I saved a lot of wool skirts and made many trips to thrift stores. Washed them all on warm and dried them before cutting. I have made three wool throws with soft backing and they have been washed many times. Most of mine are hst designs of my own. Will try to get pic of the only one that was left for me! Still have a box full of hst and lots of wool pieces....on my list of "to do"!

I've seen quilts made from thrifted wool clothing -- our church ladies used to make them. The advent of polyester pants suits put an end to that, as they apparently much preferred working with the bright colors and patterns of polyester pantsuit remnants.

I remember one that used buttons taken from the garments at the center of each block to tack the pieced top to the backing -- clever use of the whole suit.

I do think that they would be better to tie or tack than to try to do much quilting. They're very heavy, for one thing, and the thickness would be hard to navigate on a domestic sewing machine.

I wash my wool quilts all the time! wool quilts wash up beautifully---and wool batting is totally washable/dryable too- and does not shrink like cotton does. I would never subject one of my wool quilts to dry cleaning chemicals!

Agreed! My grandmother made dozens of quilts out of old wool clothing that we used the heck out of as I grew up and we machine washed them regularly. In fact I have one on my bed right now that is about 15 years old and it's in beautiful shape. It's too small for the bed but it's so warm and cozy we use it anyway! I really need to photograph it and post pictures, just so I can show off my gran's handiwork. :)

I made one of these years ago with batting and a flannel back, was very nice and warm and was washed about 4 times a year. The fabrics were pre washed before I made it. Worked great. My daughter stole it when she moved out.lol

Here is another discussion on the Board about this. http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...s-t182366.html