Cotton/Poly Batting: Good or Bad?
 

At my most local quilt shop I can get cotton/poly batting off the roll quite inexpensively. It's thin enough to squish under my small sewing machine harp and it doesn't seem to shift in the least. I was told it wouldn't shrink but another quilt shop a little farther away says their version of cotton/poly will shrink a little bit. Then I am at a bigger quilt shop in another town, and while I believe they have battings packaged in bags, I find that they also have a cotton/poly on the roll.

Is this stuff a good choice? And why or why not, please?

~ Carla ~

I'm sure it depends on the amount of cotton and even that will probably vary by brand. See if you can find out the brand and look it up online. The Hobb's 80/20 notes 3-5% shrinkage. I do believe I've seen other brands that were 70/30 cotton to poly or 50/50. The more cotton in the content, the more shrinkage probably.

That said I LOVE the Hobb's 80/20. I used to only use Warm n Natural, but now I usually use the Hobb's. It handles similar, but drapes better. I find it more comfortable to snuggle up under. The Warm n Natural has a little stiffer feel to it.

I too love Hobb's 80/20

I like the Hobb's 80/20 as well and I prewash it to shrink it before quilting.

So 80/20 will shrink some? Oh well. LOL. I just used it in a baby quilt, but I haven't given the quilt away yet. Maybe I should wash before giving it. (musing...) And if I do give it a rinse, should it then go into the dryer or hang to dry?

~ Carla ~

Anything with a little cotton in it will shrink a bit - but a good cotton/poly mix is my favorite for batting. When "they" say shrink...it's not so much like when you buy a cotton tshirt and it shrinks two sizes smaller. LOL If you've ever seen pretty quilts that have been washed and dried a dozen times and how they are crinkly and antique looking...that is what cotton does. It also has a distinct drape...and cotton poly has it's own distinct drape, a nice benefit from the cotton in it. I think batting is completely personal preference, but I really haven't found one I would turn my nose up at! :)

I used Hobb's 80/20 recently in a baby quilt and it did shrink up a bit, but I deliberately washed it in HOT water & dried on hot as well and I expected it to draw up a bit.

I try to make my baby quilts as bulletproof as possible and the hot wash/dry is the final test; I like to be able to tell the parents that it's safe to wash it in hot water occasionally if the little one has an accident on it.

I was taught to buy the best quality of batting you can afford (Harriett Hargrave) and I believe that it is cotton batting. I am not a purist but I have used Hobbs 80/20 since they first made it. I have never been disappointed with the quality of the batting. I prefer it over W&N because it has a small amount of puffiness that makes machine quilting displays stitching so much better.

I am pretty sure what I used in my baby quilt is not Hobb's, but a more generic 80/20. Still, I'll give it a run through the washer and dryer before gifting it. I had thought of it anyway because if it changes in the way it looks much, the mother might be disappointed.

I was in a class yesterday where the instructor told us not to use bamboo batting. She said it is full of chemicals, and shrinks a bit every time it is washed. I was glad to learn that before I invested in some! The chemical issue (she said the Chinese? hadn't figured out the right chemicals and amounts to use) will keep me from buying sheets made of it, too.

One more question about 80/20: how closely ought it to be quilted? I'm sure my baby quilt is close enough at ca 1" apart but I am curious what the recommendation is.

I love the combo batts. My favorite is Quilter's Dream 70/30. It's a nice thickness and hand.
Where ever you buy your batt should have information on how close together it needs to be quilted.

I like W&N 100% cotton batting. The only thing I'd use besides that for a bed quilt would be washable wool.

In my experience, the shrinkage issue can be reduced in 2 ways:
1) Make sure to only wash in cold water & only dry on No/Low heat or lay flat to dry.
2) Quilt farther apart (check your batting about how closely together it needs to be quilted)

I also pre-soak my batting to help shrink it a little bit before I quilt with it. I do use poly batting for home decor items & wouldn't have an issue making a wall quilt with it unless I had put a lot of work into piecing/applique. I've always been told that any time you start mixing and matching materials (cotton fabric with poly batting, for example), it makes it slightly less durable. I believe that to be true, but sometimes you just really want to get something done without spending every last penny you have on materials. I made a table runner about a decade ago with poly batting & a poly-cotton thread. Recently, I started having some issue with it when I pulled it out of the dryer, but I guess for what I spent making it, 10 years is a pretty good run. And I think I can probably re-quilt/re-bind the problem areas & get some more life out of it.

I buy Pellon 80/20 batting by the bolt from Walmart.com. Put next to Hobbs I can't tell the difference and it costs less. A 96" x 9yard bolt costs around $30. That's enough for several large quilts.

Cari

I like little shrinking of my battings. I find it makes the hand quilting I do really pop, gives it that old fashioned look.

I love Hobbs 80/20 batting and have used it in 11 of my 12 quilts.

I did rinse and dry my baby quilt today and it definitely shrank. I had measured it yesterday and then again today after its bath. It shrank more lengthwise than widthwise, but I bought a much bigger piece than I needed and may have happened to cut it so the lengthwise would shrink most. I am happy that now the mother won't be surprised when her baby's quilt shrinks in the wash. However, I will say the owner of the LQS is apparently clueless: this batting most certainly does shrink, although she said it would not.

Yes, it will shrink. I tried my first quilt with it without first pre-rinsing, spin and dry in dryer of the batting. After I washed the finished quilt, I saw that it shrank more than the other battings I've used in the past. Battings I've used in the past includes 100% poly, 100 % cotton and fleece.

