Making a cotton mattress pad from scratch – craft, gardening, sustainability 1-21-19

Once in awhile someone posts something on FB that so resonates with me. This video shows a beautiful young Chinese woman planting, transplanting, harvesting, processing, and making a mattress out of cotton she grew herself. It’s loaded with wonderful techniques useful for many other things, but inspiring. I recommend watching it.

Here is the translation offered on the site, no need for words really though:

” Play Cotton ~ Playing Cotton ~ half a kilo of cotton has become eight or eight. Old Cotton popped into new cotton, and the quilt girl is getting married……”

“The married girl is not, but I have a cute old man.
Last year planted cotton that we haven’t been raced for years!
Not much planted, and the harvest is not good!
Just enough to make her bed new cotton!”

Notice the way she plants the seeds, then lifts them in perfect little squares, transplants them, trims the plants just so, harvests them while cleaning them, how she uses small carding combs to remove the seeds while retaining the fiber, processes the fiber, prepares the frame and loads it for the padding, and uses it for several things. I loved this video. It reminds me that craft often expresses love for people, respect for the land and media, and creativity. We could do this in Georgia, we’d just need to copy the wood and bamboo frame she makes, and her tools. But it’s all hand made.

In Georgia because of the bole weevil problem we aren’t supposed to grow it without  permission. However, in small amounts, and careful watching, I would grow about this amount in the video given enough land. But I’d check with your local Extension Officer in your county.

Now that Hemp is legal in the country, we could use hemp for making the thread and fabric to go along with this if someone had the seeds and land.

Let me know if you do this and how it works for you.

Best,

Diann Dirks, CPD (Certified Permaculture Designer)

Visit our shop. I’m hoping to get some help seeds for fiber. It may take awhile. Also seeds for cotton. PM me if you would like to be on the waiting list.