We have a factory in our town that makes drapes and quilts for motels and such. They give away batting pieces, and have HUGE bags of batting you can buy for $10. The bag is so big I can hardly carry it. One piece of batting I found in there was big enough for 2 king size quilts with some left over. If you don't have access to something like this, do what others have said: Good Will, St. Vinnie"s, Salvation Army, etc.

AND because it will shrink - - I make dolls and things from craft felt and I wash every single piece before using it - not just to get the stiffness out and make it nice and pliable - but because it will also shrink not too bad but a surprising amount.

Marysewfun

I think the original poster was in the UK, but they have tons of charity shops there.

Personally, I'd ask for the batting or gift certificates for my birthday/Christmas and just put the top aside till I had the money.

That is kind of what I do when I make a lot of tops because I'm not ready to invest in a roll of batting. I buy it by the 50 meter roll because I buy it wholesale.

I've used mattress pads, old (really old) blankets and depending on how much batting was needed even old flannel sheets. Like those before us... use what you've got. Just make sure it's been washed/ pre-shrunk.

I have not done this personally, but when my Mom made quilts, she would use old blankets for batting and flannel sheets for the backing. Growing up in SD in an old farm house with no central heat, believe me these quilts were nice and warm during the winter months. I remember piling the quilts on, then having trouble moving under the weight of the quilts. LOL. But I was nice and warm.

My grandmother usually used an old blanket for batting. You can usually pick up a cheap blanket from the dollar store,Goodwill or Wal-Mart. I wouldn't recommend using felt.

I made a throw quilt for my family years ago. It had old super percale sheets and a thermal blanket. It ended up in shreds after many many years of use. By far it wasn't the best quilt I have made, but it was the most loved. The texture, AND drape were the best of any I have made. I'd say yes, it will get washed--when you spend time making something you tend to want to keep it. Everything gets dirty I'd hate to make something that when it got dirty I would have to throw it away.

Be careful with the old Army/wool blankets. When our daughter was an infant I put one in the bottom of her basket and a flannel sheet on top of that. She had some allergies but then they got worse, to the point she ended up in the hospital in an oxygen tent. The doctor told us there was no hope for her except one last .....something that was experimental. Her breathing got much better. Brought her home and it flared again. It was the wool she was allergic too. She is 44 yrs old now, lives in MN where it would be a help if she could wear wool but doesn't.

I'm sorry about your daughters allergies. I would recommend asking anyone if they have allergies and what they are allergic to. No one that I know of in my family is allergic to wool. But, there are a lot of different allergies in my family. 2 relatives have a severe allergy to penicillin, myself and another cousin are allergic to nickel (you would not believe what problems this causes - like some sweaters have metallic yarn! One cousin had severe respiratory problems around perfume. One day we were shopping and two little old ladies walked by her smelling like they dumped the whole bottle on them. I had to drag my cousin out of the store into fresh air. It took her a few minutes to overcome it. Store employees would not have known what her problem was if she had been alone. This was over 45 years ago. Two of my youngest son's class mates when he was in elementary school had severe allergies to peanuts.

I'm saying all this because there are so many allergies out there. Some, like your daughter, the penicillin and peanut allergies can be deadly.

List the contents of the quilt on the quilt label.

I have an old quilt here that is in shreds due to the type of wool blanket that was used, the quilt wore from the inside out.