I have used nylons in the past. It my just be me, but I always purchase the white nylons because I don't like the idea of any dyes potentially coming into contact with my beer, but I have zero evidence to suggest anything would happen.
So, yeah, I have used white nylons just boiled in a bit of water. I like them because they hold more hops than a hop bag and the long thin design provides more surface area so you get better extraction.
Personally though, I have moved to 5 gallon nylon paint strainer bags. They are great because the elastic band lets you just pop them over the top and you can put the lid down on them. They also provide tons of space for the hops to break down (basically like if you didn't have a bag at all), and it doesn't absorb water like the regular hops bags. (there are also great for making hop spiders).