Hand-stitching is also easy to be undone once the wool needs to be re-picked again, but it will be long time before you would need to do that. Thank you for some other informative website. http://www.woolrevolution.com/virtues.html. Old wool blankets can often be had at auctions for next to nothing. He thought that he could replicate the process and make a futon mattress, but that effort fell flat. 2 tablespoons baking soda. I actually think that the best wool to use would be any coarse wool, because it will take longer to compress it. The company told me I could ship my topper to them, they do pretty much as the stuffers in your post do theyll take it apart, unstuff, fluff, add more where needed, then put it together again. Fitted sheets are often the bane of people's existence when it comes to folding, but they're important for providing you with a clean and comfortable sleeping surface. Love this Plently of excellent ressources. Great topic. 2 drops lavender essential oil. Typically, DIYers will choose a slightly softer foam for the upper comfort layer, and a slightly firmer one for the lower comfort layer. Mattress that are still going strong and not needing to be replaced. Often shepherds simply give me their wool rather than sell it to me since they have been throwing it away for years. Spray the stain remover on the urine stains and allow it to sit for one hour. And, of course, dont forget to sign up for our truly awesome newsletter for regular doses of good advice (or just a little inspiration). not replace your mattress in 8 years2. The allergy mattresses are thin, and look more like futons. I suppose the water temp. Not too hot in summer and cozy in winter. Portland, OR 97232 Cores can be . This made so much sense. Bottom Sheet The bottom sheet is often fitted with elastic at the edges or all around. William, How can I make a pillow to sleep on with wool that would be a good natural formation to my neck? Look for a food grade- they use it in grains and feed to keep the insects down. they make very nice organic mattresses. Probably because he has no fat padding. I take two good quality futon covers, sew one inside the other. Grateful for the links. These are carded to various degrees, separating the fibres. If youre using multiple comfort layers, place the firmer one first. Turns out she got the idea from Dimitri. You could also do some research into Japanese futons (completely different than American futons or as I call them blankets over bad springs) Theyre stuffed with cotton or wool, and can be very comfy. You can see our DIY buckwheat hull mattress burning here: http://openyoureyesbedding.com/pages/flame-testing-101. 3. Addendum 3/23/14: Check out Making Cotton Mattresses at Home, from the University of Florida's library collection. http://marie.nature.over-blog.fr/article-des-matelas-sains-63392164.html. Im sure Im not the only person whod be interested in any information you have about making and maintaining wool mattresses! I remember sleeping very well on those mattresses. I have knitted with wool that hasnt been washed, whilst it is very good for moisturising the hands while you knit, I dont recommend its strong smell for sleeping! Ive made new tops and bottoms for them both over the years. Despite the business being French, no one Ive talked to had ever heard of this craft, even considering the high number of back-to-earth organic hardcore hippies in my acquaintances. Then order a cover that matches their total height. You might have to sew the buttons on by hand, but the rest could probably be done on a treadle. LOL. Unzip the mattress cover and spread it out on the floor. Absolutely. Read that review. I found a link (yes its in French but theres plenty of pics)that describes the same process. Pinching a 7 cm roll along the edges of the mattress and sewing by hand with a long needle helps to maintain the shape of the mattress. Wool has a natural ability to absorb your sweat and heat and you stay relatively cool at night. The simplicity comes in the zippered case or ticking that we custom sew to your depth and size preferences. Your mattress and mine are probably better than many people have. Offering top-notch mattresses in a direct-to-consumer model, Saatva's beds always impress both our experts and tester panel. Or, you know, stick with the mattress, because replacing a husband is more work than stretching in the morning. I have made both of my sons quilts with wool army blankets as batting, and the next quilt I make for hubs and my bed will have a wool inside. We eventually softened her bed up with a wool bed topper. Learn more in our Buyers Guide to Memory Foam Mattresses. Is this the most responses you have ever received from a post? If so, theres a French video that you could find with a search for French wool mattress repair. (Im not sure who else does this.) Every Spring the straw tick is emptied, the straw laid out in the hot sun to sterilize, the tick is washed, and the whole thing is put back together. In my own research I recently found there are hand pickers available, also hand carders if youre still interested. I cant pick it up at all- my husband has to put on the bottom sheet by himself because I cant handle the mattress. I really wonder if you could do something with wool quilt batting. My mattresses were recently chosen for a 2014 Trend book publication by a company who forecasts the direction products will go in the future. And that would happen to me. It measures roughly 60 inches x 80 inches x 4 inches thick. Its the most detailed set of instructions Ive found anywhere. Posted Pull it all apart and stuff!!!! The larger