it in a duvet cover
when it use to TRY to keep cat hair and whatnot off of it. Best quilt
I own. Family lore and historical research says it is stuffed with
handcarded batts of wool that were made on special quilting cards
designed to produce large batts, which were overlapped on the backing,
tacked down, then the quilt top added and quilted on.

On 25 Sep 2003 12:13:53 GMT, ojunk (Sarah Grace)
wrote:

...in a quilt?

Ok i know this is not exactly yarn related but it does relate to wool...When 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
prospect of stuffing my patchwork quilt with wool as i know it would be warmer.

I know that you can get hold of wool batting but i know the maker of my quilt
must have used fleece- So how would i go about doing it with fleece? I imagine
i would have to use ticking to create a sort of cotton covered batting, and i
can see that to stop the wool migrating into a heap at the bottom edge i would
have to quilt it into compartments. But i cannot imagine how i would start,
and how to go about getting a nice and relatively flat end product. In my mind
i would use wool locks- something pretty felt resistant (so i could wash if
absolutely necessary) maybe Suffolk?

Your suggestions would be so appreciated.

Regards
Sarah
p.s. the mattress was also wool filled and (apparently) would be slit open
every 2 years in order to wash the wool...and the pillows- I can't even imagine
the amount of work not to mention drying the wool! Not planning on filling my
mattress lol

Slinky wrote:
Wool batting makes better quilt stuffing. It is mostly uniform across
its width, and the random alignment of the fibers helps prevent
settling you get with down comforters.

Ok that makes sense

I have a wool-stuffed quilt my g'g'gramma made back in the stone age.
I take it to the laundromat once a year, and keep it in a duvet cover
when it use to TRY to keep cat hair and whatnot off of it.

LOL- i can appreciate that discovered lots of bloody footprints from our
bloomin cat recently- on my bed. So do you use it more for warmth and is it
patchwork?
Also thank you for the info on how it was done- sounds like a fabulous
heirloom!.

regards
Sarah

it is stuffed with
handcarded batts of wool that were made on special quilting cards
designed to produce large batts, which were overlapped on the backing,
tacked down, then the quilt top added and quilted on.

Els wrote:
We are in the process of buying a new mattress, and guess what it is very
in right now to have the top layers on top of the mattress, stuffed with
wool.

Crikey how funny but inevitable that people are returning to old ways- I have
heard that wool is being used as loft insulation.

The beds were very comfortable and very hard. Apparently once dried the wool
would have to be fitted back into the mattress and would take a while to settle
flat, so the first few weeks would involve sleeping on a mountain lol.

Thank you for your suggestions on how to do it. I imagine the wool batt
production by hand will be most lengthy- but not problematic (though i had a
dream about slinky's friend's magic machine last night-lol). I would like to
do it and when i do i'll let you know.

Regards
Sarah
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..

In article ,
ojunk (Sarah Grace) wrote:

Els wrote:
We are in the process of buying a new mattress, and guess what it is very
in right now to have the top layers on top of the mattress, stuffed with
wool.

Crikey how funny but inevitable that people are returning to old ways- I have
heard that wool is being used as loft insulation.

The beds were very comfortable and very hard. Apparently once dried the wool
would have to be fitted back into the mattress and would take a while to
settle
flat, so the first few weeks would involve sleeping on a mountain lol.

Thank you for your suggestions on how to do it. I imagine the wool batt
production by hand will be most lengthy- but not problematic (though i had a
dream about slinky's friend's magic machine last night-lol). I would like to
do it and when i do i'll let you know.


Find someone in your location that may have a Commercial machine like
Slinky was talking about. Here on Vancouver island I know of several. I
find it worth the money, it cuts down in an lot of handwork.

Keep us posted.

Els

--
I have added a trap for spammers......niet.....

Elso wrote:
Find someone in your location that may have a Commercial machine like
Slinky was talking about. Here on Vancouver island I know of several. I
find it worth the money, it cuts down in an lot of handwork.

Keep us posted.

Great idea Els- they must exist here! I will check it out and i will keep you
posted.

regards
Sarah

Allaya wrote:
A wool quilt sounds lovely! snippedhow does one wash such a quilt?... Do
you use Eucalan or is there a special
wool-filled quilt detergent you use?

Irene suggests drycleaning but i suspect my friends mum did wash hers- she did
everything else by hand (including long fusilli and taralli). I guess regular
airings are in order and using sheets to minimise contact with the skin.

Regards
Sarah

In article ,
Sarah Grace wrote:
Allaya wrote:
A wool quilt sounds lovely! snippedhow does one wash such a quilt?
Do you use Eucalan or is there a special
wool-filled quilt detergent you use?

Irene suggests drycleaning but i suspect my friends mum did wash hers-
she did everything else by hand (including long fusilli and taralli).
I guess regular airings are in order and using sheets to minimise
contact with the skin.

My mother's grandmother ran a home laundry in the 1930s and they washed
wool blankets, but not often - probably once a year. I think they used
soap - Mom didn't say they didn't, and I think she would have mentioned
something unusual (for a laundry) like that. She did say that a blanket
that had been dry-cleaned had a harsher texture, and they could always
tell when someone brought one in.

=Tamar

In article , (Richard
Eney) wrote:

In article ,
Sarah Grace wrote:
Allaya wrote:
A wool quilt sounds lovely! snippedhow does one wash such a quilt?
Do you use Eucalan or is there a special
wool-filled quilt detergent you use?

Irene suggests drycleaning but i suspect my friends mum did wash hers-
she did everything else by hand (including long fusilli and taralli).
I guess regular airings are in order and using sheets to minimise
contact with the skin.

My mother's grandmother ran a home laundry in the 1930s and they washed
wool blankets, but not often - probably once a year. I think they used
soap - Mom didn't say they didn't, and I think she would have mentioned
something unusual (for a laundry) like that. She did say that a blanket
that had been dry-cleaned had a harsher texture, and they could always
tell when someone brought one in.

=Tamar

Tamar thanks for telling us about the drycleaning of wool and that it is
better to hand wash it. We tend to bring everything to the drycleaners
now a days, when we are not totally sure about the washing
instructions.....or when the manufacturers are not to sure either.

First of all there is nothing dry about it this cleaning. Secondly, the
stuff they use is not always good for a lot of fibers. Hand wash in mild
soap and rolling in towels, drying flat, is often the best way.

Woolen blankets are very heavy when wet and hard to handle, so I alsways
just put them in the bathtub with luckwarm water, Gently walked over the
blanket and let it drip out over broom sticks. After that they were hung
out in the sun to dry. I did not use soap, because it was so much work
to rinse it out again. Since we used sheets as well, the blanket got
maybe dusty but never realy dirty.

Els

--
I have added a trap for spammers......niet.....

Tamar wrote:
My mother's grandmother ran a home laundry in the 1930s and they washed
wool blankets, but not often - probably once a year. I think they used
soap snipped. She did say that a blanket that had been dry-cleaned had a
harsher texture, and they could always
tell when someone brought one in.

Thanks for the information, Tamar!

Regards
Sarah