Good Morning, Quilters!
What is YOUR favorite quilt batting?
Why is it YOUR favorite?
That is our Open Line Friday question today.
Collective Knowledge
There are more than 10,000 readers of Lori Kennedy Quilts (and growing every day!) and 10,000 heads are better than one (unless you have a headache.)
We need YOUR opinion and experience–whether you are a newbie or an experienced quilter!
Please Share!
What is YOUR favorite quilt batting?
Why do YOU love it?
Is there anything you don’t like about it?
Have YOU ever used a batting that didn’t work for you?
Why didn’t it work?
Do YOU ever use flannel? What brand do you use? Where do you purchase it?
Do YOU ever layer batting?
How do YOU choose YOUR batting?
Have you tried a variety of batting fibers and manufacturers or do you stick with one?
Choosing Batting and The Quilting Roadmap Series
A few weeks ago, we began a series called the Quilting Roadmap.
My goal is to create a step-by-step guide to help you turn your quilt tops into finished quilts.
We want to take the fear out of the sentence “Quilt as desired”.
And help you overcome your fear that you will ruin your quilt with your quilting.
First Three Steps in The Quilting Roadmap
The first step is to hang your quilt vertically and take photos of it.
The second step is Choose an Approach to quilting.
The third step will be to Choose the Batting. Before we get to that step, I think it’s important to understand the fibers and the manufacturing process.
And it is helpful to know a little more about YOUR batting choices.
I hope to summarize YOUR ideas in future articles about batting.
Join the Discussion
We’d LOVE to hear from YOU today!
Your Batty Friend,
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy Quilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to Lori Kennedy Quilts. For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com. Thanks!
Four Books in my Etsy Shop
My quilting books include chapters with Skillbuilding, Doodling, Design as well as 60 motifs each!
Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 (THE Original Fun Filled Book–Leaves, Flowers, Patterns and More)
More Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 (Seasonal Motifs, Holiday patterns, and several sewing-inspired motifs like the scissor and spool of thread!)
Books edited by Karen Burns and Amelia Johnson which each include four of my designs!
180 Doodle Designs: Free Motion Ideas for Blocks, Borders and Beyond
54 comments
Judy Skousen
I have a long arm and quilt for quite a few people and also quilt my own quilts. In the last few years, I have been having a really hard time finding batting that I like. It seems like every manufacturer of batting has started making the batting thinner and thinner. I like a bit of puffiness so you can tell there is batting in the quilt. I don’t like to use cotton batting because it shrinks. After all the hard work you and I go to to get the points to match perfectly and the squares to line up, I think it is a shame for the quilt to shrink up to 5 inches, the first time it gets washed so that it is all wrinkled and shriveled so no one can see if the points match or not. It is impossible to pre-wash cotton batting to try to shrink it before hand without it getting lumpy, no matter how careful you are and some batting totally falls apart. I used to use Mountain mist 100% polyester but that is very difficult to find anymore and they don’t even make king size now. I usually use wool or silk from Dream. I have to put two wool batts in to get the fluff I like to show off my quilting. Its a good thing the wool batting is washable now. (after it is quilted in the quilt). But the other day I needed a fluffy batt for a quilt with a bright white backing. I could not find white wool or white silk so had to use a polyester batt from Hobbs. It was their batting with the highest loft they make – which was a tiny bit more than 1/4 inch – not 1/2 inch but almost. It was stiff, scratchy and did not drape well at all. But it was all I could find so thank goodness they still make a batting with a bit of loft. Dream puff is so thin I can’t believe they call it high loft. It isn’t even 1/4th inch. But it is very soft and drapes well. If you can afford to put two or three batts in a quilt then OK. Dream’s cotton batting is so soft and warm but so thin that every seam on the front makes an ugly lumpy line on the back of the quilt. I talked with the makers of Mountain Mist and they said no one wants high loft anymore, that its too hard to quilt on a domestic machine. For show quilts, everyone I know uses the thickest wool batt they can get and a high loft silk batt on top of that. Oh for the good old days, my mom hand quilted lovely quilts and used old wool army blankets which had been washed so often they would no longer shrink. No I could not hand quilt through that thick wool blanket but then we are all spoiled.
verveine et lin
Bonjour Lori
Comme je suis Française, nous n’avons pas autant de possibilités que vous aux USA pour trouver le batting. J’achète le mien chez PSR quilts qui est une entreprise française. Mon préféré est le molleton de coton, si doux à piquer à la main et si chaud pour se blottir dedans. Pour les courtepointes de bébé, je prends du synthétique Nuage. Il est très fin, souple, facile à piquer à la machine.
J’aimerais essayer la laine mais je crains que ce soit difficile de laver les courtepointes ensuite.
Merci pour votre Open Line, j’apprends beaucoup avec vous !
Et désolée d’écrire en français mais je ne suis pas confiante avec l’anglais.
Amitiés
Muriel la Française
Marta
Quelle que Nuage? rayon? polyester? Now you may laugh at mon francais. It has been many years since college and French class !!
Sharon B
To me, the best batting is Quilter’s Dream. All types are wonderful. For general quilting, the cotton Select is perfect. For a lightweight quilt, I use Request (good choice for Florida, I think.) For warmth I used the Wool batting. They also have a black batting – poly I think it was. It quilted beautifully on a dark quilt. My favorite is Quilter’s Dream Orient – a blend of bamboo, silk, (sorry I don’t know what else.) The drape you can’t beat. Long ago I used Hobbs 80/20 on a dark quilt and had lots of bearding. I also use Warm and White for table runners, wall hangings, smaller items. While I don’t like the leaves, seeds, etc in Warm and Natural, the Warm and White seems ok to me.Thanks for the great conversation.
Susan Spencer
I used to use Hobbs’ 80/20, but have switched to Winline battings–love their 100% bamboo, especially, since it’s naturally anti-bacterial, and since I live in a humid area, that’s important. I also like their cotton batting–it’s grown & processed without chemicals, another important consideration.
Marta
The biggest hit quilt I have made is the bed Q for my husband..who knew? It ‘s top is mostly flannel in various colors and prints. I just lazily used white cotton flannel as a batting. He fell in love with this quilt and it has had more than 5 years almost daily use. That success inspired me to use flannel mostly as a batting. For various reasons, I usually don’t sew anything larger than a “large” lap quilt. All feedback has been positive. I prefer the flannel to have brushed nap on both sides and buy the best price when I need to re-supply. I also have gradually used the Warm and Natural supply I had when i began to use the flannel. I have been intrigued by the love of wool by so many of you and wish to try it when I can.
Carol Shockey
I really like Winline batting. It’s made in the USA and very high quality. They sell all kinds. Bamboo in my favorite. I discovered them at a quilt show. Google it.
Linda
Yes, I’m a fan of Winline also. Very nice batting for the price. Also found them at quilt show and very pleasant to deal with. I purchased their 80/20 and very pleased with it. I’m also a fan of Dream Batting 70/30 – drapes very nice.
Lillian - TX
My favorite is WOOL – because it is more lofty than cotton and 80/20 type battings. I like a thicker looking quilt. All others I have tried are just too thin – almost like a tablecloth. I am sure the thin batting is great for wall hangings and art quilts , but not for bed quilts. And the wool is lighter weight.
Brenda Cunne
My very favorite batting is Hobbs wool – I love its loft and how well it shows off the FMQ. If I go with polyester, I like Quilters Dream best. Most of the time I use Hobbs 80/20 – not quite as pricey, but handles nicely.
Janet Sabol
I really like Warm & Natural all cotton batting. I use it for throws, bed quilts and table runners.
Betsy
My go to batting is Quilters Dream cotton. I love the consistency in the loft and the durability with laundering. I love wool batting but I had a very bad experience with bearding the only time I used it. I’m planning on making a winter quilt for our bed and would love to use wool for that, the weight and drape are wonderful. Any tips or suggestions for preventing that from happening again?
Mrs. Plum
My favorite batting depends on the project. Quilters Dream wool is probably my favorite batting to machine quilt. I buy it by the yard, when I can find it. When I need white batting, I use Quilters Dream poly. I also like how it machine quilts. I’m currently using Hobbs Tuscany silk for a quilt with many dark fabrics. Supposedly, the silk will not beard. Also, this is a throw quilt, and I didn’t want it to be heavy. For charity quilt, I’d probably use Warm and Natural for the cost and durability.
Maggie Martin
Warm Companys’ Warm and Natural. It never lets me down! Use it 98% of the quilts I make
Maria elena Blecha
I live in Florida so here the stores recommend Warm and Natural, am just a novice !!!!!
Jan Andrews
I’m a recent convert to Hobbs 80/20, and it is now my go-to batting….except for the heirloom style baby quilts for the grandkids, which is Hobbs wool. If I were ever to hand quilt again, it would also be Hobbs wool. I do like Quilter’s Dream (select, I think) for lighter summer-weight quilts.
Caroline
I thought I’d weigh in on this. I usually use warm and natural but I wanted something different. I did a graduation quilt and used Dream Green from Quilter’s Dream. I loved it. It is made from recycled bottles. My niece enjoyed that. She tells everyone that sees the quilt that it is environmentally made. It quilted just like cotton and the darape is real nice. It washed well, no shrinkage of the batting that I could see.
Jean
My favourite is Quilters Dream wool – light weight, great drape, FMQ shows up really well. My next fave is Warm & Natural (or Warm & White) 100% cotton.
For quilts, my least fave is Hobbs iron on 80/20. I find it quilts up very stiff and it’s very difficult to get it flat and non wrinkled in large pieces. That said I prefer this for table runners as the stiffness is desireable and ironing on smaller pieces works very well.
gladquilts
QUILTER’S DREAM batting in all fibers and weights is my favorite! This company makes quality batting every time. No seeds, lumps, or thin spots.
Barb Walker
I do like Quilter’s Dream and have recently been using Quilter’s Dream Orient
Victoria Nelson
Wool batting is my favorite. It gives lovely dimension and it is warm and lightweight and oh so nice for snuggling under. Quilter’s Dream is my favorite overall brand, but I also like the Hobbs Tuscany wool/cotton blend batting. I also like Quilter’s Dream Poly batting. It feels and acts like a cotton batting, but it has a bit more dimension when quilted, cost is reasonable and it is a durable choice for quilts that will get tough use (kids and family quilts). I find that wool and poly batting will help the quilts to resist developing fold lines better than with a cotton batting.
Trish
I love wool batting, both because of its puff and because it’s easier to squish the bulk of the quilt (the part to the right of the area I’m currently stitching) into the throat of the machine than it would be with cotton (or 80/20 cotton/poly) batting. Plus, it’s washable and lighter weight than cotton batting.
Martha Wicker
I buy Warm & Natural (when I have enough pennies saved) on a bolt/roll and work off of it for sometimes a year or four. I never am in the mood to assemble a quilt or two and without a package of batting or have one only in the wrong size. I love it and batting tape is my best friend.
Annye
I love Quilters Dream batting—especially the wool. It quilts easily, has a suppleness that the heavy more inexpensive batting’s don’t have. I use quilters Dream request cotton in baby quilts. It is easy to quilt, and it stands up to many washings.
I also like the information on the Quilters Dream package. It gives you washing info, shrinkage, how far apart one can quilt.
I don’t like the national chain stores’ batting as, to me, it is stiff, uneven and very linty.
I note on my labels washing instructions as I give my quilts away.
sunnysewsit
I agree about the National chain store batting. I just finished an original quilt and was very disappointed in the quality of batting – it was uneven; it had a lot of bearding and was rather thin. My favorite is wool but because of its price, I don’t use it on all my quilts – mainly for family. I had bought a natural cotton on sale online, and the little seeds in the cotton almost ruined a white background quilt, as they showed through and bled. Never again, so I usually steer clear of natural cotton! I mostly use 80-20 and now want to try the Quilters Dream.
Heartland Honey
i LUV LUV LUV Hobbs Tuscany Silk Blend for hand quilting. I think it’s the easiest to needle and get my 10-stitches per inch. I’ve never used it for machine quilting.
For machine quilting I like Hobbs Thermore. It’s lightweight and just like Hobbs silk it drapes nicely and has a nice feel.
About the only time I layer my batting is when I’m adding some trapunto to a quilt or want to accent something in my quilt, i.e. flowers, stars, etc.
I live two hours from a city so I buy most of my batts online through Amazon.
mommaquilts
Because I support my local quilt shop whenever I can, I use Dream Cotton. I like how well it smooths out from the package and the drape. When I have a special quilt that needs a little more loft for quilting definition or concerns about creasing when folded I will add a wool batt layer on top of the Select. It all quilts like a dream.
Leah Groenwald
80/20 is what I use for charity,& wall hangings. Washable wool goes into special gift
quilts
Judy Chastain
I’ve used Pellon’s Natures Touch, and I like it. I used Hobbs Silk batting on a quilt for my husband (he doesn’t like the weight of cotton!). My favorite is Quilters Dream cotton. I bought 2 queen size Hobbs Heirloom Fusible Cotton batting, and I really dislike it. The fusible property did not work at all well, and it was too thin for quilting to suit my taste.
Linda St Andre
I always keep a few yards of Quilter’s Dream, select weight poly on hand for wall quilts, table runners and baby quilts. I like the way this batting drapes with no stiffness. Also, i never have to worry about which side goes up p! I recently put a Christmas Tree Skirt on my long arm with Warm & Natural batting. I must have had it wrong way which, because there were white pokies coming through to the backing and showing along my stitching. I had to pick out my stitching, and that project will be put aside for another time!
Barb Despen
I’m glad to see all this input. I have tried several kinds of batting, but can’t always report on their comfort, as I give them away! For instance, I liked working with bamboo, but have not slept under it. I used to always use Hobb’s 80/20, but then my friends started talking about Quilter’s Dream cotton, so I tried that. I like the softness and drape of the all cotton, but don’t like the creases that remain when it’s folded. I have purchased a blend by Quilter’s Dream and also an all wool, but haven’t used them yet!
Deb C
I used to use Warm and Natural but found that it does not drape nicely and makes the quilt feel “stiff” when heavily quilted. I now have discovered Quilter’s Dream and will never go back! I like either the 80/20 blend or the Orient line which contains bamboo. It’s incredibly soft and is beautiful to quilt with. No more seeds and lumps showing through like in Warm and Natural.
Judy Stodghill
I have used warm and natural. But mostly use Hobbs 89/20. Buy it by the big roll.
Sue
I’ve used many different kinds but wool is my favorite. It’s easy to work with and drapes beautifully. Also like 80/20.
Great topic, batty Lori 🙂
Helen
Warm and White is my first choice with Hobbs 80/20 coming in second. I find the loft is best for free motion quilting. I haven’t tried the Quilters Dream that several have recommended. I like to buy locally by the yard hopefully with a coupon.
Terry Bridgham
I have used several different types, from my earlier days I used whatever I could get in my area, and I have used Insul-Bright on oven mitts, potholders and tablerunners. Since I went to Quiltweek this past summer and heard one of Hobbs educators and received help in choosing some batting for a project, I am using Hobbs. I learned so much at the seminar, plus I got some cheat sheets that describe each type of their batting, the shrinkage of each and the applications they are best used for.
Su D
If you can share, I would love it!
Laurie B
Can you share any of that info?
Rhonda Goss
Warm and Natural. I think it takes to free motion better than others
Jean
My “go to” batting is Hobbs 80/20. But for special projects I love Hobbs Tuscany wool or washable wool. The Hobbs brand is always of high quality and performs as described on the package.
