Anyone use wool batting?
 

I was at a demonstration the other day and one of the quilters mentioned a complaint that I also have. Quilts are too stiff and uncomfortable to be cozy. Then another member said she always uses wool batting as it is warm in winter and cool in summer. Comments? Betsy Boo

OMG! It is my batting of choice. I use wool for my personal quilts. For charity quilts I use Mountain Mist 100 percent cotton. If you have never free motioned quilted a quilt using wool, you are in for a surprise. It quilts like butter!

Wool is wonderful. I made a quilt for my husband with wool batting, and he made me promise that any future quilts for him be made with wool as well.

I would use it for all my quilts if I could afford it!

It's also a dream for hand quilting. I've never made a bed size quilt with it, but my sample sandwiches aren't stiff. I FMQ them with silk 100 weight thread.

Wool is absolutely my personal favorite! Wonderful to sew on, and the quilts hang and drape beautifully. I wear a wool sweater at work, year round, as wool IS warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

I just finished a "big stitch" quilt with wool batting in the shadow pattern. It was wonderful to work with, and the finished quilt is soft.

I used wool on my last lap quilt and love it. I also used flannel as backing and love it. Nowadays I am always cold...

I use a lovely Australian brand named Matilda's Own wool and polyester blend. Best of both worlds and a delight to work with.

I also love wool! Since its so expensive I just use it for the most special quilts. However I have a side comment about the quilts being stiff....remember that the more quilting you put on a quilt, the stiffer the quilt will be and it will also be less warm, because there are less voids in the layers to trap air. Thanks Mary B, I will look for Matildas Own Wool and Poly blend, I would like to try that!

I love wool batting! It gives makes quilting really POP!

I love wool batting and have been using it for a long time. The quality and processing has improved over the years, ages ago you had to be sure and use a new needle and keep it sharp to prevent needling (when the batting comes through the stitch hole) but the improved batts no longer have that problem. The drape and feel of the wool is lovely.

I love the look, feel, and drape of wool batting, but I can't use it. I have friends who won't use anything else, but alas, it makes me itch.

I use Hobbs Wool batting. I stock up on king size rolls of Hobbs wool batting at Connecting Threads when there is a sale. I always furnish wool batting for my quilts when I use a longarmer. I use 80/20 when I want a flatter item like a table topper or place mat.

Wool has its place as a batting, but it has a higher loft than cotton so since I like a flatter look, I only use it if the customer wants it. My husband wanted a "fluffy" quilt so I used the wool batting and on the label I said "this is as fluffy as I get".

I too love wool batting for all the reasons mentioned above. I like to try new methods and my latest quilt for my daughter is wool batting that is tied. It says wool should be 3 /2 inches apart or less in quilting. I am tying at 3 inches with the ties on the back. Occasionally I add a button on the front. It is a summer quilt for her. It will be light and fluffy. I can't wait to finish it. Most of my keep quilts are wool - I wait for a coupon and buy batting instead of yardage. My second favorite batting is bamboo. It is wonderful to work with as well.

I concur, it is wonderful batting - the wool. I buy it for special quilts when Connecting Threads has it on sale for 30% off.

The quilt isn't as heavy either. On a large quilt it really makes a difference

I have two rolls of Dream Wool and I hate to think about when that runs out. Love it. I use Hobbs 80/20 for my charity quilts.

Does anyone have any idea where it order quilter's dream wool batting in Canada? I see fabric.com has it, but they use UPS which always leads to brokerage fees (wish they would use plain old USPS).

I agree with KathyC9511, wool quilts like butter!!! Also remember the amount of quilting can determine how stiff the quilt is. The more quilting the stiffer the quilt no matter what the batting. I have also used a blend of silk, bamboo, cotton and a small amount of poly and it was AWESOME. Good luck to you.

I had my long armer suggested and supplied the batting for a California King quilt I made for a friend who lives in Texas. She has it on a roll and steamed it so there were no folds. It was expensive, but worth it. The quilt is beautiful, and my friend loved it. It seems lighter in weight than Warm and Natural.

Love wool batting. I live in Tucson, AZ and my wool batted quilt is perfect on my bed in summer and winter. It is probably my favorite quilt.

I used Tuscan wool for the first time in my dragonfly quilt, and I also found it just wonderful to work with. Light as a feather, well, actually lighter than feathers because we use a fat down comforter on our bed in winter because our old house bedroom is very cold and we need substantial warmth. I'd use the wool quilt with blankets under it, but hubby likes light, while I like heavy. So our compromise is using the wool quilt for summer. Haven't washed it yet, as it was displayed in a 2 month quilt exhibit last summer and will be in our guild show this September. Waiting until it needs to be washed which should be quite a while yet.

I use second hand wool blankets which I can purchase at thrift shops for as little as $5.00 for a whole queen size blanket. Nobody uses them anymore so l can always find one when I need to.

Does the wool batting shrink when laundered?

I haven't noticed shrinkage. Quilts are much more supple with wool. I switched last year and doubt I'll go back to cotton.

Have used wool batting for the last year and love, love, love it. It is light,shows the quilting well, and holds together great. I use Hobbs.

…so you have discovered my secret weapon against the quilting devils….LUV quilting with 100wt silk!!!!!