Can I make a quilt from felted wool? Should I try?

This is one of those projects that I have pushed to the back of the to-do list for ,umm, maybe a decade?  Last night, I decided it was time to take a shot at it, before I attempted any other sewing projects( such as making over my wardrobe...)
So, a little background.  A long time ago, I realized my mattress was getting old and pathetic, but new ones are full of flame retardants and other nasty things, unless you pay a lot of money.  So I started investigating alternatives, even bought some supplies, but for many reasons nothing ever got off the ground.  Now my old and pathetic mattress is ancient and pitiful, and really uncomfortable.  I'm also only working part time right now, and will be until the end of the year, so this is the moment for the big projects.
For various reasons, I'm not trying hay, buckwheat etc. at this time. I don't think I even need a full fledged mattress, but I want something softer than say, the floor.  I actually slept for a month on a cheap futon when in Japan, that was no thicker or more suppportive than an American comforter, and while I didn't love it, it was ok.  I think just a little thicker and it would have been good.  I did sleep pretty comfortably on a couple of piled up comforters one time.
So,   I also have several wool rug sample squares that I got when the local Pier One closed down.  I also have a box of felted sweaters.  My current plan is to use the rug squares as my base, tied together at the corner if need be(they have metal grommets).  Then I make a quilt from the sweaters to layer on top.  If I need a little more fluff, I will put a blanket on that.  
This is my current plan, using materials I already have, and will still hopefully have useable items if I don't like it as my mattress substitute.

But, after all that, how will making such a quilt work?  I have no quilting experience.  I have a couple of worn out denim items I was planning to use as a backing, but that is subject to change.  I'm more concerned about durability than elegance here, but if I can make it not ugly, that would be nice.
What do you think?  What kind of thread should I use?  Is than any reason why this wouldn't work?

I would love a mattress topper made from a quilt with felted wool.

That sound so nice and comfy.

I made a quilt with no quilting experience.

The key is to get the stitches where the wool will not move around.

My grandmother made me a quilt when I was a teen that just used yard tied every so often to catch the lining.

I hope you will share your progress as you go along.

Let me see if I understand.

Plan A is to put the carpet squares on the floor, put a homemade quilt made out of quilted sweaters on top and that will be your "mattress"?

1. What is the "footprint" of the carpet squares?
2. Do you have, or can you get from a local charity shop a large chunk of natural fabric like a bedsheet/drape/cotton bedspread? Assuming your carpet foot print is about the equivalent of a single bed (3ft by 6') a double size bed-sheet would make the top and bottom of a felted wool "mattress".
3. There are ways to cheat. If you have a good pillow, you will need less mattress thickness for the top foot. Similarly, the legs below the hips may not need as much thickness to be comfortable as you need to comfortably support your body from your chin to your upper thighs.

I made myself a mattress topper out of chunks of leftover quilt batting a long time ago. It was for a double bed, so I used 2 cotton sheets. I laid the batting in overlapping sections trying to keep it more or less the same thickness. I then did large running stitches to hold the top and bottom together in rows at about right angles to each other. I intended to cover this with a separate sheet, so I didn't have to worry about getting caught on loose stitches or about how it looked. I was having shoulder issues at the time, and the existing mattress was too firm. This topper was enough to soften it and I got better sleep.

Warning: Beds normally have airspace beneath them. Your body heats the air in the mattress which therefore holds more moisture, and if it hits a solid surface under the mattress, it will tend to condense there and likely result in mould issues. The wool squares will decrease that risk if they have enough loft, but you may need to watch for this. The Japanese used to fold up their futons every morning - not leave them on the floor. You may need to do something like putting loops on the top corners of the mattress and hang it on hooks somewhere that it will get enough airflow to dry.

Jay Angler wrote: The Japanese used to fold up their futons every morning - not leave them on the floor. You may need to do something like putting loops on the top corners of the mattress and hang it on hooks somewhere that it will get enough airflow to dry.

this is really important. it's still done, generally hanging over a balcony railing or something just to get the moisture out before you fold it and put it away. if you don't do it, it becomes mold fest.

the carpet undermat sounds like a great idea. the futons in japan generally work well when you're on top of tatami, which has a few layers of give, they're not much fun on top of a concrete floor, like in the one apartment i had there.
I think you could conceivably make the sweaters fit your purpose, just frankenstein them together (i don't think the kind of thread really matters, cut them open or fit them together intact and start stitchin'). personally i wouldn't worry about appearances and would get myself some old sheets and sew a case for it to go inside, think duvet cover). my only concern is that you're going to need a lot of sweaters. i'm thinking of what a futon looks like inside and it's a pretty significant amount of cotton batting. wool sweaters look fluffy and soft til you compress them, although maybe you have much more than i'm imagining.
if i needed more materials i'd go to a thrift store and get some old comforters or blankets and use them for some more bulk.

