Pillow ticking stiffness??

[bassncrap]

Ordered some pillow ticking this morning since its unlikely that the Patches I bought off ebay early last week will make it here tomorow before my first patch n ball shoot saturday.

Ordered this

https://www.joann.com/utility-fabric-pillow-ticking-blue/16840183.html
Went pick it up after work. And it is extremely stiff. Im thinking it may be too thick. Does it normally come stiff like that? Do you have to wash and dry it before use to make it softer? Says its 100% cotton..

It only cost me 8 bucks for 1 yard so I wont be upset if it is indeed the wrong stuff.

Shooting Hornady .490 roundball

Appreciate the help!

 

[bassncrap]

Well being the smart guy I am I used the search option amd discovered oodles of threads about it. In the washer it goes

 

[TDM]

Couldn’t type fast enough to tell you that.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

FWIW I wash it TWICE in the washer to remove the 'sizing'. That is a solvent product applied to the material to make it easier for their machining processes and handling, but it impedes lube intake or absorption, as well as being stiff. I wash it, but let it dry flat - not dried in the dryer.

 

[Flintlock]

Walmart carries it also, remember there are at least three to four thicknesses of ticking, I prefer it thin enough so I can fairly easily pull a ball at the end of a hunt or after being loaded for awhile.

 

[TDM]

Ordered some pillow ticking this morning since its unlikely that the Patches I bought off ebay early last week will make it here tomorow before my first patch n ball shoot saturday.

Ordered this

https://www.joann.com/utility-fabric-pillow-ticking-blue/16840183.html
Went pick it up after work. And it is extremely stiff. Im thinking it may be too thick. Does it normally come stiff like that? Do you have to wash and dry it before use to make it softer? Says its 100% cotton..

It only cost me 8 bucks for 1 yard so I wont be upset if it is indeed the wrong stuff.

Shooting Hornady .490 roundball

Appreciate the help!

If you don’t have one already, get a dial caliper, mechanical or digital. Use that to measure the compressed thickness. Should run .018 - .020. They’re handy to have anyway.

 

[Jim K]

So, say you buy some from TOW. Is it washed? I bought a yard from hobby lobby. I cut it in strips and shoot it. I haven’t washed any yet. The pre cut patches you buy seem as stiff as new ticking. Are they washed? I don’t know but they all seem to absorb lube and shoot fine. I’ve read a lot of threads on it.
I guess I need to wash some and see if I see a difference. Has anybody tested washed and unwashed and posted their results?

 

[Jim K]

Also, I can’t find any .020. My Joanne’s had thin stuff. I take a mic in with me. Hobby Lobby had .017 so I bought it but I prefer .020. Haven’t tried Walmart yet. But I will.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Jim K, JoAnn's has a great selection of patch material. There's the pillow ticking, then mattress ticking. If that isn't what you want, there's cotton drill cloth in the utility cloth section. There's canvas of different weights as well as denim. Do take your caliper to measure the thickness. This measurement at the store is only an initial check as the ream measure has to occur after the sizing has been removed. One nice thing about JoAnn's is that there are often discount coupons that can be downloaded from the web site.

 

[Urban Coyote]

What you find might be different but in my experience the red stripe ticking tends to be thinner than the blue stripe stuff. My red stripe measures .017 - .018 and blue stripe .019 - .020, both after washing.

 

[Flintlock]

What you find might be different but in my experience the red stripe ticking tends to be thinner than the blue stripe stuff. My red stripe measures .017 - .018 and blue stripe .019 - .020, both after washing.

I've found two different thicknesses of red stripe sitting side by side on the shelf so color never seems to make a difference.

 

[Urban Coyote]

So while we're on patch material has anyone run across the Irish Linen Sam Fadala wrote of.

 

[SDSmlf]

What you find might be different but in my experience the red stripe ticking tends to be thinner than the blue stripe stuff. My red stripe measures .017 - .018 and blue stripe .019 - .020, both after washing.

Talked to a few suppliers about the difference between different colored stripes on ticking. Told the only difference was the color of the striping. Now if you find different lots of material or different manufacturers, there very well may be a difference in thickness, but the color of the striping was decorative according to the distributors/manufacturers I contacted.

 

[smo]

Anyone that shoots spit patch can tell you why it needs washed….

 

[Jim K]

Anyone that shoots spit patch can tell you why it needs washed….

Lol. I don’t do spit, but I get it!!

But not counting the taste, will I see a difference in shooting if I wash mine?

 

[toot]

Ordered some pillow ticking this morning since its unlikely that the Patches I bought off ebay early last week will make it here tomorow before my first patch n ball shoot saturday.

Ordered this

https://www.joann.com/utility-fabric-pillow-ticking-blue/16840183.html
Went pick it up after work. And it is extremely stiff. Im thinking it may be too thick. Does it normally come stiff like that? Do you have to wash and dry it before use to make it softer? Says its 100% cotton..

It only cost me 8 bucks for 1 yard so I wont be upset if it is indeed the wrong stuff.

Shooting Hornady .490 roundball

Appreciate the help!

you have to wash the material to get the sizing out of the cloth.

 

[smo]

Lol. I don’t do spit, but I get it!!

But not counting the taste, will I see a difference in shooting if I wash mine?

Jim, I usually wash and dry mine on high too
shrink the fabric making the weave of the cloth somewhat tighter…

I have shot ticking washed or not, it didn’t seem too matter accuracy wise..

 

[longwalk]

I do what smo does , then I steam iron the fabric and cut the edges with pinking shears to keep the fabric from shreading.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I put mine in the washer with no detergent and dry in dryer. Comes out nice and soft.

 

[Crooked Creek]

I wash the material in hot water at least two times.
The first time I use detergent with a few drops of Dawn dish soap.
The second time is with no detergent.
Then the ride in the dryer.
The material then gets ironed.
Then rotary cut to patch size or into strips.