Caroltee

I would like to hear what your likes and dislikes on quilt battings. What you like to use and any other information you can offer.

Prism99

Warm and Natural - I used it for quite awhile, but no longer. It has a stiffer drape than many other battings (although it does soften up with washings). Its major plus is that it is extremely stable because it is needlepunched through scrim, so quilting lines can be as far apart as 10". Relatively difficult to hand quilt because of the scrim.

Hobbs 80/20 - My "default" batting. A good all-around choice. Has more loft than W&N and yet is lighter in weight. Good for both machine and hand quilting.

Hobbs PolyDown - A new favorite for me. Nice loft and a good choice for children's quilts that will get washed often because it dries quickly (all polyester). The loft makes it a little trickier to machine quilt, and probably to hand quilt, than 80/20.

Hobbs Wool - I have some of this but haven't actually used it in a quilt yet; eager to try out because many quilters rave about its qualities. Good for both machine and hand quilting; especially for hand quilting, shows off the quilting stitches very well. Cool in summer, warm in winter.

DOTTYMO

I like thin cotton type. BUT my dogs like the poly type.

Knitette

My favourite is Quilters Dream Orient which is a bamboo mix, followed by Quilters Dream cotton - all three weights, depending on the quilt.

Unlike Warm and Natural, it doesn't use a polymer base. I once used Warm and Natural on a pale quilt I quilted on my LQS Gammill and didn't notice they loaded it on the wrong way, so the little cotton seeds showed through. So, between that and the polymer, I haven't used it since.

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Annie Pearl

I use either Hobb's 80 20 or Quilter's Dream. I like both equally but I have never machine quilted either one of them. I am a hand quilter and am just getting ready to start machine quilting.

ckcowl

I have tried all of the battings from the Dream company and love them all; I am also a fan of the battings from the Hobbs company. I never restrict myself to one batting over & over- I try them as I find them- keeping a small square of the batting in a 'batting journal' with information about it so I can refer back and see what I liked/disliked about a particular one. I absolutely LOVE working with wool battings- Dream Wool and Hobbs Wool are both wonderful, light weight, lofty, oh so wonderful to work with- they are a bit more expensive though so I generally use them for particular quilts. I often use either Hobbs 80/20 or Dream poly *or dream green* when making kids quilts- the dream poly & dream green hold up to many, many washings/drag around lots of use & abuse so are great for kids quilts. it all just depends on the project what I choose- I pretty much never choose W&N

Maureen NJ

I've only completed a few quilts (many quilt tops ready to go). After reading so much on this board, I have used the Dream products exclusively. I am still working on what I like best. The Dream Request and Dream Select are nice to work on for both hand and machine quilting. I would like a little more loft to them, however. I have used two layers of Dream Request for table runners and like it but I think it is too expensive to do for quilts. I want to try the Dream wool as it is suppose to be machine washable and dryable and easy to work with for Machine and hand quilting and it is loftier. Have not used the Dream Poly. There has been much discussion here on the board about battings. I'd recommend a search.

QuiltE

What about silk battings?
Pros and cons?
When should they be used?
Do they provide warmth? loft?
Can you spray baste it, for quilting on a DSM?

Likewise is wool, one that can be spray basted for a DSM?

I have used a lot of Warm N Natural. It was the one the LQS' in this area favoured and I just followed blindly!! I'm now branching out to try others .... and trying to keep track!

My current favourites are Tender Touch 80/20 and Warm N Safe ... both seem to have more substance than W+N and thus give a nice loft for the quilting to show. They drape nicely and feel oh so cuddly in the finished quilt.

I have a binder labelled as "The Batting Book" ... where I keep samples, info about different battings and any other relevant info. I try to remember to note which quilts have which battings.

Cam's gram

Has anyone tried the new Warm & Plush yet from Warm & Natural?

PenniF

Since i buy mine at JoAnn's when i have a coupon or when it's on sale i go straight for the Warm & Natural...sometimes all cotton - sometimes not --- but ALWAYS the one that allows for quilting every 10 inches. I never know exactly what i might be making -- and whether or not it will be stitched or tied....so i like to know that i have the best option for distance between the "anchors"