Just finished mine last night and you definitely don't want any batting. This thing is so heavy I can't even imagine what it would be like with anything extra in there. I made mine for the beach so I also didn't want anything that would be potentially soggy! I'll try to get pics. I didn't fray mine but did a zig zag around the petals. You won't need any binding because the petals close up at the end and finish off the edges. I probably won't do another one.