RST

An older couple in our church, knowing that I quilt, gave me two wool battings that were assembled by hand by his grandmother -- tufts of wool layered and basted betweem cheesecloth. They are very well done, and have been stored with cedar in rubbermaid bins, so I think they will be usable. A quick, cursory look tells me that they are thicker/heavier than modern commercially made battings. And because of the way they are contstructed, I think I will make a quilt top to fit the batt rather than risk cutting into the batting.

I'm not invested enough in these to do the quilting by hand, so my approach to quilting will be an experiment too.

Anyone here worked with batting done the old fashioned way? Any tips or experience for me?

Tartan

If the wool is sandwiched between muslin, I might do a crosshatch over the whole piece and edge stitch to prepare it for washing. Natural wool sweater shrink a lot so I am thinking the batts will also. After it is done shrinking then I would sandwich it in a quilt.

RST

Good point, but on the other hand, this is loose fibers sandwiched between the cheesecloth, so shrinkage of the fiber before it's quilted and stabilized by that quilting will be uneven. These aren't in muslin -- a thick cheesecloth, well basted and the edges neatly turned. I have no doubt that laundering will have to be very careful and in cold water only, probably by hand.

Prism99

I would recommend relatively close quilting (every 2" or so) so that the batting is stabilized for the first wash.

Edit: The encasement in cheesecloth was to prevent bearding. You definitely do not want to try to wash this batting before quilting as it will turn into a mess. Modern processes are able to pre-shrink the wool and bind the fibers together so there is no need for cheesecloth and so the batting shrinks much less in the first wash. However, the old stuff doesn't have any of that. You need close quilting so that, when the batting does shrink for the first time, it is prevented from shrinking too much in any one area. If there is not enough quilting, the batting will not only shrink too much, it will also distort so you can get a lumpy result. That is correctable by adding more quilting, but you really don't want to have to deal with it. Better to do enough quilting first.

If you are nervous about bearding (or allergic to wool fibers), you could add another encasement layer of cheesecloth. The problem with wool is that the fibers have little hooks on the end; it is those hooks that bother people like me who react to wool against the skin. Modern wool batting has been processed so the hooks are already entangled with each other, making bearding (and allergic reaction) much less likely.

Tartan

After considering it again, I might crosshatch the batt and just make a duvet cover for it so the batt doesn't get washed. Depending on how the wool was cleaned, it might still have natural lanolin in it that may tint any surface during laundering.

Bree123

I love carded battings. A friend of mine at university grew up on a large farm with dozens of sheep that they had sheered every Spring. I know her parents always had the wool washed prior to making the batts because honestly sheep are pretty filthy. Their wool is all dirty & covered in twigs & leaves and grass and whatnot. They would get it back from the sheerer cleaned & carded and then would sew it inside cheesecloth (I think they maybe used muslin once or twice, but usually it was cheesecloth). You don't want to wash the quilt every week, but theirs held up fine with waiting to wash them after the quilting was completed. They hand tied all their quilts at 2-3" apart.

Anna's parents no longer have their sheep, but I'm saving up to buy some hand carded wool batting from a local supplier in Wisconsin. For a sewing machine, you're probably going to have to lower the pressure on your presser foot to accommodate the thicker batt/cheesecloth. I would do a test run with water soluble thread to see how it quilts up (or water soluble in the bobbin & standard thread on top). I wouldn't quilt farther than 3" apart to help prevent shifting/balling of the wool fibers. I know that's what the supplier I have recommends for her carded wool batt.

If your quilts are anything like the ones in Anna's home, there is nothing like them. They are so warm & comfortable whether on the coldest day of winter or a chilly summer night. The cushioning makes them almost like a sleeping mat if you put it on the floor. I think you're really going to love this special gift!

ManiacQuilter2

You might want to invest a little time researching on the internet but using a cheese cloth should work in keeping the batting together. In the old days, batting use to easily bunch up. I would be careful about washing it. I thought that wool batting until recently could NOT be wash but dry cleaned only.

ragamuffin

I would not wash it. I would make a pillow case type to cover it, then sew the end shut, and using 1/4" stitches all over.
The "big" stitch is being used more now then in the last 50 years in quilting. I would use it for a throw and not use it a lot so it does not get dirty. Enjoy it, no matter what you decide.

quiltingshorttimer

OK--have to first say I'm a retired history teacher who still loves studying history--so what I'd really like to do with your wonderful gift is to go ahead and put one of the bats into a quilt using others suggestions to you. And then keep the second bat (or at least a section of it) un-used so that you could display them together as a living history lesson to so many that have no connection of farm to home. Just me...

Feathers-N-Fur

Does anyone know if you need better wool to make batts this way, or if the wool from meat breed sheep would work too, since it isn't actually touching your skin. I have access to an almost unlimited amount of wool, but it is all from meat breeds, not fiber breeds. I know it matters for making yarn. When my husband was growing up, there were woolen mills that the sheep farmers took their wool to. Now all the mills are gone and the sheep farmers have nothing to do with their wool.