# What fabric should I buy for both quilt and hive cover and how big should I cut it?



## Channah (Mar 7, 2013)

I bought wood to make some modified Warre hives. (They are about an inch wider -- 14" outer dimensions, and shorter, and the top bars are more narrow.) I'd like to eventually make a lot of hives, because I'd like to make a living from beekeeping. I'm afraid I need to cut the fabric about 18"x18", though if I can cut it to say 15"x15", maybe I could finish more hives with less fabric.

I have a 15% off coupon from Hancock fabrics that I could use to buy 100% jute burlap 36" wide, $2.79 per yard. (I don't know the shipping.) It expires on the 10th, so I need to decide quickly. This means I could get 12 pieces of fabric and finish 6 hives per 3 yards. If I could cut 15"x15" I could get 7 hives per 3 yards. 
That is $7.11+shipping and about $1.19 per hive.

The other option I have found is to use canvas painters drop cloth. I found one at lowes.com (again, not including shipping):
Blue Hawk 9-ft x 6-ft 8 Oz. Canvas Drop Cloth $10.98 This would be 12 hives at 18"x18" or 14 hives at 15"x15". That is $.92 per hive.

The drop cloth is cheaper, but I don't know if it is good enough.


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## dnichols (May 28, 2012)

I would say any coarse weave cloth would work fine. Just make sure it's not treated with any chemicals.


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## Ravenzero (Sep 26, 2012)

I have burlap, can I use that for the quiltbox?


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I think when you are concerned with a $.27 cent difference in hive costs, you can't really afford to become a beekeeper.


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

I've used burlap to make a quilt box before and it worked very well.
I filled it 3" or so deep with dried shredded leaves, and the ten frame double deep colony thrived in the sub-zero upstate New York winter.

Most of the leaves stayed quite dry whne I stuck my hand into them in mid winter - only the top 1/4" or so where they contacted the cold air was damp, and that evaporated of fast enough that the dampness never went deeper.

If i still lived in the Lower Columbia Basin, I'd make sure that whatever fill I used was pretty loose and allowed good air flow.
With winters as warm as it is there (unless you are much higher than Elkhorn Mountain) there isn't need for a lot of insulation, though some is helpful.
(We call the mid-thirties in winter a heat wave here.)


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

i used heavy landscape cloth from lowe's, it did not stretch at all.


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## Zonker (Mar 10, 2010)

Coffee shops will frequently give you the perfect burlap. They buy the beans in burlap bags.


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## pelz (Apr 19, 2012)

I also used landscape cloth. cheap, easy


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## Jim 134 (Dec 1, 2007)

pelz said:


> I also used landscape cloth. cheap, easy


Does this product have herbicide or pesticide on it :scratch:



BEE HAPPY Jim


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

no it does not


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

Some drop cloths have plastic on one side. Make sure it doesn't have that.


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## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

Canvas or burlap from the fabric store works fine. We use canvas on the hives we sell because it looks nice. However, most of our hives still have burlap for the quilt boxes.

Matt


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