Which quilting batting

Wool Wool is lightweight, warm, and moisture-wicking, making it a great choice for bed quilts or garments that are appropriate for all seasons and climates. It is machine washable and dryable as long as you use gentle, cool cycles. Shop All Wool Batting ». Silk Silk is lightweight, breathable, and has exceptional drape, making it a great choice for bed quilts, as well as garments. Silk batting is also an excellent choice for hand quilting. Projects made with silk should be hand-washed and air-dried.

Shop All Silk Batting ». Polyester Polyester is lightweight, but very durable. It is machine washable and dryable. It has a high loft, making it a great choice for those that want to show off their quilting. This is why you want it to be a bit larger than your quilt top when forming a quilt sandwich.

Cotton is the least expensive option and is super comfortable, and its heavy weight might surprise you. Wool and silk are both breathable and lightweight, making them prime for summer quilts.

Loft is basically a fancy way of saying thickness. If you go for high-loft batting, the lines of your quilting will be more visible and the quilt will be puffier overall. Low-loft batting gives a flatter finish, which is great if you want to show off the piecing more than the actual quilting lines. Quilters are definitely a loyal bunch, and most have a favorite batting brand or two. Professional longarm quilting machines can handle pretty much any batting you can buy.

Good to Know: For more info on completing large projects on an everyday sewing machine, check out our online class Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine.

Fusible batting is great for small quilting projects. It can be ironed to temporarily secure it into the middle of a quilt, which will save you time basting. It acts as a stabilizer and helps to hold the batting together while quilting. Bonded quilt battings contain a type of glue or bonding adhesive, which means the batting may become looser once the quilt is washed. This usually requires close quilting lines to make sure your quilt holds up over time.

Pro Tip: Some battings specify an optimal quilting distance between rows of stitches. 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! Love your site. I keep getting request for a heavy quilt. Any suggestions? Would it be batting choice or fabric choice that makes a quilt heavier? Do you want the quilt to be soft and warm, or just heavy? What batting would you use between two layers of fleece?

My mom made three of my children warm, heavy quilts like this before she died. We have since added two more children to our family. I would like to make them quilts just like this. A quilter friend advised me not to use batting in between. I really want to make one just like it. Any advise? FYI Quilters Dream poly batting has a few different lofts that range in denseness. The Deluxe will be the heaviest. Any ideas? It drapes nicely and washes well though.

I have found bamboo to be really light, and also a thin poly batting would be light. Wool and cotton will probably be a bit heavier. I often use Pellon wool, it is light as a feather and not too warm.

Love the loft and weight. Love the pattern and really taught me to be more careful with pressing. Working on a baby quilt. A rock steady pattern! So with that said I want this one to be cozy and warm while still being breathable. I made a quilt for house with wool and love it, so warm and cozy but perhaps wool would be too thick and not as breathable which I think is important for baby quilts. So perhaps Cotton poly blend? I am considering a wool batting … How will I know if my fabric is a tightly woven fabric or has a high thread count?

Just saying I use the spray baste, but I have not tried it on a bed-sz quilt. I tape my backing to a tabletop and spread the batting and top, then lift half at a time, starting in the middle, working outward.

For small art quilts, I keep a trash bag for covering enough of the table with the can in my kitchen away from my machines. Brand name matters, I recommend the one Hobby Lobby sells, blue can, use a coupon. Just finished a table runner which is fine except that the spray gummed up my needle. Only had to change or clean it once. This post was very informative to a quilt novice such as myself. Life got in the way and I picked it up again last month.

Now I must research how to hand quilt this huge quilt in a very small space. I figure to purchase a large embroidery hoop and quilt one square at a time and doing the connecting borders as I go along…. This post is fantastic and so informative.

I know you mentioned using high quality fabric to prevent bearding but is there anything to do if the bearding does happen? Or is it just a lost cause once it starts? I have a question. But it is called Orient because it is a combination of cotton, tencel, silk and rayon from bamboo. Thanks for all your work on quilting subjects!!! This is a great question and the choice is really up to you since both are great options for warm-weather batting.

When it comes to picking your favorite batting, I advocate for trying out different brands and deciding for yourself what you like. The Quilters Dream Orient is a bamboo blend, but based on what they blend with it, it remains very silky soft and breathable.

It came highly recommended and especially happy with how the bamboo feels and washes up. Great article, thank you. Which would you say is the coolest batting to use as I live in a warm area of the country?

The backing fabric is Cuddle Luxe. What batting would you suggest for a lighter weight quilt? Thank you for all doing so much research!! What are your thoughts on silk batting? Thank you in advance. My only experience with silk batting is a silk, bamboo blend Quilters Dream Orient. That batting is very light and soft with a beautiful drape. Any thoughts or tips on using two layers of batting?

A cotton-poly blend with a wool on top? Thanks for all your insight! Three things come to mind — 1. Use a larger stitch length when quilting. Probably around 4. You may want to test that out on a small sample.

Baste really really well. If you are a pin baster, use more pins than normal. Thanks for all the tips Suzy. I have one question though. I want the back of my twin size quilt to be soft. What would you suggest?

