Moving to a new house, we found ourselves in need of a mattress. Given the problems with buying one new (expensive, toxic, resource intensive) and the desire to make things ourselves from simple materials, we decided to try making one from straw. There wasn't very much information on this online (except for this awesome article), but it seemed worth trying. I sewed a tick (the cloth casing) from thick cotton canvas curtains I found at a thrift store plus a few more yards from a fabric store. I spent about $20 on fabric altogether. Then we stuffed it with straw. It took 2-3 bales of straw to fill the tick, including discarded straw (it had rained the day I got the bales and some of the straw was damp). We did this just before Halloween, so we were able to get bales of straw for just $4 each from a church display selling pumpkins.
Stuffing the tick.
Fully stuffed mattress, looking comically overstuffed.
The finished straw mattress more compressed.
After sleeping on this mattress for two months, I will call it a success! It was inexpensive and easy to make. The most time-intensive part was designing and sewing the tick. I find it very comfortable and cozy. The straw is fluffy when you first lay on it, but quickly compresses down into a more firm texture. One big difference between the straw mattress and a conventional mattress is that the straw mattress is not "springy". Jumping on the bed does not have the same effect. It also has a tendency to develop an uneven surface, making a little "nest" where your body lays. The mattress can be re-fluffed as often as you'd like to make the straw fluffy and more even again. Or you can enjoy the firmer and pre-formed nest! Overall, if you are considering giving the straw mattress a try, in my experience at least, it is absolutely worth it.