Jay Angler wrote:Let me see if I understand.

Plan A is to put the carpet squares on the floor, put a homemade quilt made out of quilted sweaters on top and that will be your "mattress"?

1. What is the "footprint" of the carpet squares?
2. Do you have, or can you get from a local charity shop a large chunk of natural fabric like a bedsheet/drape/cotton bedspread? Assuming your carpet foot print is about the equivalent of a single bed (3ft by 6') a double size bed-sheet would make the top and bottom of a felted wool "mattress".
3. There are ways to cheat. If you have a good pillow, you will need less mattress thickness for the top foot. Similarly, the legs below the hips may not need as much thickness to be comfortable as you need to comfortably support your body from your chin to your upper thighs.

I made myself a mattress topper out of chunks of leftover quilt batting a long time ago. It was for a double bed, so I used 2 cotton sheets. I laid the batting in overlapping sections trying to keep it more or less the same thickness. I then did large running stitches to hold the top and bottom together in rows at about right angles to each other. I intended to cover this with a separate sheet, so I didn't have to worry about getting caught on loose stitches or about how it looked. I was having shoulder issues at the time, and the existing mattress was too firm. This topper was enough to soften it and I got better sleep.

Warning: Beds normally have airspace beneath them. Your body heats the air in the mattress which therefore holds more moisture, and if it hits a solid surface under the mattress, it will tend to condense there and likely result in mould issues. The wool squares will decrease that risk if they have enough loft, but you may need to watch for this. The Japanese used to fold up their futons every morning - not leave them on the floor. You may need to do something like putting loops on the top corners of the mattress and hang it on hooks somewhere that it will get enough airflow to dry.

Yes, that is Plan A.  I may have a couple of layers of sheets, to protect my quilt from my sweaty self.  And my cats.  So many cats.
The carpet squares are about 13" x13". I'll load a picture shortly. I have one bag of them here, I need to find the other one in my storage.  I'ts sticking in my mind that they were around 5' long when laid out two to a row.  I know 26" sounds kind of narrow for a mattress, but I always sleep at one side of my existing mattress.  At least I won't have far to fall if I roll off.  
I'll need a new pillow, but then, I need to get one anyhow, no matter where I sleep.
I thought about making something with batting, but since I have sweaters, I thought I'd try them first.  I don't plan to use it on my current mattress.  It's very sinky- I sleep in the ditch every night.  I used to be able to lay things under me for support, but that no longer helps.  I, very thankfully, have a pretty healthy back,  and I don't want to lose it.  
Yes, I put away my futon everyday during my visit.  I was staying in my sister's 6 jo (110 sq. ft) apartment, and we would not have had room to move otherwise.  Actually, that's one of the things I like about my plan.  My job is closing at the end of the year, I don't know yet what I'll be doing next, and I like the portability.  If I ever live in a tiny house, I plan to either have a futon or a murphy bed, and this would work to that end.
Besides, if I hang it up, cats can't puke on it.
And after all this, if I can't stand it, I'm not out much but time.  

Tereza Okava wrote:

Jay Angler wrote: The Japanese used to fold up their futons every morning - not leave them on the floor. You may need to do something like putting loops on the top corners of the mattress and hang it on hooks somewhere that it will get enough airflow to dry.

this is really important. it's still done, generally hanging over a balcony railing or something just to get the moisture out before you fold it and put it away. if you don't do it, it becomes mold fest.

the carpet undermat sounds like a great idea. the futons in japan generally work well when you're on top of tatami, which has a few layers of give, they're not much fun on top of a concrete floor, like in the one apartment i had there.
I think you could conceivably make the sweaters fit your purpose, just frankenstein them together (i don't think the kind of thread really matters, cut them open or fit them together intact and start stitchin'). personally i wouldn't worry about appearances and would get myself some old sheets and sew a case for it to go inside, think duvet cover). my only concern is that you're going to need a lot of sweaters. i'm thinking of what a futon looks like inside and it's a pretty significant amount of cotton batting. wool sweaters look fluffy and soft til you compress them, although maybe you have much more than i'm imagining.
if i needed more materials i'd go to a thrift store and get some old comforters or blankets and use them for some more bulk.

I have a quilt rack that I think I could use.  I'll find a way to hang them up.
What stitch do I use?  I know a fair number, but I've never quilted.  Running stitch?

I already have the sweaters, and they were felted when I bought them.  So firm, not fluffy.  I'm ok with that.  I think I have 7 of them?  Honestly, I hate my mattress, and anything softer than the floor sounds good enough for now.

i would say whatever stitch gets the job done and you're comfortable doing, since it's going to be a lot of sewing.
(and as for the quilt idea- i quilt. i make quilts out of all sorts of found objects, like fabric samples and sweaters and thrifted weirdos. different thicknesses from different fabrics make way too much variability for anything but a really "organic" type quilt. Those are also fabulous, and I think of the Gee's Bend quiltmakers as superstars for just this reason. (loveliness at https://www.nga.gov/stories/quilts-embody-legacy-black-america.html ) But for an everyday object i'm going to lay on, I quite frankly think I'd rather just cover it over with a top, washable layer than think about design and layout.)
I would definitely use some sort of anchoring quilting stitch to hold the layers together, like the tying Anne talks about upthread. (sorry my language on this topic has evaporated, it's been so long since I've talked about quilts in English that i forget what the different stitches are called)

The tied quilt my grandmother made was not a patchwork quilt, it was like two sheets put together with a batting liner.

Here are some examples of tied quilts:


source


source


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source

Elena Wulf wrote: What stitch do I use?  I know a fair number, but I've never quilted.  Running stitch?

Patchwork quilts are usually sewn as "seams" which are then opened up leaving the cut edges on the inside. This makes sense on a shirt, although I have seem some shirts with exposed seams.

However, if this were me, I would want to try to get the end product as uniform in thickness as possible. There are three ways I can think of to do this which are:
1. Flat seam/butt seam/ exposed seam : Joined in which raw edges are abutted and sewn together; also called butt seam or exposed seam.
2. Applique: https://lacreativemama.com/how-to-applique-beginners-guide/
3. Have a base fabric the size and shape you want the finished product - upcycle whatever you can get or already have that you are willing to use, such as the sheet mentioned above, or well worn or stained towels, or an old drape, or an old tablecloth etc.

If you use choice #3, just lay everything out, then use either a running stitch, or the tying technique Anne posted pictures of, to keep everything in position. I would be very generous with the closeness of the ties if you chose that option.

For choice #2, I would still prefer to use a solid backing fabric, but this can be done without. The pieces would have to overlap, and I would use a blanket stitch around all the areas of overlap on the top. If you don't have backing fabric, I would blanket stitch all the overlaps on the underside as well. I'm guessing this would create a very sturdy final result, but it would require a lot of stitching. Personally, I wouldn't attempt this on a sewing machine, unless I basted it all together first. People who have quilted a lot might have better ideas, but I find, even using my special quilting presser foot, that I have trouble controlling the fabric.

For choice #1, I don't know the names of the stitch - I would google it. This will require you to cut all the felted wool into pieces that fit together, and my gut feeling is that it would be the hardest option.

All of this is just my opinion. However, I have posted quite a few of my sewing projects here on permies, so you can wander through the threads and form your own opinion of how trustworthy I am!

So I went back and forth a few days on how I'm going to put this thing together. I know this seems really basic, but a lot of basic sewing construction goes way over my head.  Also, the more I thought about it the more I decided I actually did care how it looked.  They are nice wool sweaters, even if I did get them dirt cheap and they've been setting in a box for years.  So I started cutting them into ten inch long strips, in two widths, and I'm stitching them into squares with a hand zigzag stitch.  Rather fun so far, like embroidery.  Still figuring out how I'll put it all together when I'm done.

That's gorgeous, Elena. Why not make it beautiful as well as functional? Particularly if you're enjoying the process.

Too many people try to convince us that something is "too much work" - why define it as work? I put nice music on, or a goofy video that doesn't require too much attention, and stitch away.

Making the decisions I sometimes find is "work". It can be stressful trying to figure out both what I *want* and what will *work*. But once the decision of the moment is made, let's call it "play" and enjoy it!

So, project update.
I have completed 21 10-ishish x 10-ish squares( cutting the strips didn't go real well, hence the ish).  My next task is to sew the squares together.  I sewed the strips with gold pearl cotton, using a hand zig-zag stitch.  I'm sewing the squares together with indigo pearl cotton, using the cross blanket stitch.  The latter is my new favorite stitch.  It's fun to do, and very sturdy.  I learned it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXTgMq4LLhc

A few weeks ago I found myself in a fabric store with a rather good coupon in my hand, so I ended up buying some cotton batting after all.  I bought 3 yards of 110" wide batting- realized when I got home that an extra yard would have made my math so much easier.  But it will be a while til I get to that stage- lots of squares to sew together first.

The pictures, as promised