Quilts from raw sheep's wool

[Elliesinc]

I'm 81 and I'm new.
I read posts of those asking about making quilts from raw wool. I did this about 30 years ago, took a hiatus and am getting back into it because I found 2 big bags of fleece in the store room. Gotta use it!!
Methods of handling wool nowadays are much more sophisticated (reems of info online), but Mom and I kept it simple. After the initial fleece washing, teasing -- all by hand -- I crudely carded it with a second-hand drum carder.
Now about the quilts: We laid the freshly carded batts on a sheet of fine cotton, alternating the direction of the batts in each layer. (Not sure how many layers!) Next came another layer of fine cotton.
I recall Mom using yarn to "tie" the layers together. The edges were left open.
Next I created my log cabin cover, stuffed in wool liner we had just made. When everything was perfectly in place I stitched around the outside of the cover being careful to catch all edges of the liner.

Care: hang it out to freeze every winter to kill dust mites, spot wash stains, dry clean for spills.

Alas, this single bed quilt weighs 6.5 lbs., but our daughter still loves her old wool quilt when she comes home to visit

 

[Beekissed]

I'm 81 and I'm new.
I read posts of those asking about making quilts from raw wool. I did this about 30 years ago, took a hiatus and am getting back into it because I found 2 big bags of fleece in the store room. Gotta use it!!
Methods of handling wool nowadays are much more sophisticated (reems of info online), but Mom and I kept it simple. After the initial fleece washing, teasing -- all by hand -- I crudely carded it with a second-hand drum carder.
Now about the quilts: We laid the freshly carded batts on a sheet of fine cotton, alternating the direction of the batts in each layer. (Not sure how many layers!) Next came another layer of fine cotton.
I recall Mom using yarn to "tie" the layers together. The edges were left open.
Next I created my log cabin cover, stuffed in wool liner we had just made. When everything was perfectly in place I stitched around the outside of the cover being careful to catch all edges of the liner.

Care: hang it out to freeze every winter to kill dust mites, spot wash stains, dry clean for spills.

Alas, this single bed quilt weighs 6.5 lbs., but our daughter still loves her old wool quilt when she comes home to visit

It's beautiful!!!! I hadn't heard of folks using wool batting before in a quilt, but I'm sure they used to do that quite often back in the day. My Grandma Ruby used to fill her quilts with old, holey long underwear...no sheep in these parts back then...and sometimes a wool army blanket she would run across. Later on those quilts sold for big money, folks calling them "primitives". Bet Grandma would have gotten a kick out of that!

Welcome to the forum and I'm so incredibly pleased to have you here....it will be nice to pick your brains about all the things you've seen and know. My mother is 85 and quite physically active, but there's no way she will attempt to learn about the computer, can't wait to tell her about YOU.

Please, tell us more!

 

[Baymule]

My grandma made quilt batting with cotton. My Daddy’s job was to card it with the comb type carders. They lived on the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. A lot of cotton was grown there, so there was plenty to be had for quilt batting!

 

[Sheepshape]

That's a lovely quilt. The hours of work that must have gone into it are mind-boggling. So sad that these skills may be lost.

Do you happen to know what breed of sheep the fleece was sourced from?

Make sure that you pass on the technique to any and everybody who is willing to spend the time....such beautiful quilts don't want to be consigned to the history books.

 

[Elliesinc]

That's a lovely quilt. The hours of work that must have gone into it are mind-boggling. So sad that these skills may be lost.

Do you happen to know what breed of sheep the fleece was sourced from?

Make sure that you pass on the technique to any and everybody who is willing to spend the time....such beautiful quilts don't want to be consigned to the history books.

Sheepshape, I do not know the breed of sheep the wool may have come from. 35 years ago when I acquired the wool there would have been just the old standard breeds.
Right now I'm using the raw wool left over after that old quilt, and find it felts well, so I can fit right into the 'now' generation in the new felting trend. I add small amounts of the brightly colored present day processed wool into the wool I'm carding, and come up with some gentle color schemes.
Don't you love the feel of natural wool fibers in your hands!?