Silk Batting
 

I have a friend that has some silk batting she bought while in China. Now she is home and has decided she really doesn't want it. My questions:
1. Has anyone used silk batting?
2. Does it need special handling?
3. Can it be machine washed?
4. Any thing else to think about if it is used?

Hobbs makes a silk batting, which is 10% poly. Instructions are to quilt it with your lines up to 3.5 inches apart, hand wash in tepid water and lay flat to dry. I have one of these batts but am saving it for a future special project. The batting that your friend bought in China may be completely different, though, so you would need more information before knowing how to use it.

Can't help you, but I'd love to scrunch it all up and dive into it :)

I attended a class where the instructor had a quilt with silk batting. It was her favorite batting for hand quilting and handed the quilt around. She used the silk batting with cotton fabrics, and the quilt had been washed. The drape was wonderful -- very luxurious.

Silk batting is used a lot for quilted clothing because it is light and drapeable.

I have a silk batting filled blanket/comforter. It is so light and comfortable. I keep it on my bed year round. It keeps me warm in winter and cool in summer. I can't use down filled comforters because of allergies. The silk comforter does say "dry clean only" but I only have to do it once a year since it's covered by a regular quilt.

The Dream company has a couple silk batts- visit their website for care instructions- silk should be washable- but i would quilt it first & then wash gently the finished quilt- silk is a fabulous fiber and will be wonderful for hand quilting- or machine quilting- it is strong, lightweight, beautiful drape- i wish someone would give me a silk batt :)

Have never come across this type of batt, would love to experiment with one!

chinese silk batting
 

I bought a huge swathe of this when teaching in China a few years ago and went to use it recently. I found it wants to completely shred and clump. There is nothing holding the fibers together except very short strands of silk. So i put it away and am waiting to use it in a project where the quilting will cover the area leaving very little space between stitches. If hers is like mine it will need some special projects. But it feels yummy.

For the problematic silk batting from China, you might want to enclose it in cheesecloth before layering. This is what was done to wool batts years ago to prevent it from bearding, before needlepunching and other processes eliminated the need for the cheesecloth. I'm thinking the cheesecloth would help hold the fibers in place, although it will probably still need close quilting.