Batting
 

Ok I need help. What kind of batting is a good one for king size quilts. I have tried different kinds of cotton and they are all very thin. When I put them on the long arm and try to smooth them out they are so thin they either tear or get pulled out of shape very easy. Anything smaller I use warm and natural and love they way it holds together. But the large ones I seem to have a problem with. Help what am I doing wrong.

W&N has a scrim so it is quite durable. If you are tearing W&N or pulling it out of shape with the larger sizes you need to have a gentler hand with it. Taking the batting out of the package (or off the roll if that is how you buy it) and spreading it out to "rest" overnight helps a lot. For a higher loft batting you need to switch over to a poly or wool. I like Dream products and Hobbs products. Hobbs polydown is a lower loft poly but still very nice. Quilters Dream Puff is a higher loft.
Allow your batting to rest and put it on the rack gently smoothing out any wrinkles that may remain after a 24 hour rest. Remember cotton tends to have a lot more "memory" than poly so the wrinkles and fold marks will remain visible but as long as it is smoothed out you won't have any lumps and bumps once quilted. Do not pull and tug at the batting, it will tear when handled roughly and some are much more fragile than others. The two I mentioned are very durable in my experience.

I use Hobbs Heirloom, it's 80% cotton, 20% poly. I like the way it drapes and it hold together very well.

I use W&N all the time on the longarm for small and large quilts and have no problems with it. I usually use it from a roll, but have also used the packages. If I need to get rid of fold lines, I toss it in the dryer for a little while with a small damp towel.

If you still want to use cotton, you will probably want one that is at least needlepunched. Warm and Natural is needlepunched through scrim. If you want a cotton batting that is thinner but won't pull apart, then I would consider Quilter's Dream. QD cotton is needlepunched, but not through scrim, and is a very stable cotton batting. Look at how far apart the batting can be quilted; the further apart the quilting lines can be, the more stable the batting is.

Thank you for your replies. Still learning about the different battings available.

I LOVE, LOVE Legecy (sp) blend, it is very soft and drapable. 50% cotton & 50% bamboo. I bought myself a 9 yard x 96" roll:)

I love, love, love wool... so much so that I bought a whole roll!

Any of the Quilters Dream Battings with the exception of the lightest weight cotton, which is for hand quilting. Want it warm choose their wool. Warm and Cool? Choose their Dream Orient, a blend of silk, bamboo, Eucalyptus fiber & cotton. Traditional look cotton is also great, although I find the Deluxe weight great for wall hangings but too heavy for quilts. Never had any problems. I buy by the roll 122" wide. Smaller quilts I cut the width for clients. Left overs mine to keep to compensate for storage. Then for my things I can put leftovers together, great for charity quilts.

I like the Quilters Dream Blend. I've found that the Hobbs has one length that is very ripply where they needle-punch it together. Nothing you can do will get rid of those wrinkles!