I use Warm & Natural for almost every quilt I make, and they do stay soft, at least in my experience. I had used a polyester batting in a quilt for my son and every time he washed it some of the batting seemed to disappear, although in fairness it was inexpensive polyester batting that I got for $1/yard on sale. The quilt held up pretty well though, but I think I machine quilted about 2 inches apart doing cross-hatching on the Irish Chain quilt.