your idea is simply not realistic, from either a cost or skills perspective

Why exactly do you want to do this now, instead of saving up so you're prepared for the green mattress purchase when the current mattresses wear out? Is something off gassing? Are you taking part in some green your home challenge? Is your mattress dirty or old so you're trying to put off a mattress purchase to prevent waste? Are you trying to prolong the life of your mattress by adding material? I don't understand the point of the exercise.

It seems like the most green approach would be to use up/wear out what you have and make a wise purchase in the future. Imagine if you selected inappropriate filling, ruined your mattress (or at least created one which would result in restless nights) and you ended up having to dispose of EVERYTHING and purchase anew, thus creating even more waste.

I suppose if I were to decide I wanted a hand made mattress, I wouldn't disassemble mine, but start from scratch in some type of pioneer/colonial design. A note on that, however, while traveling in Ecuador I slept on a number of hand-made mattresses filled with all kinds of local....stuff. They were all miserable mattresses.

I'm not taking part in any challenge, I'd love to prevent waste, and our mattress is fairly old (my kids' mattresses are too) and no longer off gassing. A big bulky mattress is a huge amount of waste to add to a landfill, so I was just wondering if there was an alternative. Saving up for a green mattress is a great idea, but we'd need to save for 3, which is a lot.

mattresses are completely recyclable, my suggestion is that you spend your energies finding (just Google it) a local facility who does this while you save up for more eco-friendly matresses down the road.

My suggestion would be to save and purchase each mattress when you can afford it. You don't have to purchase them all at once. In the meantime, if you are trying to extend the comfort level, you can purchase green mattress toppers.

I think the greenest thing to do is use them as long as you can and then replace with something natural, perhaps opting to do without a boxspring. I don't think your idea is a good one due to he cost of replacement fibers, the skill required, and the likely (poor) results.

But I also wouldn't assume your matresses is "done" off gassing. If that is a concern, you can try the "Australian wrap" idea which is known to reduce the SIDS rate.

I understand and applaud your "impulse" and have been known to have wacky ideas like that myself.

However, as others have said, the reality is that buying any replacement fabric, or latex foam, or wool, or anything else, is going to cost a pretty penny in and of itself. Latex foam is *really* expensive, as is pure wool, or organic cotton...

For the price of buying any of those materials and trying to give your mattresses a make-shift make-over, you're MUCH better off just saving up for a real natural mattress (or three).

Clarity, thanks for clarifying (haha, I love it!). Have you considered adding a mattress topper? Something like 1-6 inches of foam, egg crate, down, cotton or something like that? I know they are sold and can be less expensive than an entire mattress. It is conceivable that one could sew and stuff their own down topper. Perhaps make sure to incorporate a lot of quilting into the design to minimize lumpiness upon use. That could be a place to start brainstorming your mattress re-vamp.

Maybe you could start by exploring a mattress topper either store bought or home made for the most worn out mattress and expand from there. One would assume your skills and knowledge would increase from the first experience and you could build your way up to dismantling an entire mattress.

The rich people had to have possessed comfortable mattresses before factories made everything, right? There was no Serta when Louis XVI was around he he was a discerning fellow. Of course, opinions of mattress comfort may have been less refined then than they are now.... I think your best bet is to research mattress construction from antiquity.

Instead of getting rid of our old mattress we made it into a day bed for our living room, we covered it with a futon cover, added lots of pillows, maybe a bolster on the sides.. (this works especially well if you have a wall to put it up against). We even made the boxspring into a platform for it to sit on top of. (this took a bit of time, of course) Worked great for us, and we can use it as extra sleeping area for guests.

I love this idea as I often have a dream, but don't know how to get there.

I live near farm that has sheep. When they get slaughtered they don't keep the coats(of mixed sheep black and white). You could contact someone like that and use a bunch as a mattress topper. This is 100% FREE.