Milkweed

[hairbear]

All of the floss that I originally collected started to mold, so in response the the question about the floss decomposing, yes it will if it gets wet and doesn't dry quickly. I'm going to have to go collect a bunch more now.

I have a trip coming up in 2 weeks though and I don't know if I will be able to process the half pound that I'm going to need to finish off the quilt I am making. It may end up being a full down quilt due to time constraints.

The book I quoted states that it took 800 pods to make a life preserver and that children gathered these to support the troops.
states that the regular material used came from areas controlled by the enemy.

[mudsocks]

Pressing forward I've processed about 100 pods while "watching" junk TV with my wife. Going to collect some more pods this week. They dry very fast after removing the seeds and removing the seeds is surprisingly easy to do once they are mature. I'm thinking I will use velcro end the ends of the baffles in the test shell. That way I can easily re-stuff the quilt with 100% milkweed, cattails, down or mix.

[twandawg85]

Did anyone ever get anywhere with this? I see lots of collecting, but no finished products. This seems really cool. Did this just die down because there was nothing left to collect, or?

[mudsocks]

I have the milkweed floss bagged up, just haven't had the time or required motivation to start on a quilt yet.

[mudburn]

It is an interesting idea, and it would be good to see how viable it is. There is an additional option that is within the same vein: cattail fluff. It has been used as insulation and stuffing in the past (around the time of WWII, same as for milkweed). It has some similarities to down in its properties. Something to consider...

[Boston]

Cattail fluff has been used in a quilt successfully. It was very heavy.