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A question about using wool? bit OT



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 25th 03, 01:13 PM
Sarah Grace
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Default 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
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  #2  
Old September 25th 03, 01:53 PM
SlinkyToy
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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


  #3  
Old September 25th 03, 08:25 PM
Els van Dam
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In article gXDcb.1844$La.1261@fed1read02, "Allaya Diep"
wrote:

A wool quilt sounds lovely! I don't know much about the batting or
anything, but my question would be how does one wash such a quilt? I
imagine it would be quite an ordeal, since I assume that putting it in the
washing machine would be a no-no, and I certainly wouldn't take it to be
dry-cleaned (or can you?). Do you use Eucalan or is there a special
wool-filled quilt detergent you use?

Do you just fill up a bath tub and start stomping?

Allaya



Long before it was fashionable to have duvets on your bed for warmth, we
9my family) slept under 100% woolen blankets, I think in Holland everyone
slept under woolen blackets. Once year I did just that Allaya....I would
put the blankets one by one in the bathtub filled with luke warm water(no
soap)and gently walked all over it, hang it over the broom stick to let it
drip out in the bath tub, (water sheds fast of wool), and then hang it out
on the washline. The rest of the year I would often just hang the
balnkets out to air. I do the same with the duvet, hang them out to
air. I have never washed these as yet, and certainly never have them
cleaned by the drycleaners.

Els

--
I have added a trap for spammers......niet.....
  #4  
Old September 25th 03, 09:51 PM
Irene
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(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
  #5  
Old September 26th 03, 09:21 AM
Sarah Grace
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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.



  #6  
Old September 26th 03, 09:28 AM
Sarah Grace
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Default

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..



  #7  
Old September 26th 03, 09:31 AM
Sarah Grace
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Default

Irene wrote:
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.


Sounds lovely- i fancy hand quilting but would have to evict my sister first in
order to get the space lol.

Thank you for your input Irene! It is most helpful

Regards
Sarah
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



  #8  
Old September 26th 03, 09:36 AM
Sarah Grace
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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
  #9  
Old September 27th 03, 03:23 AM
Richard Eney
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Default

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
 




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