janRN

I just finished a batik crib-size quilt and plan to quilt it on my machine. However, the fabric is very stiff (which made piecing easy) but I'm not sure about quilting it. Is there a certain size or type of needle that should be used? The regular quilting needle seems too "fine" or something and I'm afraid it will break with moving and turning the quilt.
I've seen some beautiful batik quilts on here and I'm hoping someone can help me. Thanks so much!!

patricej

make a small test sandwich using the same fabrics and batting. that will give you the best idea of how the needle will perform.

kluedesigns

i use an 80/11 or a 90/14 when quilting batiks or any quilt that is on the stiff side.

the deciding factor between those two is how thick the thread is that i'll be quilting with - if its on the heavy side i'll use the 90/14 and sometime i go all the way up to 100/16.

amma

I starch my backing pretty heavily and I use a larger needle also.

quiltingbee12

I quilt some high loft battings, and I always use a 100/16 needle.
I'd just use the bigger needle to be on the safe side.