Patch Material & Fabric Stores

[Maven]

I went to the local JoAnn Fabric store yesterday looking for .020" - .021" 100% cotton patching to replace my fast dwindling supply. After looking at and measuring a lot of fabric, I found cotton duck, which is a duplicate of what I'm now using:  That's the good news.  While I was there, I also measured the pillow ticking, since I need some .018" patches.  In short, I found some, but they only had one bolt, and no longer carry the thicker, outdoor variety.  That's sort of the bad news.  They had thinner ticking, but only red- and blue striped.  The worse news is that the .018" blue striped ticking is indistinguishable from the .014" - .015" ticking.  The lesson to be learned here is to take a micrometer with you when you shop for patching material, as looks and feel are deceiving.  Btw, JoAnn carries a nice selection of 100% cotton denim in case your gun is happiest with that material.


P.S.  The above fabric thickness is a compressed reading.

[Ohio Joe]

I'm going to have to start thinking about pillow ticking pretty soon myself. I use to buy it from Walmart, and it was .018 (all 100% cotton)... Now, it has polyester in it according to the sticker. I had heard this was going to happen, but really didn't believe it,,, but I guess it's true. I doubt I'll run of patching material for a couple years, but I like to keep a long term supply on hand, so I guess I best get looking. 

[amm1851]

At my Joanne's the price of pillow ticking shot up to $15 a yard. For that price, it's probably cheaper to buy the strips from TOW. It used to be $7 a yard and, with a 50 percent off coupon, it was a decent deal. I use cotton flannel diaper fabric to make my own cleaning patches, and have for years, and the price of that is still reasonable.

[Maven]

"I use cotton flannel diaper fabric to make my own cleaning patches, and have for years, and the price of that is still reasonable."

Amen to this, amm1851!

[Winter Hawk]

Diaper fabric also makes dandy dish towels.  Just make sure to wash the diaper first...

~WH~