TanyaL

USually the thickness of wool fabric is so much thicker than cotton combined with the flannel backing that it is impossible to make the small quilting stitches in a rocking motion that hand quilters prefer. It is necessary to quilt with the stabbing motion of putting the needle through the fabric from the front, pullin the thread taut, then pushing the needle from the back to the front and pulling the thread taut again . It is not impossible to quilt, but harder to quilt than many like to do. This is the stitch that was most frequently used at a quilting bee when the sandwiched quilt was fixed in a frame and hang from the ceiling and all the ladies sat around it and quilted and talked. Also, if there is so batting, there is so real reason for quilting other than aesthetics. Tieing will keep the backing and front together quiet well enough to keep them from slipping during usage.