What type of batting

[Sherry B.]

Hello!

I am new to quilting and have just finished the top of a lap quilt. I am going to have somebody machine quilt it for me, and I was told that I should bring the batting. Do you have any recommendations on what to buy? Thanks so much! Angie

[Hannelore N.]

Angie, I sometimes take my quilt tops to a longarm quilter, and normally ask her to decide what wadding she wants to work with.

If I have to make a choice, I consider what I want my quilt to look like, AND what properties it should have. For example, I picked a low loft cotton batting for a bed quilt that went to Southern California, but a higher loft wool batting for a quilt that now lives in Alaska. If the loft is very low, the quilting lines will not stand out so much. Very high loft batting is really only suitable for quilts that get tied rather than machine or hand quilted.

Choosing your batting is a very personal thing, and you should get lots of different answers here.

My personal favourite (if there isn't a strong argument for something else) is Hobbs Heirloom 80/20. It's a predominently cotton batting with some polyester. It machine quilts very nicely, and then washes well when the quilt is in use. I also find that the longarm quilters I know like that particular batting.

Good luck with your choice!

Lorchen

[Hannelore N.]

The 80/20 blend is my favorite. It just lays so nice. It's thin but still snuggly.

[Eileen K.]

I'm a longarm quilter and I stock the Hobbs 80/20 for my clients. It shows the stitches nicely, has a nice drape and washes well.
eileenkny

[Teri L.]

Batting is one of those really personal things, every quilter has her preferences.
I used to use only Warm & Natural. Then a friend had me try Quilters Dream. Now I use W&N in a pinch. The loft (height of batting) that I use is their Request Loft which is thin & warm.
Then another friend suggest wool which I'd wanted to try anyway and oooooooooooohhh, I'm hooked. Wool quilts beautifully.

As you're choosing consider the following:
How do I want the quilt to look? If you want a puffier look I'd go with polyester batting. If not then either a blend or 100% cotton.

How warm do I want it to be? If you're going for warmth and you're not allergic go for the wool. If you don't want the wool for some reason and want the weight go with a heavier loft batting. Quilters Dream has a wonderful explanation of their loft.

Do I want all natural fibers? Some folks these days do want to keep things all natural and there for polyester wouldn't be a consideration at all.

You've got a good quilter who doesn't mind the batting used for machine quilting.

Happy quilting!
Teri

[Barbara C.]

Hobbs 80/20 bleached is what I like the most. I like the antique look after you wash the quilt. This batting shrinks enough for me to get that look.
Some people want a smooth and puffy look so they like the poly batting. I quilt using a longarm and everytime I have used poly batt I swear I will not use it again because of thread tension problems.

Barbara

[Barbara C.]

I LOVE wool batting. It quilts beautifully, is easy to launder, and is light and very warm.

[Hannelore N.]

And then there are silk battings and alpaca battings. But they are not as easily available.

We are lucky here in the UK to have http://www.asding.com . They have a section on their website called 'Waddipaedia' and they also sell a pack of small pieces of all the waddings they carry, so you can try them out before buying a large piece. I'm sure there much be companies in the US who do the same.

Lorchen

[Hannelore N.]

Yes Lorchen, Hancock's of Paducha has a sampler set of battings. I ordered it last spring and I know it will be a help... but of course, now that I have it, I haven't needed to buy batting since, just finishing things already started!
Florence

[Hannelore N.]

Hello everybody

Thank you so much for your replies! I had never thought about wool as a batting. Doesn't it shrink a lot when you wash it?

I'm glad to hear of Hancock's. I had never been to that site before. I see that they have a lot of brands but I was not able to find the batting sampler pack.

Thanks again!
Angie

[Hannelore N.]

And to make things even more confusing, my LQS owner just got in some bamboo batting yesterday. I'll be interested to see how it works out! Should be interesting.

[Hannelore N.]

bamboo batting is amazing. I just did a wall hanging with it, it came out so pretty. Very soft batting, I loved the feel of it as I was quilting. It wasn't too stretchy, I'm going out tomorrow to get more
Roni

[Eileen K.]

Roni,
What brand was the bamboo?
eileenkny

[Lynn K.]

Is bamboo warm? or cool? as in the insulating factor? Anyone know? I know I have liked the feeling of the bamboo knitting yarn.

And how about soy? The yarn is so soft. Don't know anything about how it wears, etc., such as pilling, etc.

[Lynn K.]

The bamboo batting was made by Fairfield, I got it at Joann's.
I"m not sure about the insulating factor, this was for a wal hanging.
I"ll check to see what it says on the label. I"m off to Joann's today, both kids are leaving, hip hip hooray!