thanks all--think my hole in this bat was an anomally. The bat was a Hobbs 80/20 and I did follow directions on the bag--not sure why I got the hole--it was like I pulled it apart in one area. I normally don't wash a bat as I don't care about the crinkly look--it's usually ok with me. But this is a quilt for competition and I plan so intense quilting and know the poly bat I'm doubling it with won't shrink--and all the fabric is preshrunk, so wanted it to stay relatively flat. And it said up to a 5%shrinkage--which is actually quit a bit!