Carole @ From My Carolina Home
It depends on the project. I like a lot of battings. Quilter’s Dream Green is wonderful for any project where you don’t want any shrinkage and you are looking to help create a market for recycled products. Hobbs Tuscany line of wool, cotton wool, 80/20 and all cotton battings are superb quality. Warm and Natural is an economical choice for charity quilts. Wool is great for quilts that will be folded a lot as it won’t retain a crease like cotton does. There are too many applications and too many good choices to choose just one.
Patti
I used to use Warm & White/Natural exclusively because for the price, it was the most trustworthy and reliable. In the last year I tried Quilter’s Dream Cotton and loved it. For the past year, that’s all I have used. I love the weight and drape. So far, have only used cotton but look forward to trying wool.
quiltdivajulie
I use Hobbs 80/20 and purchase large rolls of it (96” wide) from Kingsman Quilting Supply (online). We installed a rope and caribiner System with an aluminum conduit rod so the big roll hangs below my drafting/cutting/board basting table for easy and out of the way access (I quilt all of my own quilts since retiring after quilting by checkbook for 10-plus years). Once and a while I purchase packaged batts of Hobbs Tuscany Wool for special quilts headed to my up-north family members’ bed quilts.
Lynn
My very favorite is Hobbs wool, especially for my bed quilts, or when I really want the quilting to pop. However, it’s more expensive so for many of my quilts I use Toasty Cotton that I buy by the bolt from JoAnns on sale or with a good coupon (about $90 for 20 yards, 90” wide). It’s 100% cotton with scrim and light weight. Sometimes it has spots that are uneven, but for the most part it works well. I also like Hobbs 80/20 that most longarm quilters use. I like working with Warm & Natural, but it’s heavy.
NonieMcD
My favorite quilt batting is Warm and Natural or White depending on the background of the quilt. I love it because it comes in different weights and has never pilled. I hate that it’s getting harder to find locally. I like to buy around home so I will have shops nearby. Too many have closed. My local shop only had natural and my appliqué quilt had a white background. I paid $450 t ok have a quilt custom quilted with polyester batting (her recommendation) and now have pills. My friend uses the same quilter and has no problems with pilling. Before I was a “quilt snob” I used my old flannel sheets as batting. I think I can go back to it again. I rarely later batting because I don’t want the bulk. Bamboo feels so soft and has the warmth of double layering without the bulk. I only buy brand name batting and only natural fibers. I spend a lot of time on my quilts and don’t want a no name batting to ruin it. However, I have been known to reuse the puffy batting from a comforter for a cozy baby quilt.
Karyla Parrish
I use Pellon Nature’s Touch. Either 100% cotton or 80/20 with scrim. When sandwiching it smooths out so nice. The wrinkles just move away. Easy to work with, soft, and quilts beautifully.
Michele
I love Warm & Natural. I tried other well-known brands but come right back to W&N. I prefer to buy it off the bolt when possible since it has less wrinkles. I wait for a coupon sale and buy many yards at a time, keeping it stored upright on a batting tube in a corner of my sewing room.
Kate
Quilters dream hands down is the best. I prefer cotton deluxe or wool. It has a consistent loft, it’s clean, no little seeds and it’s soft and it quilts out beautifully.
Laurie Bi
I totally agree Kate!
Betty Monroe
my choice is 80/20 loft. I use whatever brand is available, I have no particular brand favorite. This weight makes my feathers plump and look good and hides my fmq imperfections.
Deb
I like Quilters Dream batting……it is a quality product made in the USA and offers cotton, poly, bamboo and other options in 2 or 3 different lofts so you can always find just the right option for a quilt.
Kim
Me too. I love their batting’s!
Kristin
Ditto!
Cathy
I love Warm & Natural batting with scrim. It’s just the right weight and does not fluff while quilting in the bobbin case and make a mess. I have used other batting without the scrim and it makes a mess to clean out.
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