I used "sleepwear" flannel..the kind that says "no for children's sleepwear" on it!....I think the brand is "snuggle"...it is at Joann's. But I wanted a thinner quilt for a 1 year old and couldn't find batting that thin and still soft...so I just bought the flannel and used it as the batting with fleece as the backing. It all worked great and a thinner quilt and soft. I always pre wash everything, but didn't know about the major shrinking thing. Didn't happen to me. Maybe it was the brand of flannel. But I will watch better for this next time, now that I know. I have one that I am t the FMQ stage, and used batting inside and flannel for the back...I wanted a thicker quilt, but the flannel on the back for softness and since I love my flannel sheets..thought this would be great and since my grand daughter and daughter like really soft cuddly blankets...they won't use my heavier quilts..so I am hoping this is satisfactory to them!