LindaMRB

I have questions and when I posted photos in the photos section here, some folks pointed out some issues I had not taken into consideration.

Here are my questions:
Should I use a wool batting and muslin backer? That was my initial thought and several folks said yes.
I saw online a wool that has polyester in it. "Wool thermally bonded with low-melt polyester."
What do you recommend? What are the pros and cons?
I thought thinner rather than thicker . . .

The silk pieces are sewed to muslin as I pieced the quilt.
More than one person questioned how I was going to use the quilt and warned that it could fall apart - I know silk can do that.

Once I layer it, I had intended to tie it rather than add any quilting.
Any thoughts on that?
How do I tie it? With embroidery floss? (I have plenty.) How many strands?
I also considered adding more embroidery but think I have done enough . . .
What should I do to help hold it together? The squares are about 9.5 inches square.

I expect it will lie on my daughter’s bed (she is away at school) and not really be used very much.

Anything else I should take into consideration? Or avoid? Or absolutely do?

Thanks for the help of those more experienced at this!!

Linda

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t269703.html

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...g-t274982.html

ManiacQuilter2

I have never worked with silk. I find that I am happy using Hobbs 80/20 batting because when pinning a quilt, I find the batting and the cotton sticks easier together. Good Luck. You have worked very hard on getting this quilt finished.

PaperPrincess

If the quilt will not be used much, you can pretty much use any batting that you would like. The only thing that you really need to look at is the quilting requirements. This will tell you how closely you need to place your ties.

ragamuffin

I would think about tying it just at the intersections of the blocks. I would use 2 or 3 strands of embroidery floss. First leave a tail on top, go down, back up, go down and back up and tie it, knotting it. For the batting, see if any of them call for 9-1/2" or so, especially the wool one. These quilts have lasted 100 years. I have a pillow that is like this and it is dated like 1905 or something. Mother had a pillow like the one I have and hers went to pieces. It is the type of silk used. I also have a wool one from WWII that has ribbons on it. It is quilted with very large stitches. It is really heavy but wool was heavy back then. I really like your quilt and I hope it lasts a long time. Be sure to date it on the front and the back. I love the colors and all the work you put into it.

Prism99

I think I would use Hobbs wool. This is a very well-known and tried-and-true batting. This batting is also very easy to hand quilt, which means it will also be easy to hand tie. (Wool is much easier to hand quilt than cotton.)

I would use embroidery thread for the ties, but I'm thinking you might want to have the ties on the underside of the quilt. Hobbs wool batting requires quilting lines 4" apart, so ties would need to be very close together. What you might want to do is stitch-in-the-ditch with a fine thread such as Invisafil to secure the quilt, then add ties or small quilting designs here and there within each block.

Have all the materials been pre-washed? I would also pre-wash the batting. Here is a link to information about the Hobbs wool:
http://www.hobbsbatting.com/products...washable-wool/

LindaMRB

I did not wash the pieces at all. I figured I would dry clean it anyway. I hope this was not a mistake not to wash . . .

I'll check out the Hobbs - I know lots of quilters here mention it.

I had figured quilting where the squares join but if I need more than that (every 4 inches) I could do it also where the different fabrics join.

I like the idea of putting the ties to the back!
About in the ditch - never done that either.

I kind of hate to introduce quilting with all the embroidery stitches and colors . . .
I had considered doing more embroidery going all the way through the layers.

?

Thanks so much for your comments!

Linda

Phyllis nm

I would wash and set the dyes then quilt.

Pennyhal

You could use a silk batting.

Geri B

Were original crazy quilts batted? Or were they just backed, knotted and "draped" over things?

Daylesewblessed

When you are looking at the Hobbs website, check out their Thermore batting. It is thin. I believe that original crazy quilts did not have batting, and they were not quilted, but instead tied.

My parents received a crazy quilt from my grandmother for their wedding. It was not the delicate silk kind, but was made of wool suitings and heavy cottons. The batting looked like feed sack, and the backing was heavy. It had nice embroidery and was tied. It was made specifically for the cold ND winters and greatly appreciated by my parents, since their first apartment had very little insulation.

You can make yours any way that you like.