homemade pillow ticking patches

[Busyhands94]

today i was in the town and went to the fabric store with my mum. i was just loitering by the counter, and noticed a familiar pattern right on the fabric rack. i noticed a real big roll of pillow ticking. so i ended up buying a half-yard of the stuff to use for muzzleloading patches.

so i did the math, and with a half yard i can get about 300 patches (i rounded the number) pretty sweet! i saw a full yard was on sale for $7 bucks or so, and 100 patches are about the same. if you prefer pre-cut patches then you could get a dye to cut them, but i like using my patch knife. so apparently if you buy the stuff from a fabric store you can get it cheaper! ha! so cool! i just finished washing and drying the material, then i ironed it. seems to be just the right stuff for making patches. i do have oodles of it from an old couch someone dumped, but this is cleaner. besides, i wanted to try the stuff out they had for sale at the fabric shop, this could very well be my new source for patches! haha!

so the moral of the story is to check out the local fabric shop, this is probably the cheaper alternative to ordering pre-cut patches or buying them from a store. just thought i should pass this money-saving idea along for all to enjoy.

 

[arcticap]

Yes, money can be saved that way.
The cloth needs to be 100% cotton.
For some reason asking for #40 Drill Cloth at JoAnn's Fabrics has been programed into my brain because that's one of the muzzle loading all time favorites.
Pillow ticking may be a little bit thicker.

 

[[email protected]]

Pillow ticking sells for around 3.00 a yard here in the Kansas City area. Be
sure to wash it before using.

 

[Noz]

The cool thing is that you can take your micrometer with you and find different patterns of ticking in different thickness to make for the ultimate tuning factor for your BP rifle.
You can even find linens is varying thickness that also work quite well.

 

[Busyhands94]

i found that cotton quilting fabric works well, it's generally the same thickness too! i do plan to get a micrometer, and i also am going to make some lubed patches today with the pillow ticking. i am going to try and get out to the range sometime soon to test the lubed patches. sadly it's been raining lately, not the best weather for shooting blackpowder.

 

[JohnM]

You need to take a good set of calipers with you to check that stuff.
90% of the stuff I've miked around here is way to thick for use with a properly sized ball.
Then make sure it's pure cotton too.