Also would piecing the backing cause a problem? Softer than flannel? Hmmmm…Flannel is pretty soft. I want it to be a heavier quilt.

Also would you recommend using two pieces of fabric for the backing? So it would be thicker? QD Deluxe Poly is awesome. I love that stuff. Very dense and thick. Another option if you want the quilt to be warm and snuggly is QD Wool. I think two pieces of fabric would be overkill. I have just finished a king size quilt. I do not want it to be too heavy and am considering using flannel as my batting.

Any thoughts? Have you considered a bamboo blend? Love your article and all the wonderful information. I used bamboo batting in the last throw quilt I made and found that it bearded! Have you had that issue? Oops…forgot to say my go-to batting has always been TherMore. I love that it is thin, light weight, and super easy to quilt.

Oh no! That is a major bummer. Thanks for the info on batting. Crazy question: I have a hankering to use my thin, light feather comforter as batting… Provided I could keep the feathers from shifting and maybe using tie and thread techniques… Feasible or horrendous nightmare? Hilarious analogy! Let me think…the quilt historian in me wants you to go for it because years ago women were cramming much crazier stuff inside their quilts.

However, the biggest negative in creating a quilt from a down comforter is that down comforters typically last years and then the feathers have either migrated out or have been completely crushed into oblivion.

Whatever you decide, good luck! Hi Suzy, This may have been addressed in one of the previous posts, so I apologize if I ask a question that has already been asked.

I want to hand quilt some pillow tops and table runners and am looking for low loft. Thanks for your help! You can assume the batting is low loft unless it is otherwise stated.

Is this impossible to find? Hi Suzy. I find all of this to be very informative. Not as much weight or loft as quilters dream. Makes the perfect summer weight quilt. Unfortunately they are not making it any more.

Complaints that it bearded too much. I never had that problem. I miss it, would love to try their cotton wool blend, but I have only seen it in a big roll and want to try before I buy a huge amount.

Love following you and all the others in the group. Thank you for the great article. I have hand embroidered 30 pre-pirnted panels for my first quilt.

The quilting pattern is also pre-printed on the panels. I plan on hand quilting this queen size quilt and need help choosing the right batting. Here is what I know: I need white batting. If I use cotton look out for seeds. The rest is very confusing. Do I want something with a scrim? Thank you for your time. Quilters Dream Orient Bamboo blend would be a good option. Hi Suzy, love your website, you are a wealth of knowledge, thank you!

Thank you! Probably something stiff with medium loft. I am going to make a baby quilt like I did for each of my own two children for my first grandchild. I made a baby quilt for my last child over 26 years ago.

I will be machine quilting and I need a batting that will hold up to numerous washings. The only time you need that is if you are sending it to a longarm quilter. Thanks Suzy! Thank you for providing so much information about batting. I am considering bamboo but I find that most are sold with scrim. Is that necessary? Thank you for your help. Is that a batting thing? What am I doing wrong? Or will it just soften up as it gets used and washed?

Once you wash the quilt it will drastically change the drape. Wash it a couple times and I bet all stiffness will be gone. Is it just goofy idea or can I get away with this? Batting works as a great buffer for feeling the seams made when patching together all of those different fabrics for the top. You definitely can finish your quilt with no batting, but instead I would recommend using a really like batting like bamboo or a very light cotton, such as Quilters Dream Request loft.

I am new to quilting. I am making quilts for Christmas for my boys. That have said they want fluffy warm quilts. I bought a poly blend batting with a loft of 8. Wondering if I could put 2 layers of batting to make the quilts extra fluffy? I am tying the quilts with yarn, not quilting. What do you think will a double layer be too thick? Lots of people use two layers of batting!

I think you should cut a small sample, make a quilt sandwich, and see if it works well with ties. I would love to use wool batting to make it extra fluffy and cozy. Will this be a problem? Would you use a poly blend instead? Any tips would be much appreciated! Your unwashed flannel, however, will shrink. I suggest washing with cold water and drying on low heat or air drying to avoid too much shrinkage.

I keep going back and forth between thinking it is just the front fabric and the back fabric with nothing in between and thinking there is just another piece of quilting fabric as the batting…but maybe there is a traditional type of batting inside? I recently started my own quilt. However, it does not breathe like natural fibers, so you can over heat when using. Polyester fibers are stronger. Polyester also holds its shape better, even when washed repeatedly. It also resists mold and mildew.

Polyester is available in white and black. Quantity content of cotton to polyester varies from brand to brand. This type of batting can be used for both machine and hand quilting. This is a very warm batting. It provides the warmth without the weight. It absorbs moisture and is great for use in cool and damp climates. Many hand quilters like to use wool batting. It can be used year round; however, some people are allergic to wool. It is more expensive than cotton or polyester, but it is now manufactured to be washable.

Wool is available in black and natural. The most expensive batting but wonderful to work with. It is a good alternative to wool and down. Most silk battings have some polyester in them to stabilize the silk and reduce the shrinking.