Fleece New fleece, also explanation for sewn liners

[Kristine]

I made some new fleece liners for the cages today and thought I'd take a few pictures to help explain the layers used for those who want a visual of one method of layering fleece.

I like to make sewn liners so I can just shake it out, throw it in the laundry and easily slide a new one in. Some people like to have everything separate and just change the layers as needed and binder clip to the edges. My piggies don't tunnel under the liners so I don't have issue keeping it in place, but many pigs do tunnel so this method wouldn't work for those ones real well.

I use %100 cotton quilting batting for the inner absorbent layer. I put two layers of it in between fleece. I think this is probably similar to uhaul pads. Unfortunately I can't get the uhaul pads in my area so I have to go the more expensive route. I sew it all together like I'm making a pillow case and then turn it right side out to finish it. I do top stitch it when its right side out as well to help prevent bunching and to keep the shape.

 

[T1ggerPigLuvur]

Wow, the fleece looks so cool in your cage! What are the little green mats for?

 

[javim121]

Very nice. I have a question though and maybe this has already been addressed elsewhere. Does liquid ever seep through all the layers. I ask because fleece wicks away moisture and if the absorbent layers dont catch all the urine wouldnt it just wick through the bottom layer down to the coro?

 

[Kristine]

The boys pee a lot right at the bottom of the ramp so the extra pads there help keep the main fleece nicer longer. The girls just have it because I like to match, lol.

 

[Kristine]

Very nice. I have a question though and maybe this has already been addressed elsewhere. Does liquid ever seep through all the layers. I ask because fleece wicks away moisture and if the absorbent layers dont catch all the urine wouldnt it just wick through the bottom layer down to the coro?

If I leave it in too long it'll go all the way through, but usually not much, just in thier high use areas. The coro is washable so I just wipe between changings. The boys are messier so sometimes I'll double the liners when I use older sets that are more worn out.

 

[BubuCandyBlue]

I made some new fleece liners for the cages today and thought I'd take a few pictures to help explain the layers used for those who want a visual of one method of layering fleece.

I like to make sewn liners so I can just shake it out, throw it in the laundry and easily slide a new one in.

If you sew them together, on a long run, don't they have different levels of shrinkage?

 

[pinky]

I used to make mine with double layers of cotton batting before I found out about uhaul pads. It's virtually the same thing. I sewed velcro to the top of the fleece I had for my ramp to hold it to the loft. That worked well. I found that stitching across the fleece pads kept the pads flat and nicely intact. If you don't do that, some fleece will stretch after repeated washings and lose their shape. The ones I stitched across never did that.

 

[Kristine]

I pre-wash and pre-shrink it and I haven't had an issue in the year I've been doing it this way. If they shrink it must be similar or not much because they all still look great and not bunchy like you'd think would happen if you didn't pre-wash/shrink them.

 

[Kristine]

I used to make mine with double layers of cotton batting before I found out about uhaul pads. It's virtually the same thing. I sewed velcro to the top of the fleece I had for my ramp to hold it to the loft. That worked well. I found that stitching across the fleece pads kept the pads flat and nicely intact. If you don't do that, some fleece will stretch after repeated washings and lose their shape. The ones I stitched across never did that.

Yup, I also stitch around the whole thing about 6 inches in and it keeps it nice a lot longer.

 

[cfoster1966]

Is the cotton batting easier to sew than the uhaul pads and does it "shred" like uhaul pads when washed??

 

[BubuCandyBlue]

I sewed velcro to the top of the fleece I had for my ramp to hold it to the loft.

How does velcro act when washing the fleece, doesn't it get stuck with pieces of hair and material?

 

[Kristine]

Is the cotton batting easier to sew than the uhaul pads and does it "shred" like uhaul pads when washed??

I haven't used uhaul pads so I don't know how it compares, but when I washed before sewing into fleece I washed it on delicate to keep it intact. If I washed it alone on regular I could see it pulling apart if it caught on something, but pretty durable overall.

 

[pinky]

How does velcro act when washing the fleece, doesn't it get stuck with pieces of hair and material?

If it gets anything stuck to it, I just pull it off. It hasn't been an issue. I use velcro to attach my hay bins to the corners of my cages, too.

 

[BubuCandyBlue]

If it gets anything stuck to it, I just pull it off. It hasn't been an issue. I use velcro to attach my hay bins to the corners of my cages, too.

This might sound stupid, which part do you attach to the fleece, and which to the cage?

 

[pinky]

This might sound stupid, which part do you attach to the fleece, and which to the cage?

I've done it both ways but prefer the soft part on the fleece.