I don't machine quilt, though I have recently done a little practice block, nor have I ever had a quilt machine quilted. I am finishing a top for my son and DIL and would like to hand quilt the center of it, and have the rest machine quilted. It is a medallion type with a hand appliqued center inside a large star, with several borders around it. I have heard here and other places that some battings when machine quilted get stiff, I know one cause is lots of quilting, but are there battings that stay softer? Also, is it possible for me to have it machine quilted if I hand quilt the center? Thanks for your help.

If you are going to take it to a longarmer, do not quilt the center first, do it after it has been to the longarmer, because otherwise they can't get it on the rollers to quilt it.

I like warm and natural, but I don't hand quilt.

Warm n Natural has too stiff a drape for me because it is a batting that is needlepunched through a scrim. This makes it difficult for me to hand quilt.

I would think Hobbs 80/20 batting ((80% cotton/20% poly) would be a good choice, but check with your longarmer before deciding.

I once machine quilted a little doll's quilt with stippling. Came out pretty stiff! The amount of quilting you do in a space makes a big difference. Thread size also matters. You can quilt more closely with finer threads and not have the stiffness problem.

Wool is wonderful to quilt with, and stays very soft. And YES!, let the machine quilter do her thing first, letting her know you want to hand quilt the center. She can baste it for you and you can pull out those stitches when you quilt.

my favorite batting for hand quilting is Quilter's Dream.

you might want to consult your longarmer. she probably has rolls of the stuff and can help you choose one that's good for both machine and hand quilting.

My newest favorite for long arm quilting is Bamboo.

Thank you for all your help. I'm so glad I asked, before quilting!