Batting/quilting Myth
 

So many times when questions about amount of quilting that should be on a quilt, or "how should I Quilt it" and similar questions including design to quilt the answer is "check the recommendation on the batting package". I believe many confuse this with the decision the quilter should make. I asked a batting manufacturer what the statement meant and was told that it means how far or close it should be quilted to prevent the batting from bunching or falling apart in repeated washings. He told me the test was based on 50 washings. Let us not use these statements by the batting manufacturers as a design choice but rather when discussing the stability of the quilt according to its intended use.

I always understood it to mean how far apart to quilt so it holds up, not the design.

that was my understanding, also.

Me, too. Although that could and should influence how you quilt a quilt.

I always read the batting package directions, but I have never made a quilting design decision based on the batting. However, I almost always quilt closely, because earlier in my quilting, I had a quilt I made on my bed and pulled the quilt up and heard thread snap and break. It turned out to be my quilting stitches, but it reminded me that there is stress on quilts that we don't think about. Also, I mostly use pantographs and if my quilt has a lot of smaller pieces, then I look for a denser quilting pattern. I don't want any extra stress on all those seams. If it is larger squares, with bigger pieces in them, then a more open pattern is okay.

However, having said that, I know some quilters who stitch in the ditch for everything. If you are using big squares (12"), then these exceed even the W&N instructions.

I have a cheap quilt that I like and got from Wally World before I started quilting myself. The quilting was all linear stitches across the entire quilt going only one way, about every 2 to 3 inches. When I washed it, the quilting bunched up between every one of those lines. I have been debating as to whether I want to rip all those stitches out and redo it. Probably will, one of these days. Hubby bought a comforter from WM that he fell in love with. The quilting on it was linear and had a 12 inch span. I knew I didn't want to wash that quilt. But it got dirty....thank you puppies! Before I washed it, I put it on my long arm and added more quilting between each of the linear lines and it washed beautifully.

This. If you are using a batting that says it needs to be quilted 2” apart, you don’t just outline 12” blocks and call it good. So it is certainly true that the batting choice influences the quilting design. I make a number of quilts for Quilts for Kids. They get washed and dried in industrial machines, sometimes daily. I use Warm and Natural with a 10” minimum quilting need, but I quilt with a 2” basis to handle the washing and drying. I get so sad when I see lovely pieced quilts that don’t have enough quilting to withstand washing more than a couple of times before the batting gets lumpy.

Maybe I am not fully understanding what you are saying, but I will make a comment about not quilting enough on a quilt. A quilting friend made a beautiful wedding quilt, hand quilted per the instructions on the batting as to the "minimum required" (which was approx. 10") and when she gently washed it to remove the markings, the batting bunched up in quite a few places. She had to make slits into the backing and smooth out the batting, repair the slit, and add more quilting. As far as I'm concerned, I would rather have more than the minimum, and not take the chance of batting bunching.
I also "prefer" the look of a wall hanging that has enough quilting so that it doesn't sag when hung.

Just my preferences, for sure.

If so dense it feels like cardboard, that doesn't for comfort make, in my opinion. Too far apart and you risk lumpiness and the whole thing falling apart after many washings. It seems that a "minimum" of 10" is much too liberal. That sounds more like an absolute maximum, but even so, makes me shake my head. I'm of the mindset that 5" is a better maximum (you still get a fluffy quilt) but that some motifs have lines as close as 1/2" apart in places, which is very aesthetically appealing if it enhances the piecing.

Probably a happy medium for making sure that 12" blocks won't bunch up would be to at least stitch an X through each one and of course also "in the ditch", right?

That's always been my understanding, too. I don't see questions about "how close should I quilt this?" and "how should I quilt this?" as the same thing. The first asks how much quilting should be put on the quilt and the answer of "check the recommendation on the package" is appropriate. The second is a design question so the answer will be much different.

To be honest, I'm only confused by your post. I've never seen a recommendation on ANY batting package that specifies a single word about what design the quilter should use to quilt his/her quilt with. It simply says, as others have pointed out, the recommended density of the quilting stitches. When we discuss quilting designs, there are always reminders about how densely to quilt it, but I find this to be appropriate to the conversation as the denseness needed WILL affect your design.