SHELTIE'SMAMA

Making a Christmas quilt for a full size bed from approx 500 HST that I mindlessly sewed when my right hand was out of commission. Because its a winter theme and I'm forever cold I really want to double batt it. Trying hard to limp to the end of a year on a fabric diet I am wondering if a use a W&N with a thin poly batt to try and get a little puff will I still get crinkle when I wash? Any experiences/advice out there in quiltland that will keep me from re-inventing the wheel and/or what I might be getting myself into if I go this route?

If you think that this is doable which batt would you put next to the flimsy? Or which way do you think would produce the most crinkle? I want both crinkle and puff but crinkle is more important to me.

Barb in Louisiana

Just an opinion because I have not done this. Research I did before I starting using W&N said that Polyester was less likely to crinkle because it doesn't shrink hardly at all. That being said, I would use the Polyester on the bottom and the W&N on the top.

Why don't you make a block to use as a mug rug...at least 12"...and quilt it with poly on the bottom and W&N on the top. To do it quickly, you can do an overlock stitch on the edge, to prevent fraying and wait to do your binding. Wash and dry it. Do you like the results?

Edited to Add: I see why you asked the question here. It took me almost a dozen webpages to find the answer. FYI....this is a great webpage for batting info. https://thecuriousquilter.wordpress....atting-basics/

Quote from webpage:
Polyester: Polyester batts have a higher loft than cotton, and offer great stability between fibers. Because of this, it can be purchased in several lofts or thicknesses, and quilting distance can be quite large. Lower lofts are excellent for hand and machine quilting and yield a nice level of dimension. Warmth increases with higher lofts. When tying a quilt, a polyester batt may be the best choice, as it will have the least bunching. If you wish to use a high or very high loft, say one inch, tying is probably preferable. It has little to no shrinkage, and is very washable. Polyester ‘fibers’ are actually spun from a member of the enormous family of plastics. While its’ extreme durability and wash-ability make it a favorite in baby quilts, it is the most flammable type of batting.

Sailorwoman

I have used a single layer of wool batting with a layer of flannel, and then used flannel as backing. It is nice and warm. There is some flannel in one of our stores (Fabricland) that has flannel used for draperies. It is wider and so that is what I used with the batting. Hope this helps.

toverly

I would go for wool or one of the high loft battings. Seems like the W&N would crinkle and the poly wouldn't so it would be luck of the draw. Maybe you could make a small 2 x 3 sample and give it a try before investing in a full size experiment. If it works, you could make a pillow sham.

feline fanatic

OK voice of experience here. I double batt a LOT.

Always put the loftier puffier batting on top. You negate any puff factor if you but the denser heavier batting on top. I learned this the hard way with my Agave Garden quilt. http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...l-t270708.html


You will not get any crinkle or darn little with the poly, even if layered over a high shrinkage batting like W&N. The crinkle is achieved when the batting shrinks more than than the fabric after the first wash and dry. The extra loft of the poly coupled with almost no shrinkage will take up the space and negate the crinkle look effect. You may get a little but nothing like you would get with all cotton batting.

Toverly may be spot on with the wool recommendation. While I have double layered wool, it has been in smaller art type quilts that I don't think were washed so I haven't seen what happens. As wool shrinks at much the same rate as cotton the solution for you may be a layer of cotton with wool on top of that.

I quilt on a LA so I have no issues quilting with double batting but if you are quilting on a domestic you may have issues getting all those layers and added loft to behave itself when quilting on a domestic. So that is definitely a consideration. If you quilt on a DSM you may want to do a single layer of wool batting with flannel backing, that will be a super warm quilt that should crinkle nicely after first wash and dry.

cathyvv

Try an inexpensive solid colored blanket for batting. I did that on two quilts in my early quilting days. I prewash fabrics before i use them, then I wash my quilts after I make them and they seemed to hold up. It odes make the quilt physically heavy, though, but otherwise seems to work.

SHELTIE'SMAMA

Thank you ladies for all this interesting info especially this batting site chart. Am leaning towards just WN double batt now or WN and a layer of flannel. Turns out that my brain is saying crinkle over puff.
Don't know why I didn't think of trying a pot holder trial. Have done that before. Broke down on the fabric acquisition for the year and bought a new piece for the backing. That will still keep me under 12 yards for the year if I can stay out of Joanns for the rest of the year.
Really enjoy this site and all the expertise; all wrapped up in a friendly atmosphere with no Quilt Police around. You gals are the best!

Bree123

Just wanted to point out that a double layer of W&N will be quite heavy -- especially when wet. If you haven't bought your batting already, I'd go with Warm & Plush instead. It's 50% loftier than W&N because it doesn't have a scrim. That means you have to quilt it closer together (6" apart -- which is still much farther apart than I quilt utility quilts), but it really does make for a puffier quilt that still crinkles nicely. The other option, which I hesitate to mention because of cost, is to do a layer of W&N and a layer of Hobb's Heirloom wool. That will give you some extra loft & still crinkle.

If you've already bought the W&N, I would glue baste (or spray baste if the chemical propellant doesn't bother you) the two layers together of batting together so they don't shift while machine quilting (speaking from experience). With 2 layers of cotton batting, I would try to cut down some on the weight by quilting with poly thread.

PS -- I usually find that Walmart's everyday prices on Warm battings are cheaper than JAF with 50-60% off.

JustAbitCrazy

Many quilters LOVE a wool batting overtop of a cotton one. The wool gives great definition without being puffy, plus it'll really keep you warm.

illinois

My guess is that you are wanting the best of 2 worlds but I don't know they will work together. The crinkle comes from shrinkage, which cotton batting will do, but the polyester (puff) will not. I'd have concern that the 2 won't play well together. Good idea to make the 2 mats and see how it works before delving into a big quilt using this idea. Myself, I like a puffy quilt so always go with polyester. It stays soft unlike cotton.

Have you considered a poly batt with flannel or fleece backing?