Originally Posted by
Bree123
I wasn't aware of the poly scrim. Seems like they shouldn't be able to advertise it as 100% cotton with something like that in it. I'm looking to see if there are any other options, but I suppose it would either need to have a scrim or glue to get the cotton to lie flat & form a good bat. I don't know. What did they use to do in the "olden days" before all these chemicals & synthetic fibers came into existence?
In the "olden days", the typical batting in this country was 100% cotton without scrim and without bonding. Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% cotton batting is this type of traditional batting. It is quite flat (especially compared to the fluffy comforters we are used to these days!). Because of the way it is made, it needs to be quilted no more than 2" apart. Many of the old, soft, vintage quilts you see on display were hand quilted with this kind of batting. Because it has no scrim or bonding agents, it is impossible to "pre-shrink" this batting before quilting; it would fall apart when wet!
One thing about 100% cotton batting is that it becomes softer and softer with each washing. This applies to Warm and Natural as well as MM Blue Ribbon. However, Warm and Natural is made in a completely different way. It is needlepunched through scrim. This gives it tremendous stability and allows quilting lines to be up to 10" apart. When I have compared quilts I have longarmed, I have found the ones made with Warm and Natural to have the stiffest drape; Hobbs 80/20 is next; Hobbs PolyDown and Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon have both given me the softest drapes.
One advantage of polyester batting such as Hobbs PolyDown is that it dries a ***lot*** faster than cotton. Some charities that send toddler quilts abroad request poly batting for this reason, as the recipients need the quilts to dry quickly when hung out on a line.