black batting
 

Opinions please, do I really have to use black batting with black fabric?
You great people always know best.
TIA
Pat

No but if you have bearding of the batting fibers it will be a nightmare.

No, you don’t Have to do anything you don’t want to do. I’ve used plenty of natural battings with black fabrics. I like the black batting from Connecting Threads and the Dream one but if I don’t have one I use what I have.

When I do black quilts I use black batting BUT the black batting I have found is usually crummy so I end up double batting. Maybe you have access to better batting than I do.

Watson

I've used many black/dark fabrics and have never used anything but Warm & Natural with no issues. Perhaps if you have a very dark top (or backing) and need some separation you might need a second batt??? But I've had no issues with these combos and the batt mentioned.

I have used black batting from Connecting Threads on a couple of quilts that were dark colored top and back. I don't know if it was needed, just used it because I had it.

The only time I had bearding on a black fabric project was when I used a white poly batt. I have made quite a few dark/black projects since, using regular Warm and Natural with no bearding.
I have only once used a black batt, it was purchased by my Sis and it was fine, but I think it was poly. It was used in a quilt with bright yellow and black... and it really didn't shadow black through the yellow, as I thought it might.

no requirement of it, but I've found that the one time when I didn't I had white bat fibers showing up on the black---so I always do. I use Hobbs 80/20 black and have had no issues with it being "crummy"--and also got a black poly--think it was Quilters Dream, from Connecting Threads that I used when double batting and it was very nice too.

I should note that the black batting that I have been able to get locally in Canada isn't a name brand and it hasn't been of great quality. I'm sure if you can get a W&N or something like that in black, it would be great.

Watson

W&N does not make a black batting. The only ones I am familiar with are Hobbs 80/20 in black and Quilters Dream black poly which drapes, handles and feels like Hobbs 80/20. It is low loft and dense compared to other Poly battings. Once a long time ago I got a very dark gray batting that was a higher loft polyester that handled and felt more like Hobbs Polydown. I am not aware of a 100% cotton black on the market.

For the record, I have never heard of “bearding” from a cotton, bamboo, or wool. Just from polyester batting. I could be wrong, but if you stick to natural battings, I don’t think it matters unless you are showing the quilt and you don’t want seams to show through. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

So glad to hear that W & N does not beard on dark fabrics. I was talked into using black batting for one of my quilts and I did not like the feel of the quilt when the quilting was finished. I was just going along with the recommendation of the experts where I take some of my special quilts for long arm quilting. Next time.... I'll just stick to my original plan and use the W & N. Thanks for sharing your experiences with "bearding".

There have been plenty of reports of wool bearding as well as 80/20 and cotton that is not needle punched to a scrim.

https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...s-t294180.html

https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...m-t222212.html

https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...g-t288073.html
https://www.quiltingboard.com/search...g-t288026.html

Then we we have also had reports of excess lint transfer which is different than bearding but can still be rather nightmarish if you are working with white/light batting on a black/dark quilt

https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...t-t276692.html




Additionally there have been reported problems of getting "pokies" with W&N if it is loaded the incorrect way but it happens predominantly with longarms due to the much larger needle size. But it does occasionally happen with DSM

https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...g-t244588.html

https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...e-t265360.html

I have used black batting from Dream cotton. Fine!

I like using black background fabric to show off bright colors in my quilts. Haven't thought of using black batting, but may try on the next dark quilt. I have noticed that using white batting instead of natural colored batting makes a big difference when I use white background fabric in my quilts.

i use a lot of black in my quilts, both in piecing front and for backing. i wanted the black bat because i felt that the white sorta, not show thru, exactly, but maybe took away from the experience of deep deep black that i wanted. i started using Hobbs 80/20 in the early 90's. where ever i've lived it's been difficult to find black batt. so, from the beginning i've ordered directly from Hobbs. last time i bought, a lqs near where i live now ordered it for me, from hobbs. she said she'd been getting requests for black batt and since she trusted my experience with it she ordered several rolls. i wasn't her only very happy customer. :)

I have quilted many bright tops with black backs for hospital incubator covers. The natural colored batting with skrim ( 80/20) never beards, even with a large needle. But l prefer the black, because if the backing even touches the white batting while being mounted, there is lint. Now l know there is also lint transfer when using black...but it doesn't show. Since the covers are washed before use, it doesn't really matter. But if it's a gift, it might be an issue. However, that said, l would not use black if the top had white or ivory parts.