Does the cotton blend help with the bamboo coming through the top. One of my friends used the bamboo and kept getting fuzz coming through her top.

I'm a longarm quilter, so I deal with lots of different kinds of batting. I can spot a quilt with polyester batting from a mile away. It looks like something from the 1970's, which is not a good thing. Plus, lots of polyester battings are uneven in consistency, so you end up with thin areas with hardly any batting in the middle. I highly recommend a cotton/poly batting with mostly cotton, like Hobb's 80/20 (80% cotton and 20% polyester). Warm and Natural is too warm, in my opinion.

I detest polyester batting! I like Warm & Natural, its great batting for machine quilting. For hand quilting Quilter's Dream is good.

This is very helpful! Thanks, everyone!

For hand quilting, I have gotten Thermore lately. It's 100% polyester, but thinner than anything I have ever seen. Hand quilts like a dream. I am quilting my Dear Jane with it in it. I decided to try it as there is almost as much fabric in the seam allowances on the back as there is fabric on the front. Wanted really thin batting. For machine quilting - Warm & Natural or Tuscany Collection, especially for a wall hanging. I want the wall hanging to lie nice & flat.

Polyester used to be the bees knees for hand quilting, but then along came machine quilting & polyester just doesn't lie nice & flat or smooth.

By the way, the warmth of a quilt usually depends on the pockets between the stitching to form little insullating puffs. The warm body heat is trapped in them, keeping you warm & keeping the cold air out.

I agree with ckcowl about the Dream Co. batts. They seem to have the most consistent texture and softest hand of any brands. The wool batts are wonderful! But I like Warm and White for some things, too. I don't like the ones that require small distances between stitches, so I choose the ones with 8-10 inch distances.

Thanks everyone, this is helpful!

Love the Warm & Natural. I really like the idea of a batt journal.

I prefer cotton battings to polyester, I haven't used polyester in years ... but it all depends on how you want your quilt to look. I like the flat, antique look so I use cotton in my quilts. Some people like a thicker, puffier look. Cotton batting is usually best for machine quilting but the 80/20 blends are good too. I like Quilters Dream, Warm & Natural and Bamboo is wonderful ! There are so many choices today, you can find just what you need, for the way you quilt and look you want. :)

I've switched to using mostly 80/20 battings because I grew tired of the inconsistencies in some poly batts (i.e. thick and thin areas). I tried fusible batting ONE time, and found that there were areas about 1' wide that had no fusible on them!! It was so aggrevating that I swore I would NEVER use another one!! :thumbdown: I like the feel 80/20 batts and cotton batts give to my finished quilts -- just like grandmas' quilts; so cuddly and warm. I've never tried wool, silk or bamboo batts, but some people who have seem to really like them. ;)

Great idea about the batting journal!! I'll have to try that!! :thumbup: