Forgive all my newbie questions… I searched on this but I think the words “wool” and “topper” are too common… pulled lots of posts on either wool or toppers and not necessarily both!
What is your fav place to buy one of these? I am looking for a 1.5 inch, of the squishy variety (looks and feels like a comforter).
I found one on cozypure and one on flobeds. Amazon even has them but I’d like to know of a good one!
Thanks!
Hi lesibly,
While it’s not a complete list of all the wool toppers that are available … I think post #3 here may be helpful 
Phoenix
Holy cow! What an awesome list! Guess I’ve got quite a bit more reading to do.
Again, thank you Phoenix!
Hi Lesley -
I’ve been researching wool toppers myself. I haven’t decided yet whether to get one, or to go for latex instead. The one thing that is making me hesitate is that I read online that wool will compress & lose the cushy feeling after some time. How much loss - well, I wonder…
So I haven’t actually purchased one yet, but I’m on a fixed income (within SuperFrugal boundaries, you might say), so I was considering putting my own together with batting. Sugar Loaf Wool is a small company that uses wool from local (to them - in the USA) farmers, and has pretty reasonable prices. As you can see from the link, they have mattress pads, too, which I think is the same as toppers.
I’m not affiliated with them (or any other business, for that matter) - I just spent a lot of hours researching. Their prices seem better than many. I would think you could call them for information to see if theirs is the type you’re looking for.
Also, I don’t want to buy any New Zealand wool, since I read about that the farmers there dip the sheep in pesticides (hopefully, this is true & I’m not spreading something that would hurt them!). I have health issues & don’t want to press my luck all the more… I can’t afford organic, but I thinking buying from small scale producers is always better.
I hope to call Sugar Loaf this week to speak with them about the compression issue (and other details about putting my own together). My mattress right now is a just-completed (yay!) Open Your Eyes buckwheat hull mattress, and I planned to get a topper even before I made it.
When I have the time, I’ll post my thoughts about this DIY mattress. Although it was tough for me (I’m disabled, out of shape and a senior - age, not college, hahaha), it was the only way I could afford a natural, organic mattress - actually, ANY mattress, for that matter. I was sleeping on a (camping style) air mattress for nearly a year before this.
[Edit: I just noticed that Sugar Loaf Wool in Phoenix’s list of recommended companies that sell wool mattress pads! I was searching like crazy to find this tonight - I found the site months ago but saved it on a now dead computer. Should have looked here first. Thanks, Phoenix!! This truly is an amazing site!]
Hi threedogs,
Typically wool batting will compress by about 30% of its thickness but it will also depend on the species of wool used and the design and construction of the topper. While it will become firmer when it’s compressed it still has resilience because of the curliness of the wool fibers and it doesn’t pack down and get as firm as cotton batting. It can also be shaken out and put in the sun for “self cleansing” which can help it recover some of its loft.
I’ll be very interested in your comments about your DIY buckwheat hull mattress both with and without the topper. I’ve slept on a buckwheat hull pillow but not a mattress. You can see some of OYEB’s comments about them in posts #5 and #7 here and it would be great to have some additional feedback.
Phoenix
Three Dogs:
If you are going to be making your own wool topper, there are a few things to consider: the type of fabric, the weight of the wool and tufting you want to do.
Fabric: You’ll want your fabric to be at least 210 thread count or the wool will migrate through it.
Wool: Wool batts can be carded in different weights, however their sizes don’t vary as much as mattress sizes do. So a twin size batt could be 1 lb or 3 lbs. Each wool processor has their own size batts, some as small as 24" x 36" and others as large as 108" x 90". The same wool batts that are used for toppers are also used for comforters, though the process is a bit different.
Tufting: St. Peter Woolen Mill (on Phoenix’s list) makes our wool toppers and they machine tuft them, so instead of yarn, you see a 1/2" circle of threads. If you are going to hand tuft it, you’ll want a long upholstery needle. The fabric stores sell 10" needles or multi packs of a variety of sizes. Make sure your thread is at least nylon if not something stronger like a twine. Actual tufting needles with the clips would be more suited to tufting buttons than to wool toppers.
Happy DIYing.