Fiberfill Rant

[so lucky]

Well, not really a rant, but just a complaint about fiberfill stuffing. I have been making stuffed animals lately, and I really don't like the fiberfill stuffing that is sold now. It is slick,springy, doesn't hold well and takes way too much to stuff something plump. It wants to crawl out of your hands. I didn't realize how much the product has changed, till I found a bag that I had had for years and years, stored with some sewing supplies. Comparing the two, old and new, side by side, is amazing. The old fiberfill is soft like cotton, not quite as springy as the new, and has a great feel to it. You can stuff the smallest animal legs or tails, and the stuffing stays where you put it, not bouncing back out of the item and falling on the floor. I have bought bags of the new stuffing at different places, and they are all the same. Ugh! I wish I had a truckload of 20 year old fiberfill! So many new and improved things are definitely not an improvement!
OK, I'm done ranting.

 

[Niele da Kine]

So if you like the feel of cotton, why don't you use cotton? The stuff is easy to grow. Another option might be wool. If you know anyone who spins yarn they may have some that is too short to spin into yarn but good for stuffing or felting projects.

 

[Hinotori]

I'd been told that if the wool you skirt off a fleece isn't to dirty bad, to scour it and use it as a stuffing.

 

[Denim Deb]

If you're going to use wool for stuffing items for sale, just make sure it's labeled as such. Some people (like myself) are allergic to wool. For me, it just makes me itch, I don't know if it does anything else to others that are allergic.

 

[so lucky]

Actually, after whining, I did find a higher grade fiberfill. Haven't actually felt it yet, but it appears to be the older kind. Cost about 50% more, but will probably go farther.

 

[Hinotori]

I noticed when I was doing costuming that some of the fiberfill just really sucked bad. Wouldn't stay in place and was to slick. I know growing up that the fiberfill grandma would get for her projects was user friendly. I think mom has a bunch of bags of it from after grandma passed a few years ago and they cleaned out the house. Which of course means we'll never find it out in the shed.

 

[so lucky]

Well if you do find it, save it, cause it is like gold now.

 

[FranklinStreetWest]

Whenever I need fiberfill, I go to the thrift store and squeeze old pillows...after a sniff-test to ensure non stinkiness, I choose my winners. It can be MUCH cheaper than new fiberfill. Depends on what your local thrift stores are selling throw pillows for.

 

[so lucky]

I guess a person could empty out a bunch of old pillows into pillow cases and throw them into the wash. I don't think I would want to use the stuffing in dolls and stuffed animals unless it went through a cleaning of some sort.