Answering All Your FAQs About Quilt Batting

How To Test Your Batting Before You Buy?

You probably already know this, but there are many different kinds of batting. Some of these include polyester, cotton, cotton blends, wool, silk, low loft, puffy, needle punched, and others. You can find batting in fabric stores or online. Each of these batts has been designed specifically so that you can achieve the look that you want for your quilt using that particular batt.

• If you want your finished quilt to have a lot of lofts, you should probably use polyester batting with a high loft rating.
• You might be looking for wool batting if you are making a quilt for a mountain cabin that you want to cuddle up in late at night when it is cold outside.
• If you aren’t sure what kind of quilt you want to make or if you are working on a group project, it is a good idea to try out different kinds of batting before investing in large quantities of it.

First, obtain a small piece, then layer it with the fabrics that you intend to use for your quilt, and finally quilt it using either the hand quilting or the machine quilting method of your choice. This will provide you with a good idea of what the appearance and texture of your finished quilt will be like. Where can one obtain batting for testing purposes? At quilt shows, many of the vendors of batting will have packs of samples available for purchase or for a low price. Quilt shops will frequently have sample packs available for purchase.

Alternately, you could make an investment in a small batt (crib size) of each of the different types of batting that you are likely to use, and then keep these on hand to use as “test batts” for your future quilts. Does that sound like a lot of additional work to you? To some extent, keep in mind that this quilt will last many lifetimes, and the extra hour or two that you spend working on it right now will be nothing compared to the years of enjoyment that future generations will spend with your completed quilt.

What Is Cotton Batting?

Quilters made use of cotton batting that was stuffed with cotton seeds and stems prior to 1793 when Eli Whitney perfected the design of the cotton gin.

After that, batting that originated in the South contained a significantly lower percentage of seeds and stems than before. Due to the fact that Eli’s cotton gin was not being used and housewives in the North did not have the time to remove the seeds and stems, batting from the North contained both of these elements. Following the year 1830, every region of the country began using the cotton gin, which resulted in the batting having fewer seeds and stems.

When I first started making quilts in 1981, the cotton batting that was available in my region (Southern California) was 100 percent cotton, but it still contained some seeds and stems. Cotton batting didn’t become completely free of stems and seeds until the 1990s. Until then, it contained both.

It is interesting to note that quilts can be dated and the location where they were made can be determined based on the batting that was used.

What To Do If My Batting/Backing Is Too Small?

“When we assembled the quilt, we made sure that the batting and the backing had the same dimensions as the quilt itself. I currently have it arranged on an old rack, but I am hesitating to begin the quilting process because I am concerned that the finished product will not have satisfactory edges. What steps should I take?

When you quilt, the top of the quilt, the back, and the batting will all gradually shrink due to the quilting stitches, but this will happen at varying rates depending on how fast your quilt.

At this point, I would attach some fabric to the backing, and then I would attach some batting. Assuming that the quilt is already basted together, the first thing you need to do is remove enough of the basting so that you can work with the top 2-3 inches of the batting and the quilt back.

The first thing that needs to be done is to add the backing material. If you have more of the same material, you could extend the piece by approximately three inches on each of its sides. In the event that this is not the case, you could add a piece of contrasting fabric to the backing in the same way that you would add a border to a quilt top. After you have added in those pieces, you will need to press the seam allowances so that they are flat, most likely toward the larger portion of the quilt.

After that, proceed to add the batting. If you follow the instructions in this Article about Piecing Batting, this, too, is a relatively straightforward process.

After you have added all of those missing pieces, you can begin quilting without any additional concerns. The top, the batting, and the backing should all be basted. You will find that your quilt top has some batting and backing material protruding from it in excess. Those two should be welded together, in my opinion. Because your batting is pieced, you will probably want to secure it so that the piecing does not come undone as easily as it might otherwise. In my normal practice, I do not do that.

After you have finished quilting, proceed as you normally would removing any excess batting and backing from the top. It is highly likely that only a small portion of the additional backing will actually be left in your quilt after it has been pieced together. The extra little strip could be covered with binding if you want me to.

Making your own binding is the most straightforward method. Take measurements to determine how much of the backing you want to cover up before you cut the fabric for the binding. To that measurement, add at least 1 and a half inches. That amount of fabric will be sufficient for you to sew a quarter of an inch of binding onto the front, fold it around to the back, and then secure it well past the seam where you pieced the additional fabric onto the back.

What Are The Types Of Quilt Batting?

Have you ever considered making use of something other than conventional batting, which can be purchased at your neighborhood quilt shop and can be made of cotton, polyester, wool, or silk?

Trying out something new seems to fit in well with the overall quilting way of thinking (using scraps, bits, and good leftovers). Some quilters have gotten quite creative!

Here are some suggestions for alternative fabrics that you could use in your quilt instead of batting if you so choose.

• Thin cotton blanket
• Bath towel
• Good parts of an old mattress pad
• Osnaburg cloth (frequently used in doll making)
• Cotton flannel sheet

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