Kitty10628

I made my first quilt using batiks. I washed it and it is not very soft. Will it get as soft as a cotton quilt?

It has a high thread count, right?

toverly

Hi Kitty, I've made many a batik quilt and have found that they will soften up as long as they are good quality batiks. They often carry residual wax and until that is gone, they will remain a little stiffer.

ckcowl

Batiks are cotton fabrics. ( unless you bought rayon batiks)
Softness of any quilt depends on quilt top, backing, amount of quilting, number of seams, type of batting... It all plays its part. But, yes, over time the (Cotton fabric) will soften--like those new jeans that start out so stiff, then become oh so comfy.... Is the backing batik also? What batting did you use? Is the quilt densely quilted?
A densely quilted quilt with a ( firm/ dense) polyester batting may stay ( stiff/ firm) for a long time, but will still over time, with use will soften up.
I use lots of batiks, have never had a stiff quilt ( always soft) so, not sure why yours isn't... How did you launder it? I toss in washer, warm water, detergent, gentle cycle, then toss into dryer, medium heat, regular cycle... Cozy soft, fluffy quilt comes out...

meyert

Hello, I have not used batiks much, but the quilt that is here on the couch next to me has batiks and they are soft as cotton. I don't know about the thread count. I don't know what quality batiks these are.. I purchased these from Fabric.com

Kitty10628

I'm sure it is cotton batik. I used Warm and Natural all cotton batting. I have a beautiful all cotton backing on it also. It is not densely quilted and I have only washed it once. Im going to wash it a few more times and see what happens.

Based on the replies I expect it so soften up!!

Prism99

I find Warm and Natural cotton batting to be quite stiff. However, it does soften up a little with every washing. Have you used this batting before?

Jeanne S

To me, batiks do have a slightly different feel or "hand" to them...batiks seem to be more tightly woven of smoother, thinner threads, so overall batiks feel smoother and 'slicker' to me. I just made my first quilt with batiks and after washing the first time it didn't seem quite as soft to me as other newly washed regular cotton quilts, so I understand your question. But I made mine for a gift so don't have it any more to know how it will change over time. I love the colors though, so will make another. Let us know how yours "ages"!

caspharm

Batiks are my favorites and they do soften over time. However, depending on the manufacturer, just like "regular" cottons, there can be a difference in stiffness. The batting can also make a difference in the feel.

sewingsuz

I have not made a quilt out of batiks,however I have been collecting different and it is on my list for 2015. I hope yours softens.

DogHouseMom

My favorite lap quilt is all batiks. It's 1 year old anniversary is December 31 It's been washed 2-3 times now and yes ... they get WONDERFULLY soft to the hand! Very smooth, but not 'slick' like satin. It's a wonderful feel!!