Use Old Pantyhose as Quilt Stuffing

By Charlene S. Wilson
Published on March 1, 1979
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PHOTO: CHARLENE S. WILSON
Old pantyhose that are full of runs and otherwise have no other use do very well as quilt stuffing.

If you’re female and have an office job, chances are you go through several pairs of pantyhose a week. A friend of mine (who works in a travel agency and earns a rather small salary) calculated that she works two days a month to pay for her hose. That figures out to 24 days a year–or about one work-month–wasted on the flimsy legwear!

It does, of course, seem a bit ridiculous to put that much labor into a nylon supply. There are ways to fight back, though. You could, for instance, go barelegged, wear pants, wear runny hose under boots and/or pants … or take a pair with a left run and a pair with a right run, cut off the offending leg of each, and then put both pairs on. (Who’s to know?)

Many of these solutions, however, only forestall the inevitable. Sooner or later, you’ll pull on your pantyhose, and they’ll do what they were designed to do: branch out into rivers, streams, rivulets, and rills of runs, rendering themselves useless. Worse yet, these “longstockings” are about as biodegradable as plastic bags!

“Old pantyhose have to be good for something! They have to be!” I used to wail, while gnashing my teeth over the waste.

I finally came up with an idea, though, and it’s pretty good if I do say so myself: Why not turn then into quilt stuffing? After all, nylons are lightweight, easily cleaned, and they dry quickly without packing down. (I’ve found that hose can be used to stuff children’s toys, too.)

So, round up your dead nylons and (of course) wash them. When the stockings are clean, cut off the elastic waistbands. (I can’t think of any use for these, unless you’re ranching tomatoes, in which case you now have lots of nice, soft, vine tie-ups.)

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