Best batting???? Suggestions needed
 

I am kinda new to quilting. I have made four quilts all using White & Natural batting. All are machine quilted. Does anyone have a suggestion on a different batting? Quilts will be used and machine washed. Your thoughts appreciated.

I like the cotton Warm & Natural batting. If my quilt has lots of white in it I use their Warm & White cotton batting which may be what you used? Some like wool or bamboo battings, it all depends upon your preferences.

I like Hobbs PolyDown when I want a quilt that will dry quickly -- good for children's quilts that will get washed frequently, and sometimes requested for donation quilts that will be shipped out of the country.

I like 100% cotton batting a lot, but stopped using Warm and Natural because this type of batting -- needlepunched through scrim -- has a much stiffer drape than other cottons. All cotton battings, including W&N, soften up with repeated washings but I prefer cotton that is thinner. My personal favorite is Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon cotton batting, but that is a very "old-timey" choice and many modern quilters think it is too thin, plus it requires close quilting (no more than 2" apart). Quilter's Dream cotton offers nice drape with a choice of thinness/thickness, and it is needlepunched (but not through scrim) and therefore has superior stability (which allows quilting lines to be farther apart).

Hobbs wool batting is highly recommended for both machine and hand quilting. My next quilt will have this batting in it so I can compare it to the others I have used. An advantage of wool is that it breathes well, is supposed to be cooler in summer and warmer in winter, and it retains its warmth even when wet.

Me too. I like the cotton battings best.

Dream Orient for me.

I buy Pellon 80/20 cotton/poly batting from Walmart.com. A 96"x9yd bolt costs about the same as one queen size of the packaged name brands. I'm on my second bolt of it and have had no issues at all, in fact I like it very much.

Cari

Agree. I stopped using W&N for this reason, switched to Quilter's Dream and have been very happy ever since. Wool is also nice, although a bit more expensive. I have some bamboo, haven't tried it yet.

I prefer Quilters Dream, I like the way it handles while putting the layers together and the finished product too.

Following this post.

I use warm & natural. It's easy for me to find and goes on sale a lot. I tried hobbs 80/20 and hate it with a passion. I find that the quilts made with warm and natural soften up as much as the ones I did with 80/20 after a wash or two and some use.

Best batting at a sensible price IMO

I like Quilters Dream - Request. It is a thin batting and was great to hand quilt. I am currently working on a project that the owner bought me Cream Rose or something like that at JoAnn's. it's pretty nice - it is puffier than QD Request. I don't know how it will be shrinkage wise when i wash it. NOt finished yet.

I love all of the Quilters Dream battings, I also use many Hobbs batting. Dream wool is wonderful! ( and the quilts launder beautifully, the Hobbs wool does too. Dream poly is great for kids, & utility quilts, holds up great through lots of use. Start yourself a ( batting journal) there are so many available to try these days. I started mine about 12 years ago. Each *new* batting I try I write down the name/ brand of it, where I bought it and the price. Then the care instructions and quilting requirements ( some battings need to be quilted ever 2", others allow up to 10" between quilting lines.) Any other information I want to add -like how it feels then I take it out, or odor... and I cut a 6" square of the batting and add it with the large index card the info is written on. After I use the batting I add any additional information, how it was to work with, if I liked it or not & why - if it might be great for one project but not for another. I do have a few (Never again) in my journal. When it am getting ready to purchase a batting for a particular project I can look through & choose what I want, or when I see one on sale somewhere I can check to see if I've tried it, if I like it or not.

Thanks for this review. I've seen this batting online and wondered how it was. I think I'll give it a try next time I need batting. Can't beat the price!

My favorite battings are from Quilter's Dream. I also use a lot of Hobbs 80/20.

I saw where the Warm Company has a new batting called Warm and Plush. It is a softer and thicker cotton batting. Has anyone tried it yet?

Quilters Dream girl here as well

This link to the Hobbs website is a list of the different types of batting they manufacture. It's very useful when trying to decide what kind of batting to use. http://www.hobbsbatting.com/our-prod...om-collection/

I'm not affiliated with Hobbs in any way, but two of their customer reps visited our Guild a few months back and gave us a chard like this to use as a reference. I think Quilter's Dream has something similar on their website.

There are three major camps that make batting.

Warm & Natural. FLAT look

Dream cotton. Variety of cotton and poly but expensive

Hobbs 80/20. This is what I have used since they first starting making it. Has a slight puff to display your quilting skills.

I'm a Quilters Dream girl too. That is what my LQS recommends, and I love the way my quilts feel. I have used the Hobbs Polydown too, but I like the Quilters Dream best. I think it dries quickly too.

Thank you for all your comments. I will now start a batting journal, that is so smart!

My vote is for Quilter's Dream. (I have a roll of 70/30.) Warm & Natural has gotten so thin, even in the 5 or so years I've been quilting.

I have recently used the Pellon Nature Touch. It is cotton with a scrim. It drapes and is soft like Quilters Dream. The price is MUCH better as you can get in Joann's. They have it pretty reasonably priced when on sale or use a coupon. I really love it. I envy those of you with quilt shops nearby.

Since I am a machine quilter, I really prefer the Warm & Natural batting, white or beige, and I don't need to quilt as closely together than other batting.

I like Hobbs 80/20 the best.

I love the Hobbs 80/20, and for kids quilts are a smidge more puffy.

Has anyone else tried the batting made out of soda bottles? I think it is called Green Dream. I used it in my last quilt and it worked up very nicely and washed great as well. Hopefully it will hold up since it was a Wedding gift. oh and it is reasonable, kindof.

I use Warm and Natural 80/20 - tried Hobb's Poly down and it was good but very puffy when quilting. I recently purchased a roll of Pellon Nature's touch - it was on sale at Joann's and I had a 25% off purchase coupon too - the roll was 90" x 20 yrds for around $ 80. It was worth it to try - I haven't used it yet but its seems nice on the roll.

I bought the Warm & Plush today at JoAnns. Not sure when I will actually use it, all they had was queen size. It's 40% off this week so the queen size cost about $23.

Joyce, I think I'll try it too. Will you let us know if you like it when you try it? Thanks

My experience with the Pellon Nature's Touch is that it is very similar to Warm and Natural. It is needlepunched through scrim similar to W&N; however, I think the scrim is in the middle rather than on one side, and that the batting is needlepunched through the scrim in both directions. This makes both sides equally fluffy, so there isn't a right side and wrong side the way there is with W&N. It is the lintiest batting I have ever worked with, though. I really did not like the amount of lint it shed as I worked with it.

I like Hobbs Premium, and for something really special, Tuscany wool.

Warm & Natural used to be my favorite but now I love Pellon's Nature Touch, soft & drapy