Batting question
 

Hello.... I am making my son a quilt to take with him to college. Its not a pieced quilt, he didn't want anything "busy" its just going to be very simple... but I have a batting question. Does the batting make the quilt warmer - or can it make it too warm? I have minky material for backing and the front will be flannel. I really like the look of batting in a quilt... the puff makes it look cuddly and comfy. But I don't want the quilt to be too hot either...... any ideas? Will some batting be less warm than others?

Batting affects warmth. There are so many batting choices, we really need to know whether you intend to quilt or tie before making a recommendation. Also whether you want it to have only a little added warmth, moderate added warmth, or a lot of added warmth.

Thank you for your replies. I want to add as little warmth as possible. I have done quilts with fleece that I have not added any batting to - and that is fine. I just like the look of batting once it is quilted.. the puff created looks very comfy. I will most likely machine quilt this... not exactly sure what you mean by "tie". Do you mean the no sew quilts?

Just for you to know, I hope that you tie the quilt because I have heard a lot of quilters have posted their problems when quilting with Minkie because it can so easily stretch !!

What do you mean by "tie the quilt"? I don't know what you mean, please explain.

Thank you for your explanation Tartan. I have done this before years ago, I must have done it wrong because they came untied so I am afraid to do that again..... does Minky stretch so much that it is unable to be machine quilted?

I have quilted baby quilts with minky and no batting. They are lightweight and cozy. I didn't have any problem quilting with minky on my reg sewing machine.

Thank you for your response jalling. I am just starting my blanket and I have never used minky before, but have always wanted to

minkie quilts up beautifully- I've use minkie and quilted many, many quilts over the years. a tied quilt is one where instead of quilting either yarn or embroidery floss, perle cotton is used to make little knots about every 4" in a grid over the quilt- a stitch is made through the quilt sandwich the 2 ends are tied into a double square knot then the ties are trimmed to a 'standard' length. if you use a thin cotton batt in your quilt it will not add as much 'warmth' as a polyester batting -- wool is actually my favorite batting for lightweight fluffy batting- it breaths and is good in summer quilts as well as winter ones.

A quilt of flannel and minky will be warm. Probably warm enough for most housing situations. I don't think it'll need batting for warmth. If you want puffy, I'd recommend a wool batt. Because the fiber content of the three layers are very different and different properties, a wool batt will be warm. Maybe it could be made like a duvey (sp) and it could be filled with a down comforter and no quilting stitches.

Here is a link to a quilt I did for my son, it has minky fabric on front and regular cotton on back. I did machine applique for the football details after using 505 basting spray to put the layers together. I had no problems with stretching and the football is 91 inches from tip to tip as my son is 6' 3" tall...At 1st I debated using fleece or flannel in place of the cotton fabric, so glad I didn't as it is plenty warm as it is.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/pictures-f5/football-shaped-blanket-t201620.html

Regards,
K

I think that Mountain Mist Lite batting (it is polyester) would be good since you will be quilting instead of tying. It is very thin, adds very little warmth, but provides a little puffiness. Requires quilting lines no more than 3" apart. I have used this batting for baby quilts and it quilts up very nicely. The quilt remains very soft too. Our local JoAnne Fabrics carries it, and it is inexpensive.

If you can spray baste with 505, that is one of the best ways to prevent stretching of the minky.

Also, I ***strongly*** recommend heavily starching the flannel top before layering. I recommend a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water. The way I do it is very easy. I use a large wall painting brush to saturate the fabric with the solution (kitchen island works great), wait a minute or so to make sure that the starch has a chance to penetrate the fibers, toss in the dryer, then iron with steam. This heavy starching ensures that the flannel will not stretch or distort on you while machine quilting. To get rid of it, just wash the quilt once after it is bound.

I longarm minky all the time. Just don't load it tight or stretch it.

Thank you for your replies... I have a lot to think about now kiffie2413 I love your football quilt thanks for sharing. I will check into the batting.... is wool batting machine washable?

Here is a link to some great info about wool batting:
http://www.lovebugstudios.com/2012/0...-wool-batting/
I can't speak from experience about it being washable as I haven't used it (I am allergic to wool and handling it during the quilting process wouldn't be a great idea for me...lol).
Regards,
K

I just finished machine quilting a baby blanket with minky on the front and back. I did not use any batting. I also used Elmer's glue to hold together to guilt. No problem with stretching. The only problem was seeing what I was quilting. Stitches get lost in the minky.

Be sure to prewash flannel as it shrinks when washed.

Read "how much it shrunk" thread in today's digest regarding flannel.

I have made quilts with Minkee for the backing without any problems (except the fuzz all over me!). I did make the first one with batting, but it was very heavy! After that I skipped the batting when using Minkee for the back. Good luck!

Tied quilts are "quilted". Anything that holds the three layers (sometimes only two) together is quilting.

I put my quilts on a large frame made of four sticks - 1X4's - with holes drilled every 6 inches all the way down the stick. I have a strip of fabric stapled all along the length of each stick. They are then held together with bolts and the fabric is pinned to the fabric strip on the stick. After the outside edges have been finished as far as I can reach, bolts are removed one side at a time and it gets rolled up on the sticks and the bolts put in a new place.

I have tied two quilts with pearl cotton and they promptly came loose. I had to go over the entire quilt with fray-check on each knot to be sure they wouldn't come undone again. Those I tied with wool yarn NEVER come out. They just get tighter each time you wash them.

Some people tie the knots tightly to the quilt, and some leave them loose so that the batting remains fluffy under the knot. Some people cut the ends of the threads about a half inch long, and others leave them up to four inches long. Most of the embroidery-thread-tied quilts I've seen have the threads about four inches long.

Some tape their quilt backs to a smooth floor with duct tape, then pin the other layers to the back and work around it on the floor. Some clamp the quilt layers to a table a section at a time and move it as each section is tied..

Lots of different ways to do this. Hope you can understand this.

That was my thought on the stretching issue. Love my Elmer's!!

I just made a quilt with minkee 10" squares (layer cake) and used it for the backing also. I put an 80/20 batting in it, I had seriously thought about not putting batting in, but the more I thought about it I decided to do it. The girls getting these are not in a warm climate. For sewing I used a ballpoint needle and a long stitch to put the pieces together and for the machine quilting. I used a glue stick where points came together and did a lot of pinning. I would send a photo, but I have absolutely no clue how to do this. It was a bit of a slow process, but it came together beautifully. I will be doing another very similar doing the same thing.

Maviskw, that is a great response! On the plain's of the US most farmer women did not have but a few, what we now consider quilts, they had many chores to do and did not have the hours to devote to quilting so the quilts were tied, I have one from my grandmother and one from my great grandmother. Quilting was done at your quilting bee and they would take turns going from one person to the next making a quilt, so you might only get one quilted quilt every 3 years. These were not used for everyday uses, they were almost always just in the mom's room or on the back of the couch. They were always folded up at night and sat aside so they didn't get dirty or tore. My grandmother never used the quilted quilts (elsewhere) till all the kids left home, the guest room have one on it and we were sternly warned about being careful with it! So that explains why I have hundred year old quilts....

Meyers I saw a quilt tied but the person had sewn on buttons on top . .