They are a tighter weave, higher thread count so for lack of a better term they are a very dense fabric that are difficult to hand quilt with small even stitches. However, I hand quilt and love batiks so I settle for less than perfect hand quilting stitches. Here is a link to a quilt I did that had two borders done in batiks that I handquilted. There are two closeup shots of the handquilting I did on batiks. http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-22344-1.htm

Oh just go ahead and try them once, You'll find you may or may not like them, but at least you'll have tried!! (LOL......Hee hee...we'll have her hooked...one try and that 'll be it...wink, wink...we'll have her addicted like the rest of us)

batiks are so beautiful,but I hand quilt so dont use them. Also the fabric lies well with applique as they dont ravel,but alas they are hard to get a needle thru. Only very small areas are in batiks in my quilts. Jolo

Shibori - the fusible web problem may be due to the brand (manufacturer or company) of batiks you have purchased. The major brands don't have this problem in my experience - I make bags/totes frequently and use fusible fleece with the batiks often instead of batting for structure.

The batiks with a more limp and lighter weight feel to them seem to be made without good standards even though they may still be priced in the high range! Although their patterns may be appealing, I choose not to purchase them. Hope this helps you not give up on batiks!

I LOVE batiks! I've collected and used them for years. I find that you can just about pull ANY batiks out of the cupboard and they work well together.

I would love nothing better than to get my stash down to nothing but batiks, wouldn't that be something. I would never leave my sewing room but even worse I would never make anything. I love them so much I hate to cut into them. I started collecting them yrs ago, I think I still have the very first piece and it has yet to be cut. Ohh I hope my hubby never finds out about my love affair lol.

Rita

The best thing about batiks is they all go togather.
No matching fabrics, they all match.

I think I have that one :lol:

My batik stash grows slowly, I add to it when on sale, cann't live without it, leftover from another project.

Sometimes a batik is the perfect inner border on a quilt that otherwise has no other batiks in it.

Go for it!! :-o

They are a thighter weave and maybe the dye process has something to do with it. I also try not to do needle turn applique with Batiks.

Batiks are Wonderful they have a very interesting History and are Wonderful to peice, I would ask an expert about Hand Quilting though, Batiks are so tightly woven that I believe hand quilting would be a Nice Challenge :)