Recycling old wool

[PreggieUBA2C]

I bought 20lbs of delicious eco wool, made 3 28"x28" floor cushions and have enough left for two queen size pillows and a soaker mat for the new babe who will be sleeping on our bed (soon ).

HOWEVER, since I bought batting and have spent all I could reasonably afford right now, I was wondering if I could use old wool sweaters for stuffing instead and also soaker pads. They would be purchased from the local thrift shop, but would not likely be eco-wool, and would have been dyed, treated etc, as typical clothing articles are. Could I, in a way, 'restore' them by 're-lanolising' them? Is it even worth the effort or should I hold out for the next time we can afford to buy eco-wool?

The lack of chemicals is what draws me to prefer eco over commercially prepared wool; I wonder though how long those chemicals last in clothing that I'd be buying used and would likely have been washed many times (as I will too once we have it, and will also use it for felting for mittens and such).

Any experience with doing this? Any ideas at all? I paid $1 per ounce for eco wool and at $2/sweater, it's a pretty substantial savings, if it will yield an acceptable material.

Thanks mamas!

[eepster]

Your decision is a very personal one. I'm sure there is some government agency that has certified that all those chemicals are perfectly safe, but these are the same people who tell us that floride in drinking water is a good thing. As for the chemicals having been washed out, few people wash their wool sweaters. Most people take them to dry cleaners that apply more chemicals. Frankly those chemicals have been shown to be much more hazardous than the dyes.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't recycle sweaters. I've recycled several sweaters to use as stuffing. I usually get them from my dad after moths get at them. I figure if the moths are eating them then they can't be too toxic anymore. I then wash them quite thoroughly anyway in order to felt them and get rid of any moth eggs.

BTW where did you get such a great price on ecowool?

[PreggieUBA2C]

Hmmm... I always wash my own wool- it actually never occurred to me that anyone would have it 'cleaned.' Yuck. Thanks for mentioning that!

I buy my wool at http://www.shepherdsdream.com/raw_materials.htm They sell batting by the pound ($16 or as I reduce it- $1/oz) and am really hoping in the next year to furnish our family with wool blankets made from their milled wool- it looks gorgeous!

They are lovely people (the Canadian bunch- I haven't dealt with the American Shepherd's Dream)- hard to get a hold of, but really kind and accommodating

Interesting theory about the moths... I guess I'll look for 'holey' wool

[SleeplessMommy]

If you ask at a good thrift shop, you can probably get damaged/unsellable sweaters for almost free. At our local shop, sweaters with holes are a quarter. I find them on the racks and ask for a discount.

The dry cleaning chemicals are volatile, so a good machine washing will remove them.

[mehndi mama]

You can relanolize wool fairly easily. I have a washing machine method detailed here.