What polys have you tried? Have you tried quilters dream brand? I think you might change your mind with a higher end poly. Poly is easier to needle and get tiny stitches than cotton. Wool is also wonderful for this. I have used 80-20 and it is nice too but still a bit difficult to needle if you load multiple stitches on your needle. Not so bad if you only take 1 or 2 stitches at a time. There is also some of the more traditional cotton bats that require very close quilting (every 2" maximum) like mountain mist blue ribbon 100% cotton batting. It is a fragile bat though so you need to be careful when sandwiching. W&N was originally made for the crafting market and quilters caught on to it quick. But it is most suitable and really intended for machine quilting.