I've read through most of the entries on this already, but just getting more and more confused.

We live in the desert. The reason I'm making this king sized quilt is because my dh requested one for our bed to replace the down comforter for summer. I already ordered king sized Warm and Natural, but from what I can glean, this may be too warm for my purposes, and I didn't realize that it would shrink.

What would you recommend? We want it light, and I don't really want a lot of shrinkage. I see talk of flannel as an alternative. Would I just go and buy 6 yards or so of flannel, whip it together and use it?

If you are trying to avoid shrinkage, the flannel will need to be prewashed. Some folks even say to wash flannel more than once to get all the shrinking done before using it as batting.

I don't find Warm and Natural to be overly hot, but in the desert it might be too much for you. As for the shrinkage on W&N, it gives the quilt a soft crinkled "antique" look which I love. Some people do not care for that look at all. It's a personal preference kind of think. W&N can be prewashed, also, so it won't crinkle your quilt.

From what I understand, I think you want a low loft (like 2oz.) batting. so it gives it that quilt feel, but is very lightweight. The only other thing I can think is don't put any batting in it! Make your top and put your backing on it, it will make it a lovely cover for your bed while feeling like a glorified sheet when sleeping under it.

I would not recommend flannel, particularly for your location. Cotton is the best bet, because it breaths allowing air to get through. Any of the blends, soy-cotton, bambo-cottonj or the old standby, 80-20 would work fine.

Lanny

my daughter wanted a summer quilt, so i put no batting or flannel in it..... she really liked it!!!

Flannel might be a good choice for a summer quilt but 6 yards isn't any where near enough for a king size quilt.

Of course we don't live in the desert here in Northern Germany but sometimes we also have a hot summer here! A very good friend of mine uses silk batting a lot for her quilts and she really suggests that for winter and summer time! Silk seems to adapt the right temperature.

When I lived in the desert I liked low loft poly batting for my quilts. Just enough for cool desert nights.

I live in the Phoenix area, and I used Warm and Natural for our bed quilt. The quilt doesn't feel particularly warm or heavy, but we sleep with the fan on. Also, I did not pre-wash the batting and after washing the quilt, nothing shrank.

The traditional "summer" quilt has no batting at all.

We live in the NE US. It gets really cold and really hot. All year long I use a top sheet, a thin 100% cotton blanket and 100% cotton quilt-mass produced as I don't want my dogs digging through something I've spent that much time making! Since I'm in my mid 50's I sometimes have to toss aside 1 layer for part or all of the night - or put it back. But it works year round. 100% cotton breathes. I don't think it will be too hot for you. As to the king W&N you bought - have you laid it out on top of your bed? Does it currently have enough drop for you? If you're worried about shrinkage - prewash the batting and lay out on the bed again that way you see exactly what you end up with. If it's not large enough, but a couple of extra yds of W&N and piece the batting. If you are going to do that I would suggest slicing down the middle and add whatever extra inches you need for the drop you want into the center. Again, make sure you pre-wash your pieced batting if this is what you decide to do. You won't get as much of a crinkly look with prewashed batting but maybe a tad. If you like the crinkly look, again check your current batting size compared to your bed and add a bit more for piecing. I think W&N has a 2-3% shrinkage rate - should say on the packaging or their website.