Batting question
 

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding how I can pre-shrink my cotton batting before sandwiching?

I am not crazy about the look that I get when I have pieced a quilt, sandwiched it was Warm and Natural cotton batting, quilted it, and washed it, only to have the batting shrink. Prior to the front loading water saving washing machines, I would put the batting into the washer, fill it with water, NOT let it agitate, spin it dry and toss in the dryer to dry in order to pre-shrink it. Now I have a front loader washing machine, and am at a loss as to how to pre-shrink the batting.

Has anyone come up with a way to do so?

Or, what else do you use in place of the 100% cotton batting that shrinks?

Any suggestions will be more than appreciated.

Thanks all.

I have wet the batting in a bath tub (unless it fits in the sink) and then put it in the dryer on high. I have also put it in my front loader, set on hand washable, for the last couple minutes of the final rinse cycle. Warm and Natural has a scrim so as long as you treat it gentle it is fine.

When I want a less crinkled look I use a premium polyester batting, I prefer the crinkled look though. I have no experience with pre-shrinking cotton batting always seemed like too much work :)

Assuming you will do a moderate amount of quilting, I would switch to a polyester batting. Polyester batting doesn't shrink. Hobbs Polydown is one with a moderate amount of loft. I have also used Mountain Mist lite poly batting, which is a low loft batting. The quilts will be much lighter than Warm and Natural, softer, and will dry faster.

Here's a thread on this subject.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...k-t150417.html

Good luck figuring this out. Let us know what works for you.

why not start using batting that is pre-shrunk, or a batt that does not shrink? the wool batts I have purchased don't shrink- (dream wool & hobbs wool) there are so many great batts on the market- if the one you (always) use is not what you want it's time to try something different. that being said- most of the cotton batts I have used have pre=wash instructions on the packaging- I would check there- or the website for the batting company for instruction-seems like most are to wet in a tub or something---then drain---push the water out as much as possible- then dry- seems like an awful lot of work -I've been quilting since the mid 70's and have not yet ever felt the need to pre=shrink a batt- I just buy what works for the project i'm working on

I have shrunk warm and natural both in the washer and by hand. one of the reasons I like warm and Natural is it is a sturdier batting when it comes to preshrinking. Soak the batting in the bathtub, but put the batting inside a plastic laundry tub. Warm and natural has a tendency to float , so keep submerging it . Once all the fibers have been completely saturated with water , drain the tub, and press out the water from the batting. Use the laundry tub to lift it out. If you can use a spin only cycle on your machine , use it to remove the excess water. If you can't spin just make sure you press out as much as you can prior to removing from the tub. Then toss in the dryer. ( I suggest the plastic laundry basket as a wet batting is heavy , and pulling on it while wet can damage the batting, and the handles on the basket make it much easier to maneuver.

Thanks ladies for your suggestions.

I think to start I'm going to try Lorie S's suggestion of soaking it in a plastic laundry tub, draining it and putting it in the dryer. It is summer now and I'll be able to do the soaking right outside the back door of the house (which is right by the stairs down to the dryer).

I also had not thought of using the handwash cycle on the machine, and will try a smaller piece to see what happens. My washer only does the full cycle, so I'm not really confident in this, but it's worth a try.

Thanks again.