Originally Posted by
Bree123
I pre-soak mine according to package instructions, with 1 Tbsp of Tide Free. They don't shrink much. If I quilt well under 2" apart, the quilt top will seize up a bit, giving it that crinkly look, but that also softens it quite a bit. When I quilt way far apart -- 6-8" apart in most places, it tends to stay quite flat & smooth.
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?
My grandmother & mother quilted VERY close together and still ended up with lumpy cotton batting that they hand carded themselves. And yes sometimes they had bits of cotton bolls in their bats. Of course they didn't wash quilts often like we do now. It's kind of hard to wash a quilt in a wash pot or a wringer washing machine.