Alright,

So it's was my 5th quilt. A baby quilt for a friend. I went to Hancock and they were having 40% off batting. So I got cotton batting.

Is it just be or is it a DREAM to work with? No snagging, easy to manipulate, easy to cut. Seemed warmer in my lap when I was machine quilting it.

And in the end after I washed the quilt it just seemed to have a better loft, not to mention the quilt felt more "solid"

Perhaps it's all in my mind, but I'm thinking perhaps on "special" non charity quilts I will go with cotton, OR if they have a good sale and it's only a few dollars more I most certainly will pop for the 100% natural cotton, it just seemed to be a nicer product.

Personally I think natural is always going to be better than synthetic. I always use 100% cotton, though I've been in the process of trying different brands to find which one I like the best. And definitely love the feel of a quilt after it's first "bath". I'm always hesitant to wash a newly assembled quilt, for whatever reason, but each time I'm reminded of how much more I love them after they've been washed.

That's what I use too. I love the warm & natural. If you are using light colors, use the warm & white. It makes your quilts look brighter. It's the same price too.

I'm waiting on it to go on sale here, I'm completely out of it.

I like to have starchy fabric, so I always LOVE how soft and fluffy the quilt feels after the first wash. :) Not to mention the smell of fabric softner sheet. ;P

Oooh, but have you tried bamboo batting? It is SO soft. And there are no lumps in it. I will definitely use it in everything I hand quilt in the future, which granted, won't be all that many. I get it at Joann's and with the coupon it isn't too bad. Other than that I use Warm and Natural or Warm and White. Never had a problem with those, but the bamboo is softer and smoother.

I see I can get a whole 40 yard roll for like 220 on Joann.com cause it's 30% off right now.

But no...I've never even HEARD of bamboo....interesting.

I am waiting for those rolls to be half off or not on sale so I can use a coupon, and then I will get a roll like that, too. I have 9 quilt tops here waiting for batting. (I am horrible about that.) I think they usually do batting half off for the 4th of July sale, but am not certain.

The next smaller quilt you do- a baby one is perfect- get a package of the bamboo and try it out. Maybe it's 30% off now at Joanns? Or use a coupon. I bet you will love it!

Warm and Natural is really nice, but too expensive. I bought a huge roll of Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 for a lot less, and it's almost as good (IMHO). Works fine for quilting on my frame.

If anyone is interested, I bought it from here:

http://www.heartbeatquilting.com/battingmuslin.html

Edit: they also appear to carry Warm & Natural -- $178 for 124"x30 yards or $172 for 90" x 40 yards. You have to pay shipping, though, but it's still probably cheaper than Joann.

If you use the 50% coupon for online on their front page you can actually get the 40 yard roll for about $183 with shipping!! :) :) :) (sorry to enable) I also love the cotton batting, once I found it I never went back!! I actually would probably prefer wool, but I MUST be able to dry my quilts int eh dryer, so wool is a no go for me :(

Rachel

I prefer using 100% cotton in my quilts. Years ago I made a baby quilt that got used and washed many, many times. Had the opportunity to see it again about 15 years later and I could not believe how *soft* it had become. It was like hugging a cloud! That quilt was made with Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% cotton batting.

Years ago I used Warm n Natural a lot, but I eventually came to dislike the stiffness of the drape.

Just read an article about bamboo that says the fiber has to go through very toxic processes to be made into batting. It is often touted as eco-friendly, but cotton is actually more eco-friendly in terms of processing.