I just finished a small wall hanging for a friend. I use left over 80/20 batting and it works fine.
I made a hanging sleave and was going to get a small wooden dowel but found something better at Hobby Lobby.
It was a package with two small curtain rods that have small holes in each end that I put some decorative twine thru.
These rods are adjustible for small wall hangings and look very nice since the ends have small gold balls on the ends.
They are $3.50 so a bit more expensive than wood but worth it. So with two it really isnt that expensive just $1.75 each.