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.

I one and only time I bought fairfield it had a nasty odor so I did not use it.

I use both W&N and Hobbs 80/20. No probs at all. For a lightweight quilt, where I also want a light amount of quilting, I use high loft, fire retardant polyester. My quilting is just a hobby ... it really has no point to it except that I like to do it and it keeps me off the streets and out of the taverns. Nobody is standing in line to have one of my home made quilts. Therefore, as much as I would like some 100% wool batting or some other super good stuff, I can't justify the cost.

The Quilter's Dream cotton comes in (I believe) three lofts or thicknesses. For my studio, I carry the middle loft. It works up beautifully, and I can tug on it and have had no problems with tearing.

The Quilter's Dream 70/30 blend is wonderful to quilt with. It feels like a cotton, with a little less shrink than the cotton.

The Quilter's Dream Poly also comes in several lofts. The batt looks like cotton, but is a little rougher to the touch - until you get it into your quilt. It stays supple, not stiff, and doesn't separate like some poly battings do.

My customers can send me their battings, or I can use mine if they don't want to pay to ship it both ways. Sometimes just the cost of the postage to ship it to me is enough difference to allow them to get a high quality batting at the same cost. The only batting I have found that I won't use is Mountain Mist polyester. The thickness isn't consistent, it pulls apart at the slightest tug, and it sticks to my hands.

I use Hobbs 80/20 and love it. When I first started quilting I used polyester but I hand-quilt and much prefer cotton batting. But that's b/c I like the look better ( I love antique quilts)
Also poly batting tends to pill through the quilt and I don't like that at all! I used to use Fairfield.
Live and learn- my first hand-quilted quilt was a very old quilt top and I used polyester batting. Never again :D

I just realized my answers had nothing to do with the topic!
I need to go make some more coffee :D:D:D:D

I'm wondering if the Fairfield 80/20 is the brand that is supposed to be soaked first for hand quilting.

I took a class once from the woman who developed the Roxanne's line of quilting supplies (sorry, can't remember her name at the moment; her dd has carried on the line with Hawaiian quilting). Fairfield was her favorite batting, second only to silk, but she did say that it needed to be soaked first for hand quilting because of the bonding resin on the batt. She said it was a great batting for hand and machine quilting (regular domestic machine), but I can see why it wouldn't work for longarm quilting.

Maybe longarms need cotton batting to be needlepunched for stability.

Yes, this can be possible. I soaked a little piece of the batting to see how it will change, but it almost went to pieces! Maybe I did something wrong....

It shouldn't go to pieces when soaked, and I think it was the Fairfield 100% cotton batting that worked this way. Maybe the 80/20 can't handle being soaked.

I guess my conclusion is that it would be a lot safer to use Hobbs 80/20! No need to soak, and no problems. It may be more expensive, but with all the work that goes into making a quilt I'd rather be safe than sorry!