Bree123

I always pre-soak W&N. It will crinkle anyways unless you never ever wash it. It's a property of cotton -- the fibers soften, wrinkle & shrink with age, wetting, agitation & heat.

By quilting straight lines relatively far apart, you will get very little crinkling compared to quilting a 1-1.5" meander or other close curvy design, but if you want it to be perfectly smooth and plan to wash it at some point, cotton is most definitely NOT the way to go. Pick something with at least 20% polyester in it (W&N only has 12.5% synthetic fibers); if you can -- go with a batting that is 50/50.
You can almost always block even 100% cotton quilts flat, but that's not super fun to have to do more than once a year. I do block all my quilts before sale or submitting to quilt show; if they were quilted flat, they will block flat.

If you absolutely must use W&N, here are some tips that will help reduce the crinkling effect:
- quilt at least 2-3" apart (and preferably all straight lines, but a gentle curve would probably also be okay -- I think)
- consider using a quality polyester thread for quilting (haven't tried this, but I've read it helps reduce crinkling)
- Do not use any fabric softeners
- Wash quilt only in cold water with no agitation (Hand-Wash cycle of washer or actually wash it by hand)
- If washing in machine, only use a top loading machine & be sure there's plenty of room for quilt to move around
- Lie flat to dry (I don't recommend tumble drying, but if you put in dryer, do so for least amount of time possible on either Low or No Heat)
- The best way to block flat is with plain water. Take your slightly damp quilt (or spritz your dry quilt until it's slightly damp) and put it on top of carpeting. I put a plastic tarp down first from Home Depot. Then, using T-pins (available at JAF), carefully smooth out your quilt and pin to the carpeting. Allow to dry completely; then, remove pins & your quilt should be smooth. Some people do steam block their quilts as that's much faster, but there are others who claim over time, steam blocking will stretch out the cotton fibers, causing some permanent crinkles. I've never steam blocked more than once on any one quilt, so I really can't say.

Hope that helps! I've spent a lot of time researching the properties of cotton since I only make 100% cotton quilts (I even switched to Warm & Plush to avoid the synthetic scrim). Heat is the biggest culprit of crinkling, but not the only one & I can't imagine why it would be worth all the trouble when a poly/cotton blend would easily produce a smooth quilt.

If you are going to pre-soak W&N batting, just set your machine on the Soak cycle & pull it out of the tub while the water's still in there. Only use Cold water. Then you need to push the water out of it without ringing or twisting. I've found that folding it over on itself once or twice & then rolling from one end to the other -- like a sleeping bag -- will get out a good amount of water. I do that a few times in each direction & then tumble dry low. Honestly, I've found, though, that just soaking it in the bathtub eliminates the messy step of trying to transfer the wet quilt from the laundry room to the bathroom -- up to you.

Dolphyngyrl

I have washed it on a soak/spin cycle and it was okay no problems

QuiltingHaven

Here is what I do since I wash all my fabrics before I create a quilt. I take the batting out of the bag and spritz it with a cleaned out windex bottle with water. I lightly spritz the batting and then I take 5 white wash cloths and soak them in water and wring them out lightly. Then, I start putting in the batting in the dryer, I put 2 wash cloths and 2 wool dryer balls in the dryer on top of the half. Then fold the the next thrid of the batting in and then throw 2 more wet wash clothes on the batting and add two more wool dryer balls. Then, I fold over the last of the batting, add two more wool balls and 1 damp wash cloth. I put the dryer on medium heat and put the timer on 10 minutes. When it goes off, I rearrange the inside of the dryer, put the timer on 10 minutes, repeat one more time. When the last ding does off, I take out the batting and shake it out and hang it up on the clothes line in the basement or just fling it across my bed and let it rest. Works every time and it has been somewhat shrunk to match fabric I have already washed and starched. Whew....once you get the hang of it, it does work well.

feline fanatic

Not all polys are equal. You should try to find Quilters Dream "Dream Poly" either the request loft or select loft. You would be very hard pressed by feel alone to tell the difference between QD Poly and an 80/20 blend. If you don't want any shrinkage or crinkling polyester is the way to go. http://www.quiltersdreambatting.com/dream-poly.htm

Gail B

I use prewashed W&N for my quoted jackets. One of my friends has a top loading machine. I fill the machine half full of warm water & place the batting in to soak. Then it goes through the spin cycle & into the dryer on a warm setting. I have not had a problem with the batting falling apart.

PaperPrincess

Why not follow the manufacturer's instructions for pre shinking?
https://warmcompany.com/products/war...n/warm-natural

joe'smom

Warm & Natural has directions for washing right on the paper part of the packaging. They say not to spin, but to squeeze out the water, which I do between two large towels. It dries very nicely in the dryer. However, if others have had good results with spinning, that would be a lot easier.

Geri B

Phew! I got tired just reading about how to wash/shrink or whatever batting! I just unroll the amount I need and quilt! But, I do not do works of art to be shown, displayed or judged. So, does make a difference, I guess....but sometimes, I do shake my head and wonder.

ManiacQuilter2

You may end up with a pile of mush. When I need to take the wrinkles out of my Hobbs 80/20, I mist it lightly and then throw it in the dryer with my washed sheets and towels. Comes out smooth as a baby's behind.

Bree123

I'm with you, Geri. I use Warm & Plush now and it cannot be pre-soaked. I buy it in 25 yard rolls, so all I do is just roll it out, cut it & layer it into my sandwich for quilting. For clients or a show, I either soak out my markings and block or -- better yet -- just mark with Ultra Clean crayons that can easily be rubbed off my quilt with a barely damp towel so I can avoid washing altogether. Once the quilt is being used, I like it to crinkle.
If having something truly crinkle-free is important to me, I switch to Hobbs Heirloom washable wool batting and save myself the hassle. I've yet to meet an art quilter who uses 100% cotton in their quilts. I'm sure there are some out there, but it's not common. Mostly they use blends that have some cotton in them, but never more than 80% ... and lately more often I'm hearing about them only using batts with 50% cotton in them.There are only so many hours in the day. I use 100% cotton because I sell crib quilts & that's important to parents (and the grandparents who are my clients), but I always tell them that it is a physical property of cotton to crinkle and trying to fight against the innate nature of cotton will be a massive uphill battle. They've all come to love that cozy, lived-in-and-loved look rather than spending hours trying to block it flat with every wash.