I always soak W & N, spin the water off and machine dry because I don't want so much shrinkage when the quilt is washed. Can you trick your machine by letting it fill on one of the cycles with the batting inside, turn it off and maybe squeeze the water around a bit with your hands, then turn it back on to a spin cycle? Something like that? I would be very concerned about letting it agitate at all as it would likely tear. Good luck!