First time using wool batting. Tips?
 

I'm making a crib sized quilt for a baby who lives far up north in the cold. It will probably be used more for wrapping for walks and car rides than the crib, but the mother requested wool batting. I've never worked with it before.

Are there any tips or things I need to be concerned about? Does my stitch need to be longer? The batting looks much puffier than the 80/20 I usually use. I'm not a fan of stippling, so I'm thinking of a cross hatch or wavy lines. Any suggestions would be very welcome. As always, thank you!

I wouldn't use wool for a baby, you can't put it in the dryer, this is the voice of experience

Wool batted quilts can be machine washed in cold water and machine dried on a cool or air setting (or just dried in open air if preferred), with no shrinkage (that's MY experience). They are not high maintenance quilts, just different than cotton or blends.

I'd have no hesitation at all in using wool for a baby quilt, especially if that's what the mother requested, and it'd be ideal for walks and car rides. Wool is a dream to work with by hand or machine, very easy to get hooked on using it. :)

I love love love using wool batting..It is so warm, drapes so well and is like quilting thru soft butter! However, my experience has shown that different manufacturers have very different washing, quilting and handling requirements.........Look for wool bat that can be machine washed and machine dried on a low setting with little shrinkage...If this is for a baby and they live where it is COLD, she certainly is not going to hang this on a clothes line to dry!Have fun with it.............

The batting is supposed to be machine wash and dry. Though I will tell mom to do it on cold and air fluff. Any suggestions on stitching? Should I change my stitch setting? Can I baste with glue or should I hand baste?

Without seeing the pattern you are going to be making, it is hard to give a quilting opinion but I always love cross hatching rather then stippling.

I Love, love, love using wool battings! The quilt on my bed has wool batting, has been laundered numerous times. I toss it in the washer, regular cycle, warm water, I toss it in the dryer regular cycle/setting...It comes out soft, fluffy & wonderful. There is no reason to not use it for a baby quilt. The (2) wool battings I use which do not shrink, are washable, hold up to lots of use and are a joy to work with are the Hobbs wool batt and Dream Wool from the dream company. I recommend them to everyone and use them often

I also have laundered quilts with wool batting & stuck them in the dryer, no problems. I don't treat it any differently than warm & Natural cotton when quilting.

It quilts like a dream--no downside except that some people are allergic to wool. I like the Hobb' s brand.

Quilter's Dream calls their wool batting Dream Wool. I am wondering if this is the same batting and company you are referring to.

Thank you all for your help! It sounds as though there are no particular changes when working with wool batting, and I'm excited to get started on it!

I really like to use wool batting because it quilts so beautifully and always looks nice. I wash the quilts in cool water. i prefer to dry quilts flat. I use a painter's drop cloth (plastic sheet) and lay them out on the floor until dry. However, because a baby quilt is small I think the dryer on cool is OK.

Read the label of the brand you buy and follow directions for washing and drying.R

WELL you will be surprised I only used it once and would use it all the time if I could afford it. I loved it I think the wool batting for the quilt you described the use for would be great.

I too am using wool batting for the first time, Quilters Dream Wool. Here's what I've learned so far:

1. I can baste using 505 spray just as I do for cotton
2. Quilting by machine seems to be just like quilting through cotton.
3. To maximize warmth I am using an open quilting pattern so the wool retains as much fluffiness as possible. Of course you must quilt as closely as the batting package requires.
4. When they say don't iron it, they mean it. I ironed a small test sandwich just to see what would happen. The batting flattened out to the width of a piece of card stock. I guess this means that when I attach the binding I won't be able to iron it to the back but will have to finger press.

The experiment I have not yet run is to see if I can steam off my chalk markings by holding the iron above the quilt without any pressing or if I will need to wait to wash them out.

Ive used the wool batting carried by Connecting Thread and have no problem with wash/dry. I commonly use moderate temps for all my quilts, no matter what kind of batting I use. It is a little puffier, and because of that, I also do not like stippling on those quilts, but love straight lines.

I have made several baby quilts using wool batting. It is the nicest batting I've ever worked with. The quilts have been laundered in a regular washer and dryer cycle, and they are just fine.