So I'll rinse, spin and dry before I use it. It does have a nice feel to it, too.

I think it's 4" apart, but I'm not 100% sure. Most of the quilts I do are charity quilts, so I make sure the quilts are quilted at most 4" apart so that they'll hold up to possible play time mis-adventures. We know that a child's quilt lovin' isn't always gentle, but is always inventive, comforting and (I hope) fun.

Most of what I make are for charity, and I like the feeling of the thin poly batting -- it conforms to the body and is very warm, and light weight compared to what a "good" quilter would do with cotton. For a special bed-sized quilt I think warm 'n natural or something else high quality is in order. BTW, even the worst poly batts can be quilted 3" apart.

Quilt up to 4" apart.

What does the package say? Do I remember correctly that it is about evry 3-4"? So 1" should be fine.

If it's a baby quilt, I always wash it with Tide Unscented and dry in the dryer without using softeners. Too many allergies out there to take chances with a new baby. Plus you can see if any seams are going to pop where they shouldn't.

I like the 80/20 hobbs I have, but took a special quilt to a great quilter this week (I do a lot of my own) and took her my Dream quilt wool batting and she mentioned how much she hates 80/20 - didn't mention brand. Said it was too uneven.

I think the main difference you will find is if you hand quilt. Machine quilting would see little difference and it is more a choice / price difference.

This is a big disappointment to me. I had really been looking forward to using Quilter's Dream Oriental blend for this baby quilt I'm working on. I wonder which battings are made in China?

Yes I like the hobbs 80/20 batting. It's easy to machine quilt.

I use this type of batting almost exclusively with the charity quilts I make. They always get laundered and then dried....in the dryer. They have a slight crinkled look.....it is nice IMHO! Most people today, use a dryer, so if you are giving it away, I'd make sure it is quilted close enough to hold up under dryer heat and tumbling....

I have found that most stains from human bodies - blood, vomit, feces, urine (poop, puke, and pee) usually come out better with cold water than hot water. The hot water tends to set the stain rather than release it.

I'm a long time quilter and like Hobb's 80/20 a lot and agree that it quilts very pretty and drapes well; however, I don't think it's warm enough for a winter quilt. I use the Hobb's as my summer quilts and the Warm n Natural for winter.

I believe it's fine. It's quilted at 1" apart in parallel gentle curves. If that doesn't do it... probably nothing will. I just wrapped this little blankey for giving away, but all my pictures are on a 35 mm camera waiting to finish the roll. I'll do Show & Tell later. I did rinse and dry in a hot dryer. I like the crinkled look, too.

In the meantime, I'm really appreciating all the tips about batting. It seems many of us use the 80/20. After what the shop owner said I wasn't prepared for quite so much shrinkage, but it's still a nice size. However I will definitely take that into consideration when planning a quilt for a full-size bed.

I use all different kinds of batting depending on how thin or heavy and how soft I want the quilt. I wash every quilt after it's finished without detergent in warm water with a color catcher. My favorite batting is Warm and White or Natural because I like the crinkly look it gets from shrinking. A few times I've even put in 2 layers of batting to make the quilt extra thick and warm. So experiment with different battings to see how they look.

Funny how asking a question about batting will get you a zillion different answers! Personally, I hate Hobbs 80/20 and I have 4 frimping rolls of it! I will use it up and never buy it again. I find that when I straighten it on my longarm, it had a tendency to tear, it beards on the back of my quilts (with a new needle) and I hate the feel of it. I love any batting from Dream Batting and have never had a problem with any of it. For babies and the elderly, I like the fact the Dream Angel is fire retardant, since both would have a problem getting out from under a burning quilt.

I prefer Warm and Natural cotton batting.

On my Hobbs 80/20 it says up to 3 1/2" apart, it's the one that came in a bag & not sure if it has the scrim or not.

Shrinking 3-5 percent sounds like a lot, but on a hundred inch quilt that would be only 3-5 inches. Knowing this, I just make my quilts a little bigger so the shrinkage is ok.

Just an FYI--if you are taking quilts to a long armer, be sure to let them know whether you are ok with them using poly thread like So-Fine or Glide or Trilobal on your cotton quilts. I'm going to guess that your table runner, if used like mine are, is more the "victim" of being 10 yr old, being laundered and placed in dryer, sunlight ?, than it is a result of a combination of materials.

I was at a booth at a quilt show this evening, and the bamboo batting they had didn't use any chemicals. It sounded quite good and was sooo soft. I brought home his card, and here is the site

http://www.americanquiltbatting.com/product-p/3b.htm

Another quilter who was there said she loved it and that it got softer and a bit fluffier every time it was washed.

Maybe your instructor used the bamboo batting I used 4 years ago. I wasn't happy with it. Anyway, it might be worth checking into.

Dina

I like the Hobbs 80/20 also

Do any of you use two layers of batting? I recently spoke to a longarm quilter who said she uses a 80/20 Hobbs and another but I can't remember what the other one was, maybe a poly? She was happy with the way her quilts turned out. I need to order some batting so maybe I will try an 80/20 but I am not sure what to pair it with. Any suggestions?

I've read through all the comments and am surprised that only one person mentioned bearding. I hate those little white fibers coming through my tops or backs. It reminds me of the beads of fiber you get on sweaters once you've used them for awhile. Poly seems to beard more so I've liked using 100% cotton in the past. More recently though, I've tried the Dream products and like them very much. They have a softer feel than W&N, and work up nicely. I think it was the 80-20 product that I used on a recent quilt. I'll be using that again.