So I was at Walmart this morning and they now have Fairfield 80/20 batting in packages. It was about $16 for a queen size package. I've almost always used Warm and Natural 100% cotton which is $5-6/yd for 45in. Can someone explain to me why one would be better over the other? I don't care for the polyester batting and don't often use it. I think Quilters Dream is 80/20 and have seen people mention really liking it, so I'm just wondering the differences. I like the price of the package better!

I used Fairfield 80/20 in the package on one recent quilt. It worked just fine. Just be careful, when sandwiching the quilt. It pulls apart easier than some battings.

One 80/20 I looked at on Monday was very nice batting. The "scrim" I think she said was the 20, it was supposed to help the batting hold togther better. It was so soft and nice. :D:D:D

If that's true, then Warm and Natural would be called the same. It has a poly scrim through which the cotton is needle punched.

I had two packages of the Quilters Dream that I got on sale and had run out of the Warm and Natural. I find it needles really nicely, but is very thin and has a tendency to get thin spots of you need to pull it anywhere.

learning alot, thanks for this thread

I have never used W&N but I have read and heard from those who have used both that the W&N is very heavy in a large quilt. I have always used 80/20 by Hobbs and I like it a lot.

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I haven't used the Fairfield 80/20, but have used Hobbs 80/20 and liked it. I doubt that the 80/20 would be needlepunched through scrim. Warm n Natural is needle-punched through scrim which makes it extremely stable, but also gives it a slightly stiffer drape. Hobbs 80/20 has a very soft drape. Its biggest difference from non-needlepunched 100% cotton batting is that it has more puffiness and is much easier to hand needle. (Both work great for machine quilting.)

Quilter's Dream is needlepunched, but not through a scrim. The needlepunching gives it a lot of stability but does not stiffen the drape. Quilter's Dream will work up thinner than Hobbs 80/20. A lot of hand quilters like Quilter's Dream. Machine quilters may find it on the flat side and want more "puff".

The Hobbs 80/20 is not needlepunched, which means you need to handle it a little more carefully when layering. Quilter's Dream will result in a flatter effect than 80/20 because of the needlepunching. Warm n Natural will be the heaviest and stiffest because of the needlepunching through scrim, but its stability will mean that quilting lines can be much farther apart than 80/20. The scrim also makes hand needling a little more difficult. As someone else mentioned, the scrim also makes WnN heavier in weight than 80/20 batting.

the fairfield 80/20 pulls apart and as far as i'm concern is HORRIBLE to work with at least on a long-arm...maybe for home machine where it is all basted down and for smaller projects it is ok...it is very soft...but when i loaded it on the long arm where it hangs over the edge of table is just pulls apart with it's own weight and when someone brings me a quilt to quilt for them and brings that batting i always ask if they would mind if i used something different...seems they buy it because it's cheap...it is nothing like working with warm & natural, or the dream cotton's/dream poly's...hand quilter's love it though, because it is very soft.

I've used the Fairfield 80/20 once to be honest I don't like it. It was difficult to hand quilt and to achieve small stiches, probably because of it's finishing or coating. Also it pulls apart very very quickly. I do perfer the Hobbs brand for 80/20.