Suzag, I just learned about table runners and the question to bat or not to bat is once again a personal choice, so I was told. Some people like to put batting in to put hot plates on, others do not like the thickness of the batting and use the table runner as a decration on the table. SOoooo once again a round about answer. O the batting used you guessed it is personal choice also. I would think that if you want to use it for hot plate to be placed on you would use a thermal batting. Hope my answer helps. Happy quilting