Joann's - what am I doing wrong ?

[kipcarter]

I commonly go to the thrift store to get my cloth, mostly in the ladies department. I take my micrometer with be and look through the shirts mostly, sometimes the pants and dresses. I find every kind of cloth I need for patching and other projects made from cotton drill and pure linen in different thicknesses. All of these pieces have already been washed and wouldn't shrink any more. Many pieces of heavy pure linen make excellent linen bags and charcloth. Most times I only pay 99 cents to $2.99 for all the cloth I need. Look at the labels. If the label says rayon or other plastic based fabrics, they are passed by.
Ohio Rusty ><>

Rayon is not made from oil or plastic. It is made from pine trees. There are some chemicals used in processing so I guess that you could call it a semi-synthetic.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

Here is pair of white and black striped ladies pants I picked up at the thrift store. They are 50/50 cotton linen. As soon as I saw them I knew what they would be used for. I soaked them in walnut dye. The brown and black striped cloth will look real sharp as the liner for a shooting pouch flap.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[BS]

Item # 683532
.020 drill is out of stock near me also

 

[flatcreek]

Try Hobby Lobby, I have good luck there with shooting and cleaning patch material. Go today because there not open on Sunday and I like that. I remember blue laws and think we should go back to them.

 

[Va Hunter]

I was in Joanns yesterday and a bunch of stuff marked way down. Found out they filed for bankruptcy.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I may have to check our local store for bargains.

 

[sportster73hp]

I always hear cotton for patching. Will linen work as well? Purchased linen for clothing in the past . It ships no problem.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Linen should work fine. But the caveat is you need to try it in your gun. As many here have noted, often each gun may have a favorite load.

 

[tarawa1943]

Unfortunately, JoAnn's is going down. Just read an article in Wall Street Journal that they are slated to close 100's of stores.

I went to JoAnns to get some pillow ticking. They didn’t know what I was talking about. Of course when I entered the store there was a larger than life employee recruiting sign. I couldn’t tell by the picture who or what they were looking to hire. They are so woke, I won’t be going back.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I always hear cotton for patching. Will linen work as well? Purchased linen for clothing in the past . It ships no problem.

Linen does work. You need 100% linen from flax and a tight weave. It's stronger than cotton for patching and resists being cut by the crown or the edges of sharp lands. I have a rifle that for the first few hundred or so shots cotton patches would shred into fluff, but my linen patches held together.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Try here <https://www.emshootingsupplies.com/store.html#/>. They have bulk patch material and discounted bulk material.

I'm with @ZUG on this. RMC/Ox-Yoke also sells bulk patching material as well as pre-cut patches. Both EMSS and Ox-Yoke-RMC specialize in shooting supplies, with all-cotton fabrics of consistent and clearly described thicknesses specifically made for shooting patches. I have ordered various supplies from both of them, and they ship the orders out with no drama. They support our hobby.

Notchy Bob

 

[SDSmlf]

I’ve ordered patch material from BurlapFabric and BigDuckCanvas in the past. Last order I got 2 yards x 60” wide each of ticking and 10 oz canvas from BurlapFabric for less than $20 plus shipping (other items were ordered so not sure of exact shipping). The ticking measures .015” thick, .012” compressed, and the canvas .022”, .0165” compressed, at least the way I measure. I use a radius anvil micrometer for the compressed measurement, which I have found the more important of the two measurements.

 

[sportster73hp]

When purchasing fabric for patches how much do you find the fabric bulks up when washed and dried? Is the after wash thickness relevant ? As an aside the unfinished ends will unravel in the dryer , best to run a stitch or fold and stitch to prevent this.

 

[Kansas Jake]

In my experience a thread or two will fray in the dryer but not enough to worry about. If you think it will be a problem cut the edges with a pinking shears. I never bother.

 

[SOLANCO]

While you are shopping for patch material see if they have pure cotton diaper flannel. Wash it and cut into handkerchief size pieces. Been using it for cleaning my eyeglasses and other optics for years. No scratches. A yard of it has lasted 15 years.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

These days I just purchase patching material from Ox Yoke: uniform, repeatable, reliable and saves me lots of time.

 

[Tuck]

I went to JoAnns to get some pillow ticking. They didn’t know what I was talking about.

Same thing happened to me. Elderly lady looked at me like I had asked for a men's bathroom in California but without the anger.

 

[SDSmlf]

These days I just purchase patching material from Ox Yoke: uniform, repeatable, reliable and saves me lots of time.

I’ve checked Ox Yoke patches and found the thickness not as consistent as I would like, nor do they offer the thicker patches many of my guns prefer. With their pre-lubed offerings you never knew the date of manufacture and if the patch material had started degrading from exposure to the lube they used. Ox Yoke products were actually one of the primary reasons that convinced me years ago to purchase multiple yards of material at a time for consistency.

 

[shorthair]

That's Muslin , not Muslims. Better ask for the correct item. Muslin is cloth , the other isn't.

They'd probably be upset if you tried to ram them down the bore.