easily sleep entire families, and you dont toss and turn and would probably sleep deep enough from the motion and comfort that you wouldnt even realize if you did have to pee. Thank you! Its a lot of work to card the wool. Any ideas? maybe one day!!!!! either foam, latex, or pocket coil, and will be 6 in height. These individuals often prefer Firm or Extra Firm mattresses. Good luck! They develop microscopic mites which can cause allergies and Secondly, in no part of Italy have I ever seen a double mattress made of wool. Or perhaps it is only done/made in more enlightened countries. But more frustrating than the money is the fact that the beds just dont look as good as the French and Italian mattresses Ive seen (see the links above). By layering in this way, we slowly worked our way up to a healthy, comfortable bed without compromising quality. Im not saying youd pee in the hammock here. Wonderful! A high-quality foam has a PCF of 4 or higher. Yeah, that will work out well. Choose your Support Core The core is the support component of your DIY mattress and will be 6 in height for all DIY mattresses. A DIY mattress may look homemade, but as long as you select quality materials, it can feel just as great to sleep onand be just as durableas a traditional mattress. Please fel free to ask if you need help with the french in the website you linked! but it has generated a surprisingly level of response. In any case, one year, during the stuffing ritual, she lost her wedding ring, too the mattress apart, but never found the ring. While base layers are recommended for hybrid mattresses, you can opt out of the base layer altogether if youre building an all-latex or all-foam bed. Step Two: Use a cotton or wool mattress topper. I have been considering making my own wool mattress too. | Wonder Incubator, http://www.thefutonshop.com/Organic-Wool-Mattress-Soft/p/655/5696, Seeking The Perfect Nontoxic Mattress Our Experience | The Mystery, Checking in on Kellys projects | Root Simple, Seeking A Clean, Green, Totally Nontoxic Mattress Our Experience | The Loveable Frog, A Homemade Nontoxic Crib Mattress, Part 1: R&D, A Homemade Nontoxic Crib Mattress, Part 1: R&D | Odysshe. I hear tell of thrift shops that sell stuff by the pound and I wonder if you could gather sweaters instead of raw wool? You can also swap the layers and experiment with different setups to see which one feels the best . Learn more in our Buyers Guide to Latex Mattresses. Extra padding is used in key lying areas in the traditional mattress. 2 drops lemon essential oil. $78.00 USD. If i could learn how to make one then i wouldnt ever have to buy one! Recently, she got a real, natural, "organic" mattress and she . Why had I never heard of it before? See how most mattresses are made toda. I did the same exercise again, this time using a softer yet larger pillow , making sure that I had folded the excise material in to make them the same size as the first layer I did. And for the colder states, nothing cozier that a wool mattress. Place the comfort layer on top of the support layer. I lived in the Middle East in the late 60s and one of the things we had made for us were wool comforters. Hah! I am also fed up with the waste of the mattress business. To make your own mattress, you simply need to purchase a cover, whether it is our natural or organic cover or any kind of cover, and choose a support layer thick enough to support your weight and the weight of a partner if you co-sleep, then a comfort layer to allow for proper blood circulation and pressure relief, then ensure some type of breathable layer, such as cotton, wool or kapok, so . I just found your blog and this post. They dont catch on fire. I will be building a queen-size mattress with loose wool. I wonder if it would be cheaper this way, tho maybe not.. Best organic hybrid mattress: Saatva Latex Hybrid. or maybe a wool and cotton mix? It is quite a wrestling match, but maybe you could zip it all inside before you hand tuft the edges. Ive been considering using cotton upholstery batting to make my own shikibuton (Japanese futon). The odd-looking sewing machine in the French article is a long-arm machine, you might find someone with one of those by looking for quilters. Environmentally friendly too. The little seeds are like those blasted peas. I love this mattress and wont sleep on anything else. P.S. DIY mattresses are significantly cheaper, costing only a fraction of the cost of a traditional mattress. Good luck! Perhaps a wool topper would work, also. I have two blankets or comforters I got from my great grandparents thats pure wool with large open flowers outlined with yarn.Ive looked all over the web and cant find anything about them. I am determined to start making wool mattresses and am trying to do it from scratch. This is completely harmless, but it can last for a few days. Ha! If you can slide your hand between yourself and the bed, it means that your hips are not dropping into the bed far enough, and, as a result, you are not getting the proper back support. That is why people used to put out fires with wool blankets. Thus, I dont recommend hand-me-down mattresses for your baby.) More Affordable: Awara Natural Hybrid Mattress. Sometimes she let me help. The sad part is, I have 200-300 pounds of Suffolk wool sitting in my shop from shearing my sheep (whom I love, they are my babies). Make a one time donation: Join the Democratic Socialists of America! Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City, Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World. Not only are store bought mattresses wasteful but they are over priced and short lived. But some people like more of a firm feel, so if youre one of them, then it could be ideal for you. As of right now, have no idea where that futon ended up, but it was comfortable and totally regret having given it up. Would layers of wool blankets work? You can even mix baking soda and cornstarch for a double whammy of cleaning strength.Just sprinkle a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and baking soda onto the mattress, and allow it to sit for 30 minutes. Comfort layers are made of lower ILD latex or memory foams, depending on the type of mattress youre building. The Best Overall: Avocado Green Mattress. If it works out Ill make one for my bed at home. Hows it going? At last, its time to build your mattress. But I cant find the strong cotton fabric that was used to make mattresses either. http://butterpies.com/making-the-bed/ It states that the wool should be thoroughly washed before being carded, (the machines in the picture), saying that this is hard work. Thanks for the translation! Its important to note that organic latex is made using one of two processes. If in the meanwhile, any of you have any ideas or recommendations or cultural insights, Id love to hear them! but weve gotten pillows and comforters using their wool and Im fairly certain that the expensive organic bed maker we purchased our bed from sources from them too. Its simply there to provide a base for the mattress. Quantity. There is also a woolen mill starting up here in northern Minnesota. It burns little. The euro mattresses look like proper mattresses: thick, with squared off sides that will hold a sheet well. But i am still thinking and will not give up my passion for an amazing, homemade mattress.. The coils also provide stronger edge support, so theres no roll-off when sitting on the side of the bed, as experienced with latex or foam beds. i still could not find what i was looking for and what fit the budget and he went out and purchased one of those horrific foam mattresses. Im thinking of using the wool to make ottomans rather than a mattress again. http://www.thefutonshop.com/Organic-Wool-Mattress-Soft/p/655/5696, Pingback: Seeking The Perfect Nontoxic Mattress Our Experience | The Mystery. Are we all fed up with buying mattress, being charged outrages amounts for them, just to need to replace them after +/- 8 years? Add a wool or cotton mattress topper like this one or this one from Satara, Inc. to add to the comfort of the latex base. As a child, I remember during the summer my Armenian grandmother took the wool out of the bed-covers to comb the knots out. Each succeeding variant is more expensive than the other. Ive been debating about how to go about creating wool mattress toppers and pillows with this purchased wool. We eventually softened her bed up with a wool bed topper. Here are instructions from 1966 from USAID publication on making a cotton mattressit stresses to lay the cotton; dont overlap and dont stuff or it gets lumpywhich I think is what the Welsh woman found out with the wool in your point #2 above. Laughed at your portlandia comment. And thanks for the offer! causes the lanolin to come out or something. Different densities are used for cushions and pillows. It was common in eighteenth century America and was part of the upholsterers trade. Sizing is discussed in Step 2. Its measured in pounds per cubic foot (PCF) and ranges from 2.5 PCF to 8 PCF. I cant reply to all the comments because Im super busy this weekend, but I appreciate them all. I think it is nice to think that it may be the norm in the future that we will be making our own mattresses or at least sleeping on only natural materials! Apparently from the French website, length and carding of the fibers is paramount for springiness and comfort. I bought 200 pounds of wool locally. The whole idea is great for the environment. I think the wool batts need to start out at about 6 inche thickness before you stitch the whole thing together, but Im not sure yet. They were considered healthier because they breathed. Thanks for the wonderful article! One could just drape the hammock with canvas in order to achieve the look of living in a ship. I just stand it up sideways every 5 years or so and whack it and bend it around a lot to fluff it. Wool is antibacterial, repels insects, is sustainable, renewable and readily available. Start with a layer of cheap poly foam or latex. A person could go to France for a year-long internship, come home and set up shop. This solved the pokiness issue, as would using proper mattress ticking. I love how they add extra wool in the sleeping zones. I was born and raised in middle east and where i come from wool mattress was the choice. The only problem is the cover was a little too big and the wool spread a lot to the sides. The picture in Secrets of Paris looks like the seam around the sides was sewn last, perhaps with a special sewing machine. Youre right nothing could beat a hammock in terms of conserving materials, simplicity, etc Im game. (They call the tick a fabric sheet pouch.) Yup, glued seams. The mycustombedding people (Orange Mattress Co) make their mattress only 8 inches thick, and are hand tufted like the old fashioned mattress. I dont want my mattress in a landfill, so I am giving it away to people who know me and will not be afraid of bedbugs. Making your own mattress has a lot to offer the confident DIYer. Select softer foams or latexes like memory foam or Talalay latex with the desired benefits. But once you buy them, you have a mattress for life. If it doesnt work, I will definitely have to look at the buckwheat hull idea of stuffing our own mattress.