Bearding - what happened?
 

I just finished a very very time consuming quilt. I also made a wheelchair lap quilt for charity and used it to test quilting designs, thread tension, etc.

I used RJR Cotton Supreme (black -- main background) and RJR Jenny Beyer fabric for the fabrics, Aurifil thread, and Hobbs Tuscany wool batting. All of these except the Cotton Supreme (where the problem is most pronounced or most obviously seen) have been used with success in the past.

I saw some bearding when quilting, but thought it was wool migrating from the edge of the quilt where the batting was still unfinished. The quilt is now finished, I used lint roller, packaged it in a plastic bag and it's ready for a show.

I then bound the wheelchair quilt and washed it prior to taking it to my church to be donated to a nursing home. I washed and laid it out to dry -- I saw some lint, but didn't pay too much attention. After it dried, I started using the lint roller. This quilt looked like an old man -- the bearding was horrid. I can't donate since this will happen every time washed. I'm sick about the King size quilt I spent so much time on.

When I try to understand why this happened, it's not clear - fabric? batting? What can I do in the future to prevent this? I'm thinking I'm going to make a mini quilt and wash it just to check for bearding. Sigh.....

I use Warm & Natural. I had bearding once. I put the lumpy side with the little bits of seeds in it, down on the quilt backing wrong side. I've made sure that hasn't happened again. I don't use wool batting so don't know if your batting is the problem.

This website gives an interesting explanation. http://quiltersdreambatting.blogspot...-quilting.html

Very interesting. Haven't had this problem - yet, so this is good to know.

I would really like to see pictures of this situation.....?

So very sorry this happened to you! After all the hours you've put into the quilt, it is heartbreaking when something like this happens. Hopefully the suggestion of the anti-static spray helps.

I've used the RJR Cotton Supreme numerous times along with RJR Jinny Beyer fabrics and never had a bearding problem. I usually use Warm and Plush, or sometimes Pellon Nature's Touch 100% Cotton, so very different from the wool that you've chosen. I'm not a prewasher of fabric or batting, and I usually use Aurifil 50wt or Connecting Threads' Essential Cotton.

Hopefully someone can help with a solution for you. The anti-static spray from the link Barb in Louisiana sounds cheap and promising!

I love wool, but admit it does seem to beard a little more than cotton/poly. You didn't say what kind of thread you used, but I find that using a poly thread, like SoFine or Glide, seems to reduce the bearding. Also, I like a thinner thread and a smaller needle. Also, I always use a black bat (yes, wool does come in black but you have to really look for it; or use a Quilters Dream black poly that quilts much like a wool)if the quilt is a dark color.

A dull needle will cause bearding (with any batting), since the dull tip pushes the batting ahead of it instead of piercing through. I change machine needles with each large quilt.

If you use Schmetz needles, try using the microtex needle. Yes, a dull needle will cause bearding.

I believe the black fabric plus wool batting is your problem. I am hand quilting a quilt that has thin strips of black throughout, and it's a real pain in the neck, because the wool batting coming through the black fabric is getting entwined in my quilting thread, and stopping to pull it out is really slowing me down.

I don't know why wool tends to beard through dark fabric, but this is not the first time I've heard of it. I will never again use wool batting in a quilt with black or very dark fabric (I used Quilter's Dream wool, so apparently the brand isn't the issue).

I plan to finish my quilt, which is small, and then suggest that it be used as a wall hanging.

I am hand quilting a 96 square quilt that I used Quilter's Dream WOOL batting on. I am having a ton of bearding all over the quilt. The wool is so easy to hand quit through but don't know what to do about the bearding.

Marcia