Recently the topic of batting was discussed and some of the quilting group mentioned washing batting before assembling a quilt. I had not heard of that before. Is this something new?

I never had washed mine, but I believe they mentioned that it shrinks - never thought of that.

not washing batting here.i almost always use warm and natural..i have not had a problem with it..or at least i am happy with the results after the quilt is washed and dryed..

I use Warm and Natural, and have several quilts that have been washed more than once. I have not noticed any shrinkage.

Ditto, altough I have heard of that. Actually when I read that, I was shocked, and told myself oh no something else I don't do that stupid me should. Oh well add it to the long list of stupids.

Rita

the warm and natural that I just used said on the wrapper you don't have to wash it. There is a 2 to 3% shrinkage but it says it makes the quilt look slightly popcorned when washed and dried. I didn't prewash, and we are using the quilt now in this blankety-blank-blankweather!

No, Never stupid, just each to their own personal choice. I have NEVER and never will prewash my batting. I will sometimes put it in the dryer with a wet towel to remove some of the wringles. JMHO

on some of the packaging for different batts it does say if you want to 'prewash' to just place in tub of h2o and soak a few minutes, carefully squeeze out the water and place in dryer to dry and fluff, it also states this step is NOT NECESSARY, but can be done. back in the 'old-daze' batts shank alot more than now, different techniques making the batting, it really is no longer necessary unless you are making something that you absolutely do not want to shrink at all, but the normal shrinkage is what gives the quilt the 'beautiful quilted look' in the first place so why would you want to loose that? i guess there could be a 'time and place' for a different look, but don't worry about needing to pre-shrink it really is a pain and i don't think its worth the bother

brushandthimble thanks I was trying to figure out how to get all those wrinkles out

I have never prewashed batting.

If I were to try to get the wrinkles out I would spray it with water, then put it in the dryer for a while. I wouldn't want to handle the batting once it had been in a tub of water.

Someone on the board posted a picture of a quilt she has used wool batting in.......there was so much shrinkage she ended up taking the quilting out and redoing it....so you probably do need to prewash wool batting.

I don't prewash my batting, I like the pucker it gives once it shrinks a little after its all put together...

I use warm and natural and never wash it first.

Cotton batting does shrink a little bit when washed. That's how you get that "old" look to a new quilt...by not washing the batting until after the quilt is made. I never pre-wash my batting, but always pre-wash my fabric, because different fabrics shrink differently, and I don't want any unexpected puckers showing up after the first wash.

I've never washed mine. I sometimes put a very wet wash clothe in the dryer with my batting to get the wrinkles out.

I use Warm and Natural or Warm and White batting. I preshrink mine before I use them. I just put the batting in the washer in HOT water and let it soak for about 30 minutes and keep pushing it down in the water until it is wet enough to stay under. (It floats). I do NOT let the washer agitate. Then, I spin it out and put it in the dryer. I think it make the batting softer and since I hand quilt, it's easier to needle.

Don't wash poly wadding but do wash felt and warm and natural,in the bath if large, no wringing BUT towel dry and lay flat draped over airer from ceiling in the utility room.

I use warm and natural, never washed it.

If it has to be prewashed, then it's too much work for me. I use the bamboo batting from JoAnns and have never prewashed. Don't have any problems with it. The label says it can be prewashed for shrinkage, but I'm not going there.

The ones I use usually say pre-washed on them & they never shrink when I wash the quilt! Most are from Joann's. :-D

I have soaked it then gently extracted the water and dried it because I did not want that wrinkly look.

When I use 80% cotton cotton batting, I don't want the batting to shrink after the quilt is quilted.I always prewash my fabrics - so I prewash the batting, too. I fill the machine tub with warm water, soak the batting THOROUGHLY, then spin the water out. I don't agitate. Then I lift the batting out carefully - I don't want it to stretch or catch on anything. Dry it in the dryer.

Years and years ago, a Ben Franklin store was discontinuing their Mountain Mist batts. So I bought 40 of the 90x108" size for $3.00 each. I really love them for hand quilting. I was moving a lot then and used them as fillers in the trucks to keep furniture from getting scratched. I'm down to 12 now. I use Warm and Natural for machine quilting but I still keep the frame set up in the living room with a quilt in it. That old frame is almost 125 years old now and has quilted many a quilt in its day. I consider it a part of my living room decor and my cats think of it as one huge cat hammock....lol. Every morning I have to tighten the ratchets to get the sag out.

I grew up with my mom and grandmother making quilts. I never saw them prewash batting. I have never heard of prewashing batting. Like the other post. I like the effect you get after washing your quilt. I love the popcorn look.

Warm and Natural here too. I never prewash. I like the look that quilts get when they aren't prewashed before making. They have that "older" than they are look! lol I don't like the look of brand new/crisp it makes it "unusable"!