Cotton wadding?

This isn't going to help you, Jeanine, but cotton quilt batting works perfectly for stuffing pincushions *if* you first give it to your colony of mice to shred it up for you. The little darlings will set to with teeth and claws and turn your flat batting into lovely cotton wool in no time. I know this because I give my batting offcuts to my mice for bedding and they just love shredding it to bits.

or

maybe you could try scrumpling up some quilt batting with a wire brush?

Jeanine You can use `Cotton Wool` [the type sold for medical or cosmetical purposes]. mirjam

Sorry Mirjam: cotton wool in Canada is synthetic. Jeanine, I would try the spinning and weaving places. In addition I have a friend who sells raw cotton and it makes very nice batting. We both use it in pincushions.

Outfit, The Print E-mail Address(es): snipped-for-privacy@idirect.com

IF this email does not work I have another on my hotmail account. And this is in Ontario. CLose enough?? Nanc

You could perhaps use wool roving or batts, though that may not be the least expensive option.

Best wishes, Ericka

Does it absorb as well athe Natural cotton wool ? and if it is synthetic why is it still called cotton wool? mirjam

ps Anne if you make the back cloth of a bit stronger kind than the front cloth it also helps ,, mirjam

I don't know about the relative absorbency of the two items but there are two products - "natural cotton wool" and "synthetic cotton wool". Both are called "cotton wool" but prefixed with another word to indicate whether or not they are natural. Bruce

This company doesn't have cotton, but wool fleece for stuffing. Look at sources for materials used in Waldorf Schools.

What about kapok? Is that still produced? When I was a kid, it was just about the only stuffing you could get for pillows and stuffed toys and the like... It'd be perfect for pincushions!

I know we have kapok trees here. They're on the list of trees I "may" be allergic to (I'd be fine at home, but as we turned off the freeway near my office, where there was a stand of kapok trees, I'd start sneezing).

Trish Brown wrote: What about kapok? Is that still produced? When I was a kid, it was just

Thanks for all the replies everyone, I'll check out all links... Ontario would definitely be close enough, there is a firm here in town that sells wool stuffing and they swear it's better than cotton as there is less lint and dust. I had to look up kapok and even though it says it is indigenous to the "Americas" the only online dealers I found were in Ireland and Scotland... ???

I noticed too that the lady from Wooly Dreams sells something to stuff in your shoes or ballet slippers called Wooly Toe... I was hoping she'd respond here.

Mirjam, I was collecting "cotton batting" from pill bottles when a lady at guild told me that it was synthetic, so I didn't know either! I have discovered that over here there are many synthetic things that other parts of the world still use natural products for.

Does anyone remember getting cotton batting in a roll wrapped in purple tissue paper and sold in a rectangular cardboard box? I remember we had one in the bathroom when I was a kid... it seemed to me that box was there for years though it must have been replaced from time to time. Mom doesn't remember it, but says it must have come from the drugstore.

I was surprised to see that teddybear dealers mostly had plastic or glass pellets, I thought for sure they'd have some cotton stuffing...

Thanks again everyone! Jeanine in Canada

I do! Now, can someone tell me, did QTips exist back then and my mother was just being cheap to use that cotton to make her own? (Whenever I got a lollipop, the cardboard stick was saved.)

I do too! And my Mum used spent matchsticks to make q-tips.

Jeanine Good Day !!!

That is interesting since i did the same was told by somebody the same thing , than burned one bunch [with a match over the bathroom sink] Mine was sure cotton wool by the smell and the way it hardly burned ,, it didn`t melt or become one pile of dirt] , But it could be that different factories use different materials. I also can touch thoise things , and i can`t touch synthetics. Which reminds me , if you don`t need a big amount i can send you a pack of Medical NATURAL Cotton wool.

Our`s was in alongated packs , like you buy Tisssue packs. When i was young it was used also for female purposes. All this throw away stuff was born when we were in our teens or twenties.

By the way did you inquire in Upholstry shops ??? mirjam

I think we have one of those! It migrated from DFIL's house when we closed it. (DH hates to throw away anything)

OMG!

ROTFL!!! When DH is caring for his Scout troop on camp etc, if anyone hurts himself enough to warrant tears, DH spits into his hands, rubs them together and says 'Let's put a bit of magic spit on it, eh?' The tears dry up amazingly quickly!

There are indeed magical powers in spit! (Look at the way it gets blood and gallbladder out of your stitching!)

Jeanine:

I think you can still get that. I have the remains of a box tucked somewhere in the dark reaches of my linen closet, from when my DFIL had had surgery, and it was being used for some of his dressings.

Check the next time you are at the drug store.

MargW Picton, Ontario