Which batting to use for quilt

Batting comes in natural, bleached and black. Typically, you should use bleached batting in very light quilts, natural batting in quilts with predominantly cream or medium value colors, and black batting in predominantly dark quilts. This will keep any bearding camouflaged.

Click here to cancel reply. Your advice is exclusively for machine quilting. Some attention to what works for hand-quilting would be good. Remember me. Lost your password? Privacy Policy. Your personal data will be used to support your experience throughout this website, to manage access to your account, and for other purposes described in our privacy policy.

LOG IN. Search for:. Decide What Size to Buy Batting comes prepackaged for standard crib-, twin-, full-, queen- and king-size quilts, but you can also buy it off the bolt in your own custom size. Look at Fiber Content The most common quilt batting is made of cotton or polyester, but wool, silk, bamboo or a poly-cotton blend are all fair game. Check the Loft Loft is basically a fancy way of saying thickness. I make baby quilts for NICU babies to cover the isolete. I use black flannel prewashed for batting.

This is mandatory to keep the light from getting in the babies eyes and to help keep the heat in. I am making a baby blanket 36 x 36 and I was going to use it. The machine I am using is a long arm Pro Sticher in the bubbles pattern. Will that look okay? Even cotton thread can cause a quilt to shrink a little bit when washed.

I think that quilting design will look great! Suzy, I have read this before, but went back and read it again. Thanks for all your kind help! As I longarm quilt for others I get pretty much everything to work on. The thinnest? Quilters Dream has a wonderful bamboo blend batting.

Great info — Thanks so much for the post! Did I miss the Warm and Natural? Did you not include it because it is not top quality? Personally, I think Pellon is better quality and never has those terrible dark flecks that drive me bananas. This is super helpful — and might get me to try a bamboo or wool in the future.

On a similar note, what are your thoughts on spray basting? I had always pin basted until a couple weeks ago, when I tried spray basting. Any advice? Here are my reasons: 1. Spray basting was making a mess in my house.

No matter how neat I was, that sticky spray would get on my floors, walls, and furniture. That stuff is expensive! Pins are a one-time investment. When I spray basted anything larger than a baby quilt, my quilt sandwich would shift and get all out of wack. It is bad for your lungs and the environment, it leaves a sticky residue on your quilt, too.

How about silk batting? Thank you Suzy! Great job wandering the batty world! But another dreamy option is silk! Silk batting in a lawn or voile quilt is like the lightest, drapieat quilt ever. Ship me some of that! What happened? The experience left me disappointed and a little bit frustrated.

Am I alone? I have found it common for cotton batting, specifically, to be thinner and denser than it used to be. I tried the Quilters dream wool and it started bearding heavily as soon as I started quilting it.

Is there a way to minimize the bearding? In your experience which one beards the least of the wool batting? You are seriously one funny lady. I will continue to stalk you. Darn algebraic robot checkers…. Hi, my husband and I are in the process of house hunting for the perfect acreage. My big dream is to raise alpacas and make quilt batting from their fleece.

In your pilgrimage of finding batting…did you come across alpaca fiber batting? Any thoughts on that type of batting? I am unfamiliar with alpaca batting, but would be the first to jump on board if I knew where to get it! Let me know if you start producing it. Sounds super dreamy. I have used alpaca and it is wonderful.

It is lighter yet warmer than wool and most people who are allergic to wool are NOT allergic to alpaca. Typically fusible batting is only activated by steam — which means that I was on my hands and knees trying to steam iron a quilt while it was on the floor. The process was miserable, not to mention that I bunched up both the backing and the quilt top.

In the end, I ripped all of the layers apart and pin basted it. I used fusible batting on my first quilt, a bedspread sized beast for my son. Putting the quilt sandwich together turned out well but was no fun — yes down on my knees on the floor. I hand quilted it for about three years then got impatient and asked a friend to longarm it. She tried. The thread kept breaking so she handed it back to me. Even hand quilting I could only use short pieces of thread because of breakage.

I finally finished it before my son graduated from high school. To top that off, when I finished, I washed it to get the adhesive out and the thing started bearding. Fusible batting is typically used for making a quilted purse or bags where you want the item to have rather hard surface with some cushions, and it has its own place in batting and interfaces in sewing world. It depends on the fusible batting you use, but typically it is not recommended to use any steam as usually the instruction says so and this is same for making clothes when you need to use some fusible interfaces for neck line etc.

When you are ironing, you should not be moving your iron like regular iron like gliding the fabric but you just need to leave the iron on for 20 sec. It is a lot of work normally, so this is not usually recommended for such huge areas like bed sized quilts, etc. Very useful info. Do you have a recommendation on what kind of batting to use for tablecloths or placemats, since they have to be washed more frequently? I once heard someone that said she used flannel as batting, but I thought flannel shrinked a lot.

Thank you for your advise. Great question! And one more thing you may want to consider — I used a heavy-weight home dec fabric on the back of my placemats to give them a bit more heft and make them sturdier. I think that helped a lot. Most batting comes preshrunk, but yes, inevitably both the prewashed batting and prewashed fabric will still shrink a small amount on the second wash anyway.

Prewashing your fabric will lessen the crinkle, however. Hi Suzy; Have you ever used flannel for the batting on a quilt. It looked like it might be easy to sandwich it all together without pins or glue thus the main reason for considering it.

I think flannel for batting is a wonderful idea, however I have never personally done it. I still recommend basting as usual. Good post altho, none of this information is new. So, unless you can assure the piece will be rolled and not folded, stick to wool, poly or some blend.

Good call! What batting would you use for a wall hanging? I would like the stitches to show. I would also like the batting to be some what stiff. Thank you so much. Are there restrictions to washing and drying quilts using wool batting such as dry cleaning or not putting it in the dryer?

The batting package instructions should say if it can be washed and dried. Great info! Thanks so much! Wondering if you have an opinion about QD Orient blend with bamboo. Can it be washed often? I suffer from dust mite allergies and keep searching for the best option.

Hi Suzy!! Read and reread your awesome article and the comments— but I see no mention specifically of Mountain Mist Cream Rose cotton needled batting.

Was wondering if you have heard of it?? Does that sound right? I think you should try it out on a baby quilt and decide what you think after that. Do you like the drape? Does it beard? Does it feel nice after washing? If you are still liking it after all of that, get more!

The price of this stuff is really great. As a new quilter I tried the Quilters Dream Green, made from recycled bottles. Has anyone found a problem with this wadding? You should be fine. I think you would really notice it if you used a lot of dark fabric. Wondering what you think about polyester batting? I have the Hobbs Polydown quilt batting. I also use a thin polyester placemat batting for placemats and runners.

Poly battings typically drape well too, so if you want that extra soft drape, it will be nice and cuddly right out of the bag. Have you used poly-blend with UNwashed cotton? Does it still crinkle? Thanks for a great article — very informative.

Was delighted when I found an online supplier who does a wadding sample pack, which includes all the ones I would like to try! Washing the samples after quilting is a great idea. I hope you enjoy silk! I have a question on bamboo batting.

I have a long arm quilting machine and had a customer bring bamboo batting which was so soft to the touch and the look was very nice.

The problem I had was with thread breaks while using it. Is this a common problem with long arms or do you need to use specific thread types with it? Thread breaks…hmmmm…this is not something I have experienced with bamboo batting, but I only sew on my domestic machine — a Bernina to be exact. You would know more about long arms than me, but any time I have thread breaking on me, I change my needle and, if needed, change to a slightly thicker thread. Are you currently using 40 wt? Maybe see if that helps?

I am making first and probably only quilt to replace a very old one on our king bed. I read your wonderful column with so much advice from so many! I have 2 questions: 1 Should I wash the batting before I sew it in?

Will it shrink inside? Is this a problem after it is sewn? Man I said 2 questions, but that turned into 4! Thank you!! Very ambitious! I applaud you! Before answering your two questions, let me throw out another option — send your pieced quilt top and backing to a professional longarm quilter.

Now to your questions: 1 Nope! Most packaged batting does not need to be prewashed and it should say so on the usage instructions. Lint from bamboo? I am only tying the knots to hold the quilt — not actually quilting!

I designed a sunrise scene over an ocean and the fabric pieces are big. I found a cool trick on a YouTube tutorial for making the quilt sandwich using skewers to center it. The amount of math involved in designing this thing would make Einstein flinch. But what a fun winter project it has been!!!! Thanks again! They said they had to clean the bobbin after every line.

Hello, I am making my first t-shirt quilt and my t-shirt quilt-topper is fused and sewn. I am now choosing a batting fiber and loft and deciding on a quilt-backing.

Also, what is your suggestion on hand quilting vs. I am a bit nervous to get this large quilt onto my Bernina , even with having purchased a walking foot and darning foot. Thanks for your feedback! They have a lot of similar qualities. My new favorite batting for hand quilting. Drapes beautifully. VERY consistent thickness mid-loft, but quilts like a low-loft for a blend blended with bamboo, cotton, and tencel. Worth the money.

How warm is the silk? I am making a summer quilt for our bed and want it to be very lightweight. I am considering silk and also bamboo as an option. I want the quilt to be very thin and very lightweight for this menopausal mama. I use Quilters Dream bamboo.

I prefer a cotton batting for my projects but my concern is the weight of a quilt as a cover for a baby. Unless you are using a few layers of batting, none of these options are weighted enough to cause any issue. Hey Molly, thanks so much for your input! What makes you say that wool is not suited for washing?

