Pow 1o Make ?

our Cwn $33 SLraw MaLLress from smallscaleneL

hLLp//permaculLureldeasblogspoLcom/2011/07/howLomakeyourown33sLrawmaLLresshLml Sourced from smallscaleneL
(1bls lovely ul bowto wos wtltteo by smollscoleoets bloq ootbots qolftleoJ Aptll wbo teceotly moJe o footostlc sttow motttess fot tbe cob beJ
Not ooly ls lt eotltely oototol lts ptetty sopet to sleep oo too keoJ obeoJ!)
Llvlng ln a handbullL home can ofLen mean maklng unlque and nonconvenLlonal furnlLure cholces l recenLly LranslLloned from a LenL Lo a cob
house and ran lnLo Lhe dllemma of whaL Lo do abouL a bed My crlLerla was someLhlng naLural and susLalnable economlcal readlly avallable
qulck and easy Lo assemble and comforLable ls LhaL Loo much Lo ask? l declded Lo do some research flrsL
Why not to buy a convent|ona| mattress
l looked aL some convenLlonal maLLresses WhaL Lhe heck ls ln Lhose Lhlngs l asked 1hese maLLresses are composed of meLal colls ofLen plasLlc
coaLed encased ln fabrlc and paddlng As a resulL of Lhelr maLerlals and manufacLurlng Lhey also conLaln volaLlle Crganlc Compounds (vCCs)
formaldehyde and chemlcal flre reLardanLs LhaL wlll offgas over Llme And wlLh a prlce Lag of over $330 for a full slze maLLress Lhls opLlon lsn'L
parLlcularly economlcal Powever Lhere ls such a Lhlng as ecofrlendly and organlc maLLresses 1hese usually conLaln organlc coLLon or wool non
Loxlc flre reLardanLs naLural laLex rubber and recycled meLal sprlngs 8uL wlLh an even hefLler prlce Lag of around $1000 for a full slze maLLress
Lhls wasn'L really an opLlon for me aL all
1rad|t|ona| mattress mater|a|s
WhaL abouL maklng my own maLLress? eople have been maklng Lhelr own beds for Lhousands of years 1he anclenL 8omans used sLraw an
agrlculLural byproducL Lo make Lhelr maLLresses AnoLher byproducL rlce chaff (Lhe husks separaLed from Lhe edlble gralns) ls used as maLLress
flller ln Asla and oaL chaff was LradlLlonal ln ScoLland AL flrsL maklng my own maLLress sounded Loo amblLlous slnce l've goL a mlnlmal amounL of
sewlng experlence buL sLraw ls naLural locally avallable and aL $200 $400 per bale lL was worLh a Lry lf lL dldn'L work ouL dlsposlng of my
sLraw maLLress would be as slmple as reuslng Lhe fabrlc for anoLher purpose and dumplng Lhe sLraw ln Lhe garden for composL (MosL
convenLlonal maLLresses go Lo a landflll aL Lhe end of Lhelr llves)
Mak|ng a t|ck
l needed Lo make a slmple sack LradlLlonally called a Llck Lo serve as Lhe maLLress cover A sLurdy coLLon fabrlc wlLh verLlcal blue sLrlpes called
Llcklng ls sLlll used for maLLresses Loday l chose heavy fabrlc woven from 100 coLLon or duck because lL appeared Lo be more sLurdy and
durable for my purposes
My maLLress would resL on a cob plaLform pressed agalnsL a curved wall along one slde 8ecause of lLs cusLom shape my flrsL sLep was Lo lay
down a sheeL of paper (l used sheeLs of newspaper Laped LogeLher) Lo Lrace a LemplaLe for Lhe maLLress shape lor someone maklng a
convenLlonalslzed maLLress Lhls sLep ls as easy as flndlng dlmenslons for Lhe approprlaLe slze bed frame (Lwln full queen or klng)
Des|gn|ng a temp|ate
!
W
-exL l lald Lhe paper LemplaLe on my fabrlc and added an lnch Lo each slde (2 lnches added Lo Lhe LoLal wldLh 2 lnches Lo Lhe
LoLal lengLh) l cuL ouL Lhe Lop and boLLom panels aL Lhe same Llme Lo ellmlnaLe any shape lnconslsLencles MaLLress Lhlckness
can be based on personal preference l chose Lo make Lhe slde panels for my maLLress 9 lnches wlde (7 lnches when flnlshed)
based on Lhe helghL of Lhe bed plaLform l cuL ouL recLangular slde panels from Lhe lefLover scraps of my large panels and sewed
Lhem lnLo one sLrlp long enough Lo go around Lhe perlmeLer of Lhe Lwo long sldes and one shorL slde of my large panels (1he
oLher shorL slde ls where Lhe buLLon closure goes for sLufflng sLraw more on LhaL laLer)
-exL l plnned and plnned and plnned uon'L underesLlmaLe Lhls sLep lL Lakes a loL of paLlence buL Lhe aLLenLlon Lo deLall
aL Lhls polnL wlll make sewlng much easler laLer l Look Lhe edges of each panel (abouL Z lnch) and folded Lhem over Lwlce
before plnnlng Lo relnforce Lhe seam and make a flnlshed edge on boLh sldes of Lhe fabrlc 1hls ensures LhaL your fabrlc won'L
unravel and should make sLufflng much easler ?ou can aLLach panels Lo each oLher by foldlng wlLh Lhe edges sandwlched
LogeLher Make sure Lo lnserL plns perpendlcular Lo Lhe dlrecLlon Lhe Lhread wlll be sewn (lf uslng a machlne) so Lhe needle
glldes easlly over Lhe plns 1hls fabrlc ls heavy and unwleldy so plnnlng one slde aL a Llme makes lL easler Lo push Lhrough a
sLandardslze sewlng machlne Also make sure Lo use a heavyduLy needle made for canvas or [eans and Lhlck Lhread
1he panel for Lhe buLLon closure was a llLLle Lrlckler l wanLed Lhe closure Lo buLLon ln Lhe cenLer of Lhe panel raLher Lhan aL Lhe
seam Lo help puL less sLress on Lhe edges of Lhe maLLress And Lhey need Lo be sLrong enough Lo Lake dally abuse So l cuL ouL
Lwo panels Lo make up Lhe closure slde (one 6 lnch wlde panel and one 3 Z lnch wlde panel) and flnlshed one long slde of each
panel (where Lhe buLLons and buLLon holes would be sewn) AfLer overlapplng Lhe flnlshed edges (abouL Z lnch) Lhe panel
should be 9 lnches wlde (llke Lhe oLher sldes) and easy Lo sew ln place AfLer sewlng everyLhlng up l Lurned lL lnslde ouL and
sLuffed Lhe maLLress!
tuff|ng the mattress
SLufflng ls preLLy selfexplanaLory Make sure Lo break up Lhe sLraw bales Lhoroughly and sLuff evenly SLuff more LlghLly for a
flrm maLLress wlLhouL lumps ?ou can use a sLlck or rake Lo help push sLraw lnLo corners or cllmb lnLo Lhe Llck yourself Lo geL Lhe
sLraw packed especlally well
1he maLLress looked a llLLle absurd once l goL on Lhe bed because lL was so huge buL Lhe sLraw evenLually seLLles Lo Lhe
lnLended Lhlckness afLer a couple weeks of use AfLer abouL four Lo slx monLhs Lhe sLraw wlll be replaced 1hls ls because Lhe
sLraw wlll become qulLe compacL afLer much use
ln LoLal l pald $2900 for fabrlc and Lhread and $600 for 3 bales of sLraw All Lold |t took me about a week and 53S to make
my own comfy straw mattress