I'm a bit late to the posting here but I thought another tip couldn't hurt. If you haven't gotten around to trying the vacuum cleaner yet when you do you might try using a tennis racket in between the batting and the vacuum nozzle. The webbing on the racket will keep the batting from being sucked into the hose but allow the tiny bits of plastic through, and it should help you hold the batting down while you move the nozzle around.