Originally Posted by ScubaK
I have to add...
All of this is of great help to me. I have used mostly poly batting in my quilts. I used what was cheap when I started out on this adventure.
I hesitate now to find another batting...I machine quilt with a domestic machine (no long arm) and my quilts aren't any larger than a queen.
If I wash my fabric how will the batting (warm and Natural, etc) affect my quilt with shrinkage and such???
Will it make it all wrinkly? Should I wash the batting first as well? How do I do that????
Any advice would be appreciated.
Kirsten
I like my batting to shrink a little. This is what makes antique quilts look "antique" -- sort of soft and gentle.
I don't prewash fabrics, so the fabrics and batting shrink together. The effect will be much the same even if you prewash fabrics; there is so little shrinkage that any difference between the batting and the fabric won't matter.
I personally wouldn't try to preshrink a batting. Most shrinkage occurs in the dryer, and most battings cannot withstand being tumbled in a dryer by itself while wet. (Maybe WnN can because it's needlepunched through scrim; not sure about that one.) The reason to presoak a batting is usually to make it easier to hand quilt. Presoaking WnN makes it softer for hand quilting; presoaking some of the cotton battings that have resin binders removes the resins that can make needles stick.
If you are unsure about any batting, you can test it yourself. Quilt a piece and then wash it to see what the result is. You can try prewashing and drying the batting. I just wouldn't recommend putting a non-needlepunched batting in the dryer ,as it will probably disintegrate and create a mess in your dryer.
In your situation, I would recommend using Hobbs 80/20 batting. It will look and feel very similar to the poly battings you are used to, and it does not need any pre-soaking. It is good for both machine quilting and hand quilting, and shrinks very little.