3 Jacobs sheep fleeces for a summer project... what should I do? A sleeping pad?

I have just picked up three Jacob's sheep fleeces. Each is bulky - a black bin bag worth. Colours are dappled white through greys and browns.

I have never worked with fleeces before, and am not going to be getting into knitting, so I have no particular interest in preparing them as yarn. I have seen projects that involve felting, which looked quite achievable.

I have issues with pretty much every conventional mattress I have used. I wake with a sore back and tight legs, and generally prefer a much firmer surface. My favourite nap spot is flat on the carpet of the living room. I have seen that you can get a felted sleeping pad, and was wondering about constructing something like that. Something I can potentially travel with. Any ideas how much wool I might need, and where I would start?

What other projects might be good to try? Kids projects welcome as well.

How much you'll need will depend on how big you want/ need it to be, and how thick you want it. A felted mattress should be a great summer project. I've not attempted anything so large as that, but I've done enough wet felting to know how I personally would begin - and summer is when I'd begin. But, you'll need to at least clean it, because, well... raw wool is rather aromatic, and likely full of bugs and debris. Then, card the fiber into bats (essentially sheets of fluffy fiber, small enough to handle, with the fibers all running the same direction), to prevent it from being lumpy.

I would find a flat sheet for the size bed I'd want, and spread it out flat, on the ground, in the shade (so you're cooler, and the water doesn't evaporate too quickly). I'd then lay the bats out in at least three 1" light, fluffy layers. In each layer, the fiber should all be running the same direction, but the next layer should run perpendicular to the one before it. So, if the fibers in your first layer run north/ south, the next layer should run east/ west, and so on. The next thing would be to spray it down with hot, soapy water, and gently walk around on it, barefoot, until the fibers mat together enough to hold onto one another. Depending on the size of the mattress, this could take a few hours, just to ensure it all clings, well. Then, I'd rinse all the soapy water from it, walk on it a bit more, to try to squeeze as much water out as possible, and drag it (still on the sheet) into the sun to dry.

If you're going to make it very thick, it might be best to make several of these, then tie-quilt them together (basically just tieing a heavy thread through what will temporarily be the blankets, about every 10") for easier management, until you have it the thickness you want. Other advantages to doing this in several blankets is that it will dry faster, than all in one large go, plus, if you change your mind, you'll still have some nice warm blankets to use &/or gift!

Thank Carla, that is really helpful.

Any idea how i would judge how much raw wool I might need? I'm thinking of a single bed size. I like the idea of potentially making up layers and then fastening them together. You mention 3, 1" thick layers - roughly what finished thickness might this give?

I found this interesting site, selling layered felt mattresses:

Layered Felt Mattresses

They recommend 6 to 8 layers for a mattress, and give a price and weight per layer at different bed sizes. Useful for getting an indicative weight and rough weight of wool needed.

Michael Cox wrote:Thank Carla, that is really helpful.

Any idea how i would judge how much raw wool I might need? I'm thinking of a single bed size. I like the idea of potentially making up layers and then fastening them together. You mention 3, 1" thick layers - roughly what finished thickness might this give?

Much will depend on how tightly you felt it, but each 3 layer bit will end up maybe 1/4 - 1/2" thick. By a single, are you talking about a twin-size? That would require the least, by far. The type of wool might make a little bit of difference (different breeds make for different levels of loft, ticks, size of fleece, coarseness, etc), but it's hard to tell exactly how much. But, I'll be teaching a small (about 7 people?) community felting project, planned for September, in which we will be making a pair of slippers for each person. They should be about 1/4 - 1/2" thick, and we will be using a single Shetland fleece, which we will first skirt, clean, and card. If I were to take a guess on an extrapolation, based on that (which is truly about the best I'll be able to do, at this point), I'd guess your 3 fleeces might get you roughly about a 1" thick twin size (38x75") pad. Just remember it feels like a barely educated guess, on my part, lol.

I think the bottom line is that I will need more wool!

Need to keep tapping up my sheepy contacts.