Bearding - is it true?
 

I am working on a quilt for myself. It is Bonnie Hunters "H is for Happy" I am doing the black and white 1 1/2" squares. I just realized that one of the whites is a poly cotton. Someone told me that poly cotton will beard. The fabric doesn't feel bad but when I ironed it I can smell it. Once it is finished I don't expect to iron it so the lower melting point will not be an issue but the bearding is a concern and are there any other things I should consider. I have only sewn about 3 strips so I can take it out. I would wash in cool water and some of my fabric is washed and some not. Thanks, I have just finished my first quilt - a throw about 49" by 65".

My opinion...since poly blends tend to be a more tightly woven fabric than typical quilting cottons, I don't think bearding will be an issue with those particular fabrics and as such, I would not worry.

Someone with better/more info will be along shortly with more info to be sure.

I have a throw on my sofa right now that the navy border is a poly/cotton (I got my navy fabrics switched with quilt & vest for son) and there is not bearding. I think the big difference with some cotton and some cotton/blend is that the poly blend will not shrink like a cotton--but if you've prewashed that is a non-starter too. I wouldn't worry about this.

I have only once experienced bearding and that was with good cotton fabric, but an old style poly batt.... I don't know its details but presume it didn't have a scrim. I have used poly cottons mixed with cottons and never had a bearding problem when using warm and Natural cotton batting.

The bearding problem is mostly attributed to using some poly fabrics for the backing, not on the quilt top. The needle seems to punch the batting thru the backing when quilting. I've had this happen when quilting with sheets that are more than 50% poly, and have used poly/cotton for piecing the top with no worries.

I am confused. Was Kelsie talking about the batting bearding through or the poly/cotton fabric bearding or pilling like, flannel does?

My first quilt in the1970s bearded. I used 100% fabric and the old Mountain Mist poly batting (no scrim). It was awful. I believe that the new poly batting with the scrim will be fine.

I doubt that you will have any trouble. If you use a batting that shrinks, the quilting itself will control any shrinkage issues. my opinion, of course.

I bought quite a few yards of fabric that came off a roll of a thousand yards. This was used to make draperies and bed spreads for motels. I used the fabric for the back of the quilt on my bed. It didn't take long for the fabric to "pill". It was covered in the little pills and they were hard. Many years later, I acquired a fabric shaver, used to take the pills off sweaters and such. I decided to try it on my quilt. What a wonder! All the pills are gone with just a once over and they have not returned.

I was asking about the batting bearding through and I didn't even think about pilling. I do have some other scraps in another quilt that I am working on that are also poly cotton. Do you worry about pilling on the pieced top? It didn't cross my mind.

I've used all kinds of fabric in quilts ... some very cheap fabrics, and after making 100's of quilts, I haven't seen any problems that would cause me to lose sleep. Unless the quilt you are working on is to go to a quilt show, I wouldn't worry. Just finish it and enjoy! Life is too short to fret over something that may not happen.

I had one of my first quilts beard. It was dark navy fabric and I used poly batting. It was awful. I have never used poly batting again and never have had a bearding issue since.

thimblebug6000, have you washed the quilt with the bearding? I have one that needs to be washed but I'm wondering if that will make the problem worse. It was made in the late 90s--machine quilted-- and a lot of the battings were a problem then. Thanks

In 1992 and in 1994, I made my first two quilts for each of my kids. I didn't know any better and I purchased 100% polyester batting. They have used the heck out of these quilts. Faded and loved and no sign of bearding. I'm still quilting and use whatever is on sale. 100% cotton - cotton/poly - poly. I think its a lot of hype.

A bit off topic, but I found when I used a poly-cotton I couldn't get the basting spray to stick. Someone told me it only worked well on cotton fabrics. Just something to be aware of down the road.

Watson

I don't know about bearding but when I completed several of a friend's mom's UFOs made with poly/cotton, I had alot of missed stitches. I just finished them as best as I could and told her to snip any loose threads.

I have used Broadcloth which is a blend and it handles just fine. If you are worried about bearding, don't use poly batting.

I use Soft & Bright by the Warm Company exclusively, it's 100% poly, been thru several queen bulk rolls and I've never ever had an issue with bearding. I'm a pin baster but a friend uses the same batting and 505 spray for all her quilts and it works fine also. I think a good quality batting with a scrim is very unlikely to beard regardless of the fiber.

I have never had a problem with bearding and occasionally use poly blend fabrics. But, if you are worried about it, why not make a sample small quilt sandwich with your fabric and choice of batting and quilt it to test it out before going further on the whole quilt?