I think a lot of quilters opt for cotton batting because it is the most prevalent in stores. I wash all my quilts in my washing machine no dryer and never had a problem with bearding! The loft is a little bit more than cotton. I think Molly is talking about non treated wool batting which some mills make as part of their yarn business.

It has to be treated like a pure wool sweater or it will felt. Quilts made from this type of wool batting have to be hand washed in cold water and not agitated while wet but the resulting quilt is beautiful with this type of batting. Just ordered QD orient blend for a plus design bed quilt.

First time using…. Fabric was not prewashed…. Just curious. In reply to fire retardent batting angel , it makes me wonder if the chemicals used are safe for babies? How would it compare to Pellon White Cotton?

I used the former on my first quilt and am happy with the loft and warmth. Thanks for all the great advice throught your site! They will show through light fabrics. I guess the companies were trying to save some money? I trust the consistent quality of Quilters Dream.

I like all of the options on loft and type they offer. Where do you buy it? Wow that stuff has gotten hard to find! I wonder why. I just emailed my contact at Quilters Dream to see if they are phasing out that product. My contact said that it can still be found on Amazon eh…questionable , but can definitely be found at batt-mart. Hi Suzy! It is used as a layer of insulation between fabrics, most often used in quilt making. Batting is the filling of quilts and makes them warm and heavy.

It's usually manufactured from cotton, polyester or wool, and recently manufacturers started to use bamboo fibers. Cotton batting - because it's made from natural fibers is favored for its soft texture and comfort. Polyester batting holds its shape and thickness compared to other fibers.

Polyester fibers are preferred for cribs and bedding. Polyester is thicker but lighter, keeps you warm without the weight. It's non-breathable but resists mold and mildew.

Wool batting is very lightweight and is used for its warmth. Wool batting is a natural and lofty option. It holds its shape and it springs back. It's excellent for hand and machine quilting, and can also be tied. Same with the sides. So, be kind to your longarmer and give them the fabric they need so we can quilt the best we can.

I recently used silk batting for a throw quilt. The batting machine quilted beautifully. It is white, quilts well, and holds up after many, many washings. One of the things I do with batting scraps is practice quilting motifs, try different threads, and check tension.

I save some of the quilted pieces for inspiration when I am stuck. Thanks for sharing your experience with silk batting. And thanks for sharing all of the other great tips too!

Yes, batting scraps are perfect for practicing machine quilting. Such a good suggestion! What a great post! Bonus: poly quilts tend to dry much quicker in the dryer. I would like some information about batting color—natural, white, or black. How do you decide which color to use, particularly natural or white? Recently, I used the services of a longarmer for the first time, and she suggested I use I white batting for it.

My quilt was actually one of yours—Chain Link—although a substituted a dark gray for the navy. Ask me how I know! This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. All Rights Reserved. Site by Spunmonkey Design. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible.

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August 21, By Amy. About Amy. Felt Circle Pillow Tutorial December 6, Previous Post Next Post. Gotta love it! Reply Amy January 20, at pm Actually, in order to go into my longarm quilting business, I had to send in batting samples to the State Laboratory in Reynoldsburg, Ohio and have them test the batting that I intended to use.

Reply Andrea January 24, at am Interesting!!!! Reply Lee Ann October 19, at pm Yes! Reply Mary October 19, at pm I have used bamboo batting and it is very lovely to quilt, both for hand quilting and for machine quilting. Reply Babs October 20, at am Hi Amy! Reply Blogless me October 20, at am There is a blog of a very brave lady that has set herself the task of systematically comparing different battings. Reply Dresden Quilter October 20, at pm I have used bamboo batting before and really like it.

Reply amy smart March 10, at pm That is a great question! Reply The Family of Three August 27, at am Thank you so much for posting this about batting. Reply Serena December 21, at pm stumbled upon your blog while searching for reviews on a particular batting. Reply Katie March 19, at am I have used fusible batting in a baby quilt, and it is a nightmare! Reply amy smart March 19, at pm Katie — thanks so much for sharing your experience!

Reply Maggie Herbert November 3, at am I adore bamboo batting for both hand and machine quilting the quilts are awesome , lovely finish. Reply Sandy Bandt January 20, at pm I wish you had discussed wool, bamboo and silk battings as well. Reply Joseph Main November 14, at am This comment has been removed by the author. Reply Joseph Main November 14, at am Good to know this thanks!

Reply pJF April 16, at am My grandmother used to order her batting via mail. Reply susan November 20, at am I have lots of pieces of polyester batting that had been trimmed from previous projects.

Reply Sandra Hlll April 24, at pm I am making T shirt quilt for my granddaughter and my first. Reply Amy February 27, at pm Thick batting is ideally made for tied quilts.