i have a tied quilt that is about 75 years old- has held up to much use & laundering.
since a quilt is 3 layers- sandwiched together = secured with some sort of stitch - tied is still a quilt- 3 layers- the ties count as a stitch
i prefer perle cotton- it is just easy to use and comes in tons of colors...very economical
some batts are recommended for tied quilts- others are not- read the batting packages and choose a batt that is recommended and follow the guidelines for distances. tie good square knots- so they hold up.