This scientist agrees with Genden. The first consideration is the batting. Is it naturally fluffy like most wool batting a (trapping air) or naturally flat like Warm and Natural? The next consideration is the amount of quilting to leave the fluff. Light quilting on Warm and Natural might equal the warmth of heavier quilting on wool. In other words, it isn't an equation with one variable.

Pam

I am from 'old school' and I like fluffy tied quilts but that doesn't take away from those who love beautifully done machine quilting no matter how closely quilted. I live in far northern WI and warmth in the winter is my priority so I have been ordering what they call Fat Batt on the internet. It is more like a comforter batting and isn't heavy. I have hand quilted one bed size quilt for each grandchild and some for myself and those are more show pieces. I no longer am able to do that because of arthritis in my hands but Jan has given me some advice on how to hand quilt with big stitch so am now attempting a Christmas quilt using that method. I do not have the ability to machine quilt nor do I have the income to have it done so need to do what works for me. I love looking at all the beautifully done machine quilted quilts on this site and I say kudos to you ladies who are so fortunate.

EXACTLY. Creating a quilt has so many elements that one part should not overshadow the work put into the rest. There is the design with the piecing and the design of the quilting. Why bother going to all the work of the piecing only to overshadow that with another design not meant to highlight or show off the piecing? My special sadness is to see an embroidered quilt that has taken hours and hours to create by hand that has then been machine quilted and perhaps not even to enhance all the meticulous embroidery. It's being consistent that all elements of the quilt work together to create a beautiful work, not overshadow any of it. Would you serve prime rib on paper plates with plastic table service? It all works together!

I don't like heavy quilting because sometimes it obscures the design/pattern of the quilt. If I take time to do an applique quilt I like for the applique to stand out not be overwhelmed by the quilting. Just saying.

while more dense quilting, especially if done with an all cotton thread or thicker poly, will be weightier, but that does NOT mean it's going to be less warm. One of my warmest quilts has a dense panto and we end up kicking it off the bed so only use in deep freeze winter. The batting is the real determinant of warm based on it's thermal properties--meaning its ability to move heat "back and forth". Poly bat has no thermal property--it doesn't breath at all, so it keeps all your body warmth in--which would be fine for really cold sleep quarters. Cotton (and cotton/poly) has good thermal qualities (less with poly in the blend). Wool has great thermal qualities.

It seems to me that regardless of whether hand or machine quilted, it should always be done to enhance the piecing. So, for example, applique may be encircled with tighter quilting to make the applique really pop; a patchwork pattern that has very complex blocks may be best quilted by a panto that does not stand out in the design, etc.

And dense quilting does not have to appear "flat"--often quilters will double the bat to give it more depth, or use wool bat on top of a cotton/poly bat, etc.

Total agreement here! I always quilt my quilts closely and am convinced it is the batting that makes the difference! I used a bat given to me by a friend once and while I wouldn't call it stiff, it was not as soft and sweet as my usual cotton bat.

Now I know why my dogs prefer poly batting in quilts to sleep on. I prefer warm and natural.