I use Dream Queen poly batting mainly because cotton anything shrinks. If you pre-wash all fabric, AND batting it is great. I pre-wash to shrink my fabric, then use the Dream Queen poly batting because it won't shrink. I don't wash my quilt when finished because the fabric is all pre-washed, no smoke, no pets, and my quilt never lays on the floor because I quilt as you go. I will add some additional information while I am at it -- it is the pounding in the dryer that shrinks cotton, not the hot water in the washing machine. Learned this from sheep farmers where I used to live.