Mattresses were traditionally made from materials like leaves, straw, or wool by specialized craftsmen called mattress-makers. To repair worn mattresses, mattress-makers would be called to restuff and resew the mattresses. They worked with carders who would wash and clean the wool. The process involved unstitching the old mattress, preparing a new pillowcase, and restuffing and resewing the mattress. This was usually done annually in July or August. Carders in the Abruzzo region of Italy were particularly renowned for their skills in combing wool.

1. • Mattresses were made by special people called
mattress-makers who used to clean and sew up second
hand mattresses.
• Mattresses were made of leaves, straw or even wool. In
Abruzzo they were usually made of wool because of the
presence of sheep. Wool was a valuable material so
people used it with care.
• Every year, when the family mattress was worn-out
people used to call a mattress-maker who used to sew
up the mattresses.
• The mattress-maker was helped by the carder who used
to wash the wool and clean it with a wire tool.
The process was:
While the carder was washing the wool, the housewife
used to unstich the mattress and she usually prepared a
new pillowcase. At the end of the work the mattress-
maker used to take the finished mattress and he used to
sew it up with special needles. It took days to clean all the
mattresses and it was usually done in July or August.

2. The Carder divided the wool in
first and second quality. First of
all, fleece was washed and the
wool of head, thighs and belly
was put inside the “tosone“.
After that, the mass of wool was
washed again in the “lisciva“.
After the so-called “battitura“
and “oliatura“ the wool was
carded, i.e. it was combed with
the hands and then with special
combs, in order to eliminate all
the impurities. In Abruzzo,
Carders were particularly
famous in Pietracamela.
Carder
machine

3. Pietracamela is a town near Teramo, in
Abruzzo, a region in Eastern Italy. It is
located at the feet of Gran Sasso, in the
area known as the “Gran Sasso e Monti
della Laga“ National Park.

4. Sitography:
http://curiosando708090.altervista.org/mestieri-del-passato-il-materassaio/
http://www.napoligrafia.it/tradizioni/mestieri/materazzaro.htm
https://www.liberoricercatore.it/materassaio/
http://www.ilpassatofuturo.com/PDF/Libro_Mestieri.pdf
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj0y8fJrf_gAhVmiOAKHYG0DkEQjhx6BAg
BEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.liberoricercatore.
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k3wXENKOZJ&ust=1552574689343980
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BEAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.discoverpratiditivo.it%2Fstoria%2Fpietracamela%2F&psig=AOvVaw2qXw-
EP2lZSx9uaIysHQ4d&ust=1552574872705167
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietracamela