Has Anyone Done Two Batting Layers, NOT on a Longarm?
 

I've searched the forum, but the results haven