Hand quilters please! Advice!
 

I have always hand quilted. I am making "something special" for my daughter. I have almost always used Mountain Mist Quilt Lite for my bigger projects and this one is a monster. I was thinking of using some Warm and Natural this time and have reached panic mode. Will it be a whole lot harder to quilt through its thickness? I know I can do it - but I truly want to enjoy it too. Any feedback - pro or con? I have to do this soon. Christmas is coming.

Frankly, I wouldn't use Warm and Natural. It has a scrim so the batting can be quilted as far apart as 10 inches, but that makes it harder to hand quilt through. If you want a cotton batting, you might think about Hobbs 80/20 - it's a mix, but one of my hand quilting friends uses it and makes beautiful stitches.

That being said, there are hand quilters who think Warm and Natural is wonderful. If you think Warm and Natural is for you, maybe you should try a sample sandwich before you invest a lot of time.

I would recommend Hobbs 80/20 for hand quilting. the stiffness, scrim of warm & natural does make it less *fun* to hand stitch. Hobbs Wool and Dream wool are also nice battings for hand quilting.

I think it would be very difficult to make tiny stitches - but the stitching itself is quite possible.

I agree with the other posters. Warm and Natural is a *lot* more difficult to hand quilt because of the scrim, especially if you are used to Mountain Mist Quilt Lite. Hobbs 80/20 would be a much better choice.

Have to agree with everyone else, plus if it is a large quilt it is alot heavier, since I started using a cotton/poly mix have found it so much better for hand quilting, still just as warm but not the weight and washes beautifully every time.

Warm and Natural and white and natural are not made for hand quilting and you will not enjoy it. I like Mountain Mist for hand quilting or wool (pricey). I have also used Hobbs 80/20 and that is OK too.

I had always used Warm & Natural until recently. Then I came across Dream Cotton. I use the Request (?) - it's the thinner batting and i like it a lot. I prefer 100% cotton - never thought why, just do.

W&N is thicker, my stitches were a bit larger. The Dream Cotton is thinner and i like that the quilt isn't as heavy. My stitches are also smaller.

I love the Quilter's Dream line. Your needle fairly glides through and it looks lovely when finished. I use the Request loft which is the thinnest, but they are all very easy to quilt through.

I agree with lockesnest....The Dream line of batting is wonderful. I use it all the time with hand and machine quilting.

I like Quilter's Dream battings, too. I like the next-to-the-thinnest for machine quilting. I think it is called Select. You can order even just one batt and they will ship it to you, so you don't have to store tons of batting. Another batt which is thin and is supposed to hand needle wonderfully is Thermore. It is a thin polyester which is very flat and a very even thickness. I have used it on a machine quilted quilt. It was so easy to work with.

I hand quilt all the time. I used Warm & Natural 2 times, the first time and last (all in one). I was so hard to hand quilt, broke a lot of needles, and put holes in 2 silver thimbles. I use Dream Cotton now, and it quilts like butter. lockesnest, schoolteacher and JustAbit Crazy are so right.

I would recommend (which I've used as a hand quilter) either Quilters Dream Select or QD wool. Both hand quilt like a dream!!!!

I'm weird, I guess. I used Quilters Dream on one quilt - it quilted just fine, but it was like a flannel sheet in the quilt. It didn't puff up at all. If you like a flat quilt, it's a good choice. A batting I do like is Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon Cotton.

You're right. QD gives a flat quilt. So it depends on what loft you want (or don't want) that determines what kind of batting you want to use.

Thank you all so much. I had a feeling that I would not be using the Warm and Natural! I have some but it won't be used for this project. Now to find some Hobbs.... or stick with my old favorite.

I guess I'm the odd man out. I use W&N all the time and hand quilt as well. I guess I just don't know any better but I don't have an issue with it. I've done lap to king size quilts with it, hand quilting them all. I think my stitches are fairly small (never counted). Other people (quilters and non) seem to agree. I use Roxanne #11 or #12 needles and I'm not particular about thread - whatever brand is the color I want/need works for me. Don't think I have more than my share of bent/broken needles with the W&N either.

Or, instead of Hobbs 80/20, you might try their Heirloom Natural (cotton - no scrim). I love this one for handquilting.
From the Hobbs website: "Heirloom® Natural is designed for quilters that want a soft drapeable batting with a traditional look. Heirloom Natural is made with 100% Natural cotton and is needle punched for additional strength. Shrinkage of 3-5% and may be quilted up to 4” apart."

Then again, if you've never tried it, their wool, or Quilter's Dream Wool,is like hand quilting thru butter, fabulous!! Wonderful drape and softness, too, completely washable, and NOT too warm (I sleep under mine almost all year round.)

Jan in VA

Me too! I LOVE the drape and loft of Dream Orient - bamboo, silk, cotton and a natural tree fiber. Sews very easily.

I also do not like to hand quilt using Warm & Natural batting. I like to use a poly blend. Warm & natural feels so thick & bulky when I try to hand quilt it. However, everyone is entitled to their preferences.
So try a small sample of sandwich using W&N--see what you think.

I hope to start hand quilting my Dear Jane quilt soon and this is the batting I have chosen.

I've used several different battings for hand quilting, but have not yet tried warm n natural.

For me the only way I've been able to get really tiny stitches has been the stab stitch method, which I tried for the first time a few weeks ago using a polar fleece scrap as the batting in a table runner. It worked great.

A belated thank you to all who responded to my plea for advice. Stuck in a rut girl that I am, I decided to go with the tried and true Mountain Mist Light that I always have on hand. Posted the results - as Black, White, Gray and Gold - finally finished! I'm so glad that I asked as I'm sure I never would have made it through with the Warm and Natural. In my push to complete it, my hands hurt badly enough! So now to figure out what I will use that purchase for. Maybe one day I will try machine quilting but as I use a 1936 Featherweight, I'm fairly sure I won't be doing a queen size quilt that way. Happy New Year!

I totally agree Quilters Dream..one is specially made for hand quilting. I think it is Request, not sure, it states on label...worth the price