I want to use a cotton batting for a king size quilt, but don't want the shrink. Is there a way to preshrink?

The all-cotton batting I use is "Warm and Natural." Instructions for pre-shrinking are included when I buy it.

That said, I disobey those instructions most of the time. Because I have a front-loading washer (which is gentle to begin with), I wash the batting in it using the hand-wash setting with warm water. Then I dry it in my dryer on the delicate setting. Seems to work just fine.

Good luck!

I have a top loader. When I want to pre-shrink a batting I fill the washer full of hot water, turn it off and put the batting in. You'll have to push it into the water several times to get it all wet. I let it sit there ten to fifteen minutes and then turn the washer to spin. Once it's spun out I put it in the dryer on warm. You may have to pull the batting out of the dyer a couple of times and rearrange it so it all gets dry.

Preshrinking a cotton batting that does not have a scrim can be difficult , what name /type is the batting you are trying to preshrink?
When I want to preshrink I typically buy Warm and Natural or Warm and white , it has a good sturdy scrim and holds up well to preshrinking.

I never use Warm and Natural. I pre-shrink Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 all the time.

I have been using the prepackaged 80/20 cotton batting that they sell at walmart and I really don't know what a "scrim" is to say if it has one or not....LOL.....they sell the warm and natural, but only 45" wide.....to get anything else requires a 35 mile trip to joann's

Depends on the batting. Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% cottong batting ***cannot*** be pre-shrunk. It is not needlepunched, needlepunched through scrim, or bonded. This is also why it needs to be quilted 2 inches apart!

Warm and Natural can be pre-shrunk because it is needlepunched through scrim.

I'm pretty sure Quilter's Dream cotton can be pre-shrunk because it is needlepunched (but not through scrim).

If Hobbs 80/20 can be preshrunk, as someone else mentioned, then it is probably because it is bonded very well.

The 20 in the 80/20 is poly. The poly is typically the scrim which helps to bind or hold the cotton fibers in place.
There are few methods , one is to mist or spray it with enough water to get the fibers damp but not soaking wet, allowing plenty of time( aleast a few hours) for the moisture to soak into the fibers. Then toss into the dryer. It can be difficult to get the right amount evenly across a large bat by spraying.
You can also soak in the washer or dryer( again a few hours) , and gently spin and toss in the dryer. Note do periodically push the bat into the water , as some tend to want to float.
I find soaking in the tub to be problematic as getting it out of the tub ( alot of weight ) can pull on the fibers .
Some use a plastic laundry basket to soak and remove as not to strain the heavy bat.
The majority of the shrinkage will come from the heat of the dryer.

Sometimes our conditions specify our methods.I live in a small flat with no bath-just a shower.No wash tubs either.It all goes down a rather large pipe outlet.Therefore I wash nothing until it is quilted.There has been no problem so far and I think it is because everything is doing it's thing at the same time.

Good information. I never knew you could preshrink batting. Hummmmm. I learn something every day from here.