Antique quilt top
 

A friend has brought me a quilt top about 70 or 80 years old. She asked that I make it into a quilt. What kind of batting should I use? Im planning on using muslin for the backing. I assume it needs hand quilting but can that old cotton stand up to the quilting? Should I put a layer of muslin between the top and the batting? Any thoughts are appreciated.

I would 'inspect' every inch to see if any tares, or thread seams need repair before sandwiching.
If you are going to try and keep it 'authentic' then use 100% cotton batting. Only you can say if it will take machine quilting. If you are not sure then hand quilting would be the way to go, JMHO.

got a picture? Is it fancy or utilitarian? What condition is the fabric in?

It is small octagons slightly larger than a quarter, hand sewn to make diamond shapes. The size is for a full size bed. The fabric is in pretty good shape but obviously gotten wet as some of the red color has run. The owner doesn’t want me to try to fix any of that, just make a quilt.[ATTACH=CONFIG]599582[/ATTACH]

It is beautiful. I would go ahead and put the muslin under the top and for backing and use whatever batting you like. Either hand quilt or machine quilt handling as gentle as possible.

I would definitely hand quilt this beauty!!

I love antique quilts and tops and have hand quilted them. However, if you would rather machine quilt it go for it. Better than the way it is now- undone and unused.
I think the layer of muslin is a good idea but may make hand quilting harder.
It's really pretty.

Hand quilting would be the best way, because the fabric may be fragile even if it doesn't look it. If you decide to machine quilt, probably light quilting would be best so the pattern and fabric can be the stars. :-)

My vote--hand quilting with a "flat" batting, whether it is 100% cotton or 80/20. It goes with the era of the construction of this beauty.