Hello from a new quilter
 

Hello from BC! With so much more time at home since mid-March I decided to start sewing again after a few decades and it has been a wonderful rediscovery. I also wanted to finish a quilt that I got a little way through piecing a l-o-n-g time ago and never looked at again.

Over the past weeks I gathered an enormous amount of information, tips and tricks before diving in - oh, the internet is a wonderful thing! Once I felt well and truly prepared I decided to make an easy baby quilt to practice all the basics. I am almost finished the binding, with the next step being washing it. I've used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting, and I've quilted it between 1.5” and 2” apart. I have just realized there's one thing that I didn't check carefully before I began, and that’s the care instructions for the batting - only just now noticed that it says to (basically) hand wash and lay flat to dry. This is a baby quilt that should see lots of use and I really can't see that happening. It’s really not a reasonable expectation, one wants to be able to toss it in the machine.

What success has anyone had with machine washing and drying a quilt with this batting? Will it ruin the quilt?

Thanks, all.

The quilt will be fine, most the cotton batting recommends quilting no farther apart than 6". I also wanted to welcome you to the Board.

a warm welcome from Ky. happy quilting

Welcome from Texas. So glad you decided to join the boards & take up quilting again. Please learn how to post pictures so we can see this baby quilt.

I used a cotton/poly batting for DH's quilt. Washed it on gentle and put it in the dryer air-only, and it came out fine.

However, for quilts that will see a lot of use like baby quilts, I recommend a poly batting.

Welcome to the QB and happy quilting

Welcome from Michigan!:)

A warm welcome from Southern Indiana!

Welcome !

You've quilted it very closely, so it should be fine if gently washed and dried.

Welcome to the boards. I'm waving from a safe personal distance below you in the Seattle area. I find myself watching more and more CBC these days.

It will be just fine for baby just thrown into the general wash. I think the biggest harm to baby quilts is the use of bleach, but if they are going to add it/dry bleach it degrades the fabric and there is nothing we can do about it.

You used plenty of quilting to stabilize and keep the layers together. I've been quilting about 40 some years now and I believe in the mantra: Machine sewn, machine quilted, machine washable!

I had a really rough bout with allergies and had to wash all my bedding at least monthly (pillow cases were weekly). With less quilting, my "use" quilts hold up pretty good for about 10 years of monthly washing. Since usually I didn't quilt that densely 20 years, what happens is the centers of the large blocks of unquilted fabric start to rot out from the middle, leaving the seams and the areas around the quilting still quite solid.