Cheap Batting Mess
 

I just spent the entire weekend taking a quilt apart to remove the batting. 'shaking head at self' I bought a batting that seemed to have good reviews that was quite a bit cheaper in price than what I usually use. Unfortunately/or not, the batting must have changed since the reviews (which were multiple years old). Note here that the batting felt fine as I was using it, although it was pretty linty. I quilted my quilt and put the binding on it, then tossed it in the washer to remove all of the markings that I had put on it for the quilting pattern.

When I removed my quilt from the washer, it felt a little, call it bouncy/plush more in some areas then in others and really, really thin in other places. With hesitation, I tossed it in the dryer to find out what the final result would be. What else could I do but dry it.

Once dry it was definitely not what I expected. Even though I quilted with leaving less space between the quilting lines that it called for, it appeared that all of the batting that wasn't under the actual quilting stitches or binding stitches, was basically gone and the batting that was under the stitches, felt overly plush, swollen to about 4 times in thickness and definitely lumpy.

What a mess... I certainly couldn't leave it like that. So, toss or save.... I decided that I wanted to save the quilt I had just put so much time with so I sat down with my seam ripper and began the tedious task. Oh, my.... after removing the binding, quilting and backing, the entire piece or should I say pieces of batting looked like a Halloween cobweb and fell apart as I pulled it from the fabric.

I spent part of Friday, and all of Saturday and Sunday picking out all the stitches and removing all of the batting, not to mention, bagging up the remaining batting that I had bought and tossing it. There was no way I was going to let it ruin someone else's quilt.

I'd name the name of it, but alas with this being on the open internet, I'll keep that to myself. I just wanted to pass on the worst experience I've had with batting. Never before has this happened. And never again... I put in a new order for my regular batting, not even saying anything about the price! It is well worth it!

We would sure like to know what it was so we would not go through the same hassle you just did.

Oh dear... A whole quilt rip- out! I have to admire your determination. I know the last stitches you removed must have been a thrill. Triumphant.
I once had half a quilt finished and did the same thing. That was only half.

Did you take pictures of the mess and save the batting for a complaint/return? I think even if the price was low I would have asked for a refund. That’s a lot of wasted time in addition to the $ you shelled out.

So sorry that you had to learn your lesson hands-on. Take a breath and quilt on!

I for one would like to know the name of the batting company you bought this disaster from. With the millions of quilters out there we sure don't want to let something like your experience happen again. I know that a certain "overseas" discount company (TeeMoo) offers what is labeled as Pellon batting for a cheaper price that I have bought, but have yet to use. Sure don't want to go down the same road that you traveled.

Even if you are uncomfortable sharing the name here, I certainly hope you put in a review of your experience so that other quilters will see it if they are exploring and tempted to try that brand.

I feel your pain. I've got a project that needs to be ripped out and it just sits in my sewing room mocking me!

The batting probably wasn't needlepunched. I'm tempted to try other than my tried and true brands when the price is tempting. Now I read all reviews of any new to me product so please post a review of this on the brand website.

So sorry that this happened to you. I can only imagine the horrible gut feelings you had when you found the mess you had.

A question ... re your comment, referenced above ... did you do quilting lines only, with no cross stitching lines? If so, that might explain why this has happened. The recommendations for battings always mean, in every direction. I know that the straight line stitching has become popular, and for many battings we can get away with it, but sometimes we get caught. If you were within the recommendations, as others have said, I hope you have pictures ... and contact the company.

What a trooper that you took it all apart!! This will be one special quilt once you finish it and we will all look forward to your showing it to us. Good Luck!

I can't even imagine.

Treat yourself to a new seam ripper; that one is sure to be duller.

I beat myself up sometimes because I tend to stick with what I know, but maybe that has been a good thing. Still, I would like to know what batting to avoid.

I think that was part of the problem, it didn't look needle punched and there was no scrim. As for the quilting, I did a diagonal grid in both directions, with the lines crisscrossing. Every open space was under three inches. I think it had a 4 to 6" recommended quilting space. I still can't believe how much it disintegrated in the wash. I couldn't return any of it as I had bought it last year and it was no longer in the original packaging - it just came in a cardboard box with a label on the box (discarded) and the batting was wrapped in clear plastic with no other labeling. I don't even remember the name of the discount place I bought it from. I have definitely learned to read reviews and make sure they are up to date and very recent ones. No more buying from an unknown place on a whim, for sure.

Add me to those who respectfully ask you to post more information on the brand and type of batting - it's possible you were sent a cheap counterfeit rather than the actual batting you had ordered. I understand if you don't want to name the merchant, although you mentioned it was a "discount place", so if it's not a known online quilt/fabric store at least please confirm that. The more you can share, the more likely you'll save someone else from the same headaches.

I'm certain that it was some kind of a cheap off-the-wall kind of batting. As I mentioned above, I have no recall of the name of the place I ordered/bought it from due to the time span since I purchased it, and as there was only a label on the box that I discarded when I received it and nothing on the inside plastic bag of batting. If I remember correctly, the batting was only listed as 'Quilt Batting'. Thankfully this wasn't a repeat purchase, just a one time mistake on my part.

The batting definitely wasn't one of the name brand battings that we see all the time. I guess I would just pass on to everyone here that you don't need to worry about ending up with this batting, unless you purchase batting that is only labeled as 'Quilt Batting' only and not having a brand name on it.

Just to note: I wouldn't call it a counterfeit batting as to be a counterfeit it would have had to have a brand name on the batting, that was being sold as that brand name's product when it wasn't actually that brand name's product. Example: Like someone selling cheap jeans with a fake L E E label on them when they aren't actually made by L E E jeans..

I appreciate you letting us know what you could about that bad batting. I would never want to get into a mess like that. I don't know that I would have the where with all to unpick a whole quilt like you did.