6 ms·

I have no write-up, so probably not a terribly interesting comment. But my wife and I decided to make our own 100% wool mattress several years ago by stitching

I have no write-up, so probably not a terribly interesting comment. But my wife and I decided to make our own 100% wool mattress several years ago by stitching together five italian officer blankets with wool batting sandwiched between each layer. By far the most comfortable mattress I've ever slept on. We've had it for maybe 5 years now I think.

aekotra 8y ago
I would like to do the same! Could you please provide more detail on sourcing materials and the construction?
- blzaugg 8y ago
  > I have no write-up, so probably not a terribly interesting comment. That would require a write-up.
  - mannanj 8y ago
    I'd be very interested in a write up as well!
- war1025 8y ago
  We basically bought 5 Italian Officer blankets off Ebay (They are roughly the size of a queen bed), and then a bunch of wool batting from a website that sells pre-made wool mattresses, but also just bulk wool. I think I looked into it recently and we spent something like $700 on materials. But then you just put down the first blanket, lay down a layer of the batting (I don't remember for sure, but I think it maybe came in queen size bats already from where we bought it), and then repeat. We stitched around the outsize with yarn using a baseball-style stitch to keep everything sort of fixed in place. Here's a picture: https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T03KPRY1A-FBT1180P5/wool_bed_side.jpg?pub_secret=f6323fae2e https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T03KPRY1A-FBT1180P5/wool_b...
  - ggg9990 8y ago
    Does the batting material between the bottom layers matter?
    - war1025 8y ago
      Well we just made it ourselves sort of on a whim, so I can't tell you one way or the other. It's just how we did it.
      - bkberry352 8y ago
        With 5 blankets and batting in between, how stiff is the mattress? Can you roll it up or is it pretty inflexible?
        war1025 8y ago
        I've never tried to actually roll it, but you can fold it in half pretty easily. Folding it half again would probably be doable, but I think that's about as small as you would get it. Rolling it might work better, but I've never had a reason to I guess.
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
    - war1025 8y ago
      We do flip the mattress every couple months, so there isn't really a definitive "bottom".
  - mannanj 8y ago
    Is that what it looks like now? Or are there 4 more layers of that, and if so can we see a picture of that? Is it propped on anything?
    - war1025 8y ago
      That is how it looked when we first made it, so its a bit more worn in by now. The reason it looks like there are only two layers is because of how we stitched it and how the excess batting was spilling out past the blankets a bit.
koolba 8y ago
How would you rate the firmness and does it breathe? I’d imagine wool would retain body heat quite a bit.
- war1025 8y ago
  Definitely on the firmer side, but it's like four inches of wool, so its got quite a bit of springiness to it. As far as heat, we're of the opinion that wool is basically the ideal material. It is breathable, but it matches your body temperature and maintains it pretty well. It wicks the moisture away from you really well. I don't know how exactly to compare it to other mattresses, but we keep our house at ~60F in the winter and we haven't been running AC in the summers, so our house has been up around 90F with high humidity. It is very comfortable across that whole spectrum. If you've ever had a pair of high quality wool socks, it's kind of like that. They keep you warm in the winter and keep your feet comfortable and dry in the summer.
  - j88439h84 8y ago
    What do you wear inside in the winter?
    - war1025 8y ago
      Usually a t-shirt, long sleeve thermal shirt, and a button down shirt on top, then jeans on bottom. Thick socks and probably my slippers for my feet. I sleep just in my boxers, but we put another italian officers blanket and a thick quilt on our bed to keep things toasty.
  - jsjohnst 8y ago
    > we haven't been running AC in the summers, so our house has been up around 90F with high humidity. It is very comfortable across that whole spectrum. Everyone is different, but I can’t imagine anything remotely comfortable about sleeping in 90° heat with high humidity. Having recently had to spend a few weeks “sleeping” (more like constant restlessness) in a bedroom in the lower 80s, that just sounds like hell.
dalore 8y ago
Wool mattress are actually really good. They are natural, breathe easy, no allergens and you don't need to clean it. You just air/shake it out once in a while.

aekotra 8y ago

I would like to do the same! Could you please provide more detail on sourcing materials and the construction?

blzaugg 8y ago
> I have no write-up, so probably not a terribly interesting comment. That would require a write-up.
- mannanj 8y ago
  I'd be very interested in a write up as well!
war1025 8y ago
We basically bought 5 Italian Officer blankets off Ebay (They are roughly the size of a queen bed), and then a bunch of wool batting from a website that sells pre-made wool mattresses, but also just bulk wool. I think I looked into it recently and we spent something like $700 on materials. But then you just put down the first blanket, lay down a layer of the batting (I don't remember for sure, but I think it maybe came in queen size bats already from where we bought it), and then repeat. We stitched around the outsize with yarn using a baseball-style stitch to keep everything sort of fixed in place. Here's a picture: https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T03KPRY1A-FBT1180P5/wool_bed_side.jpg?pub_secret=f6323fae2e https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T03KPRY1A-FBT1180P5/wool_b...
- ggg9990 8y ago
  Does the batting material between the bottom layers matter?
  - war1025 8y ago
    Well we just made it ourselves sort of on a whim, so I can't tell you one way or the other. It's just how we did it.
    - bkberry352 8y ago
      With 5 blankets and batting in between, how stiff is the mattress? Can you roll it up or is it pretty inflexible?
      - war1025 8y ago
        I've never tried to actually roll it, but you can fold it in half pretty easily. Folding it half again would probably be doable, but I think that's about as small as you would get it. Rolling it might work better, but I've never had a reason to I guess.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
  - war1025 8y ago
    We do flip the mattress every couple months, so there isn't really a definitive "bottom".
- mannanj 8y ago
  Is that what it looks like now? Or are there 4 more layers of that, and if so can we see a picture of that? Is it propped on anything?
  - war1025 8y ago
    That is how it looked when we first made it, so its a bit more worn in by now. The reason it looks like there are only two layers is because of how we stitched it and how the excess batting was spilling out past the blankets a bit.

koolba 8y ago

How would you rate the firmness and does it breathe? I’d imagine wool would retain body heat quite a bit.

war1025 8y ago
Definitely on the firmer side, but it's like four inches of wool, so its got quite a bit of springiness to it. As far as heat, we're of the opinion that wool is basically the ideal material. It is breathable, but it matches your body temperature and maintains it pretty well. It wicks the moisture away from you really well. I don't know how exactly to compare it to other mattresses, but we keep our house at ~60F in the winter and we haven't been running AC in the summers, so our house has been up around 90F with high humidity. It is very comfortable across that whole spectrum. If you've ever had a pair of high quality wool socks, it's kind of like that. They keep you warm in the winter and keep your feet comfortable and dry in the summer.
- j88439h84 8y ago
  What do you wear inside in the winter?
  - war1025 8y ago
    Usually a t-shirt, long sleeve thermal shirt, and a button down shirt on top, then jeans on bottom. Thick socks and probably my slippers for my feet. I sleep just in my boxers, but we put another italian officers blanket and a thick quilt on our bed to keep things toasty.
- jsjohnst 8y ago
  > we haven't been running AC in the summers, so our house has been up around 90F with high humidity. It is very comfortable across that whole spectrum. Everyone is different, but I can’t imagine anything remotely comfortable about sleeping in 90° heat with high humidity. Having recently had to spend a few weeks “sleeping” (more like constant restlessness) in a bedroom in the lower 80s, that just sounds like hell.

dalore 8y ago

Wool mattress are actually really good. They are natural, breathe easy, no allergens and you don't need to clean it. You just air/shake it out once in a while.