there are alot of differences in batts- different companies- different production techniques, different properties-
fiber content varies, poly, cotton, wool, silk, bamboo- and combinations of them. there are different lofts...from very very thin to very high loft- there are different shrinkage rates, some don't shrink at all- some shrink alot.
different requirements for quilting- some are ok to use for tied quilts- some need to be quilted every 2" (dense quilting) others can have up to 10" between quilting lines.
some batts (smell weird) some batts seem stiff-
it is best to read the packaging- see if the batt meets your requirements for the project you need it for.
there are some people who bought a warm & natural- or a hobbs batt the first time- and have never considered anything else since- other people buy what ever they find on sale- and pay no attention to it's properties-
i use lots of different batts- each project determines the best batt (for me) to use at that time.
i keep a (batt-journal)
each time try a new batt from a new company- or a batt i've not tried yet I cut a 6"square from it to add to my journal-
i include the name of the batt, what it cost, where it came from, fiber content, loft, shrinkage estimate, stitch requirements- anything else i think is important- then after i use it i add notes about using it- if i liked it or not- and why. if it was hard to needle-
some batts are fine when hand stitching/quilting- others are next to impossible to push a needle through by hand
when i find a sale on line i can grab my batt journal and see if the batts being offered are ones i would like to get a couple of to have on hand.
i do tend to (lean toward) the same batt most of the time- but i LOVE LOVE LOVE the wool batts (a bit expensive though so saved for very special quilts) I also love love love all of the batts offered from the DREAM company-- dream poly, dream cotton, dream orient...all of them.
try them all- and see what you like best- but in the mean time-
READ THE PACKAGING- IT HOLDS ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO MAKE A CHOICE. :thumbup: