I love whole cloth and have tried it both ways. I got two small pre-printed squares from The Stencil Company and did one by hand, just stitching on the lines and one by machine, filling up the whole background. I love the look of the machine one a lot better, but I think is only because I don't like doing the hand work. They both look great and look like two totally different quilts. When I did the machine one I used two layers of batting to give it a trapunto look. I second the recommendation of the poly batting.