# home made wool mattress?



## JHinCA

Is it possible to make your own wool mattress? We will have a lot of suffolk cross wool that isn't very soft but might be good for that. Could one clean the wool, make a cover and just stuff it in? Or how? Or is this a bad idea?

TIA
Jean


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## Marchwind

I don't see why not. If you have a woolen mill near you maybe they could card it into large batts for you. I know our woolen mill (Bemidji Woolen Mills) sells wool batts for quilts. I would think that you would have to have it carded or it might be really lumpy.

Let us know if you do this and how it goes. Maybe do a photo journal of making one and post it here as a tutorial.


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## bajiay

When I was in Goodwill a few weeks ago I saw one that someone had made. It was actually really nice and thick but more like a heavy mattress pad. I'm not sure what the outside material was exactly. It was like a cross between a heavy cotton and canvas. They did a nice job making it.


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## susanne

i would think that this matress will get very firm very fast because of felting through normal sweating at night.


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## MullersLaneFarm

I agree, Susanne. Very, very firm, very fast! If you make a mattress ticking with a zipper, you could always stuff in more wool! Sooner or later though, the ticking will become very full and you would be left with a very hard mattress.


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## Marchwind

I thought Suffolk was one of the breeds that didn't felt?


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## susanne

even if it will not felt it will get very compackted. i think wol is not suitable as a matress. maybe a matress topper?


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## JHinCA

I found this link. Elsewhere on the site they talk about their mattresses being made of 12 layers of batting and then compacted. 

http://www.shepherdsdream.com/p-25-all-natural-5-wool-mattress.aspx

How many fleeces would it take to make 12 queen sized battings?


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## Marchwind

I know a lot of organic bedding places sell wool mattresses, so it is done. I'd say maybe one sheep per batt. Depends on the breed of sheep.


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## springvalley

Catherine and I have been talking about this, this morning, we think the only thing that would be a problem would be your going to be filling devit`s from preasure points on your body. IE, butt, shoulders, ect. Suffolk sheep wool is much courser than say merino, so I don`t think it will felt near as quickly. I also think it would be better to make a mattress pad, not a whole mattress. Our 2 cents worth, > Thanks Marc


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## Cyngbaeld

I sleep on a commercial wool mattress and it is lovely. I don't do intersprings either. It is on a hard surface.


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## Ana Bluebird

I was just pricing mattresses---OMG, $300 and up for new. So your idea is exciting! Please let us know how it works out.


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## weever

We sleep on a wool mattress topper filled with Suffolk wool batting. It does compact over time (air fluffing on the line on a windy day tends to give it back some of its loft). Suffolk (a down breed) doesn't felt nearly as easily as some of the finer wools (plus you need ample moisture, soap, agitation, and maybe quick temperature changes to felt wool). 

That much batting is NOT cheap. If someone has found a $300 wool mattress, I think that's a really good deal...


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## JHinCA

From what I find on line it looks like it would be over $400 to have our wool made into 12 battings by a mill. 

The wool mattress site said that they compact the battings once they are layered. Is there a way to do that ourselves?


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