Making my own mattress

[WhoCares]

So innersprings are a relatively new concept in bedding. It was only about 60 years ago that the springs moves form the bed base into the mattress itself. What I dont like about innersrings is this....

They are full of fire retardants, by law
They are expensive and yucky to get rid of, and if you move around a lot like I do you'll be getting rid of a lot of them.
No real way to clean them
Difficult to move as they are bulky
Cost a lot of money

So I went online looking for what we used before innersprings. Turns out in some parts of Europe the traditional mattress (unspring wool and horse hair) are still in use today. Its not uncommon for such mattresses with the proper care to last 50yrs. So it gets a big tick from me in terms of eco friendly, biodegrable and natural. Trouble is where the hell do you buy one? And can I afford it?

Answer, nowhere in my country and no I flipping well can't. So I got it into my head to make one. Small problem was the tonnes of wool I would need for stuffing it. Here, any kind of wool is expensive and as you can imagine a double sized mattress stuffed entirely or mostly with wool will cost a fortune. But I've git the luck of the irish in my veins and as it turns out, one week later, I got for free from a crazy scotsman 12 full alpaca fleeces. Absolutely free, all I had to do was hire a car, take a country drive and collect them. I thought a dozen fleeces might be enough for a 2" pillow top. But this guy has the biggest alpacas ever because I got enough to probably make a 6" single mattress or a 4" pillow top for a double. I can't get horsehair easily so I'm substituting coconut fibre for that. Besides the idea of sleeping on horsetails from poor creatures gone to an abattoir kind of creeps me out.

Now, the fleeces are raw which means they've got bits of chaff, yicky fleece and dags still attached. I dont know how many years it will take me to process this fleece into carded fibre but for free I'm willing to chance it. The fleece is really lovely actually. So soft with great loft. I feel so lucky to have this opportunity as I will be the only one with an alpaca mattress.

 

[cafe]

I've read of straw or heather being used, too.

 

[ceecee]

An alpaca mattress? This really does sound wonderful, it's so soft. The only thing I can think that would make it better would be to top it with Qiviut .

 

[WhoCares]

I've read of straw or heather being used, too.

Yeah I heard of straw too and that was my initial thought, at least temporarily as I heard you need to change the straw very 6 months or so. What squashed it for me is that its really hard to buy strawbales where I am. Coconut fibre though I can mail order from an upholstery supplier so much easier to get hold of. plus its got a bit more longevity to it. Should get 3-5yrs out of it.

 

[WhoCares]

An alpaca mattress? This really does sound wonderful, it's so soft. The only thing I can think that would make it better would be to top it with Qiviut .

MuskOx sounds great, I had entertained goose down as well, but I think I'm getting a bit princess and the pea with it. To be honest if the alapaca wasn't gifted I'd settling for good old sheeps wool. Wish I had access to all the exotic stuff but meh....things are a little limiting where I am. As it is, I'e still got a messy job ahead of me processing all that 'musky' alpaca fleece. Its not an unpleasant smell, but then again I'm not burying my face in it either at this stage.

 

[cafe]

Yeah I heard of straw too and that was my initial thought, at least temporarily as I heard you need to change the straw very 6 months or so. What squashed it for me is that its really hard to buy strawbales where I am. Coconut fibre though I can mail order from an upholstery supplier so much easier to get hold of. plus its got a bit more longevity to it. Should get 3-5yrs out of it.

Very cool. Straw is abundant where I am but yikes! I think it would be cool to try a wood and rope bed frame sometime.

 

[chubber]

Are you secretly trying to become Amish?

 

[cafe]

Do you ever watch those BBC reality-ish shows like Edwardian Farm? I love those.

I also like to watch Jas. Townsend & Son cooking videos.

 

[prplchknz]

Are you secretly trying to become Amish?

I was convinced you were the op even though I've already read this thread. Personally I can't be assed to make a mattress I'll just get back cancer it'll be fine. I would sleep on an alpaca mattress though. And I think it's cool [MENTION=16264]WhoCares[/MENTION] that you're doing this

 

[five sounds]

so cool! let me know if you ever go into business. i would love an alpaca mattress

 

[chubber]

I was convinced you were the op even though I've already read this thread. Personally I can't be assed to make a mattress I'll just get back cancer it'll be fine. I would sleep on an alpaca mattress though. And I think it's cool [MENTION=16264]WhoCares[/MENTION] that you're doing this

wtf...

yeah the mattress sounds like a good idea... it was just all the eco friendly, biodegrable and natural, talk that got me thinking... the only difference is the embedded side of religion they have with everything. But then again, the Khoisan people also had their whole existence based on the stars and their spirituality.

/me just noticing stuff

 

[WhoCares]

Are you secretly trying to become Amish?

No. Secretly living without modern conveniences though, or rather modern inconveniences... I've no interest in religion or religion based societies but loads of interest in lost skill sets. There are still artisans making these mattresses in Europe, but I'd love to bring the skill here and benefit from it. Not all modern inventions are actually improvements. We (humanity) got so gung-ho about our own cleverness we forget to plan for the disposal of all this stuff we produce and later throw away. Landfill solutions are very finite. End...eco rant.

 

[WhoCares]

Do you ever watch those BBC reality-ish shows like Edwardian Farm? I love those.

I also like to watch Jas. Townsend & Son cooking videos.

Yep! Any kind of recreation lifestyle show is my cup of tea, or bag of oats! I loved the doco series filthiest cities, that looked at what life was really like in pre-industrial places like London and Paris. It was literally vomititious, but at the same time entirely interesting. We've come a long way in terms of hygiene but then we lost a lot of good skills too with the industrial revolution.

 

[WhoCares]

So for those of you wondering what I might be aspiring to. This is the only online guide I can find. Its rather pictorial and gives me enough to go on to make my own. It will either work, or I'll learn something....

http://designandwool.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/mattress-making.html

But this gives you a nice idea of what the finished product should look like. Quite nice isn't it? Of course a traditional mattress just wouldn't be right without that striped ticking. Trouble is, ticking (yes thats the technical term) is a bit of a designer thing now and costs an absolute fortune to buy. Thanks shabby chic....

Luckily Ikea has come to the rescue. This rather gorgeous 100% cotton upholstery fabric comes in the fashionable mattress stripe, is heavy enough with a close weave for the job, and costs a mere $10 a meter, instead of $64m. I'll need about 5.5m for my double bed (210cm x 180cm) mattress. I checked this fabric out in person today, its nice!

http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/60217916/

 

[chubber]

http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/60217916/

Yarn-dyed fabric; the pattern is visible on both sides; looks good from the back, too.

 

[WhoCares]

Theres always one in every thread.....

 

[Qlip]

This is very cool. FYI, I sleep on a traditional Japanese futon, it is all wool and organic cotton.

 

[kyuuei]

Pics plz!!

 

[WhoCares]

This is very cool. FYI, I sleep on a traditional Japanese futon, it is all wool and organic cotton.

I had one (not a propper japanese one, one of those naff 'western' versions, 6" thick and weighing a tonne). But sold it when I moved. I liked the fact it was rock hard but hate the fact they cost around $1k to buy here for a base model. Hence the exploration into making my own.