W.I.P. milkweed ovum insulation, UQ,TQ,JACKET, MITTENS...

[pzampino]

Another side benefit: Those milkweed ova easily catch sparks for flint & steel fire-lighting. You should be set for life in that regard ;-)

[XJ35S]

Yes. I was thinking of packing a small pvc tube with them then adding hot beeswax to make a sort of tinder quick. If not packed too tight the wax should weep all the way through.

I just consolidated all the ovum. it is dry and now very light. Total now at 4lbs 14.8 oz. Down from almost 30 lbs pods not included in that weight. I have a huge net bag. enough for an UQ, TQ, and Jacket.

I'm having a little issue with the calculator. My material is only 67" wide and I have to adjust for that. Some reason the baffle size changed the width and I have to change it back to where it was, or something....

This is still very consolidated. There are a bunch of "fishes" of ovum that haven't been opened up and fluffed. It'll be much lighter if I can remove the seeds.(1903 White Family Rotary thread injector for curious minds)

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[XJ35S]

I started out nice and even but ended up with extra in the end. I don't think it is because of tulle stretch because the fabric is very even everywhere. Maybe I failed with the end seam allowances.

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[XJ35S]

So again relying on the Vac. I taped Tulle to the end of a fabric card board tube. Then I duct taped the hose from the vacuum.

I vacuumed enough ovum into the tube to lose suction and then reversed the hose to blow the ovum into the fabric. I thought this would give me a measured amount. blow three bunches into each baffle for an even amount of fluff.

Not so much. Not sure why but there seems to be more and better amounts in the 3rd and 4th baffle.

I did wad this u and scrunch it down hard. It seems to fluff back up real good. I will be over stuffing this. I have plenty of ovum to use.

I really do kind of regret this whole thing. way harder than I expected. I am getting it done though and certainly plan on using it.

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[Double]

Very nice. I finished stuffing my top quilt today. Always fun playing with fluffy white stuff. Glad to see this is almost done. I cant wait to see a field report on the first hang.

[mudsocks]

Any field tests? Curious to hear how it worked?

[Lochlainn]

Very cool! I have often wondered if it could be used as an insulator... never got as far as researching it though. Thanks for the info. I found this quote from a comment on one of the articles that was linked that I found really interesting.

"mlaclair

I remember my parents telling us that the government, during WW II, would pay people to collect bags of milkweed fluff which was then used in servicemen's jackets/vests because it provided lightweight warmth and would float.
I also recall the name Kapok – which the internet says comes from a tree which produces a silky cotton substance; but I don't know too much about that or whether it floats.
My boys collected some milkweed fluff from the fields and I did make some pillows from it. I still have them today and my children who collected it are now becoming grandparents themselves; so that should tell you about the lifespan of pillows and quilts made with the fluff. It has no smell as some goose downe emits when warm."

Interesting that it lasted that long according to that poster. Thanks again for the awesome thread.

[oldpappy]

Any field testing on this yet?

[OneClick]

You may also run into some other fun greenery to harvest while browsing the ditches

[XJ35S]

I have to apologize. I have had a huge problem getting the baffles filled evenly. I meant to work the fluff more to refine the seeds and centers out. The vacuum with the tube attached doesn't measure it very well and it compresses when I blow it into the baffle.

I have a ton more then I need. maybe I just need to stuff the baffles until their full and even?

I've been working on a vintage motorcycle, sort of takes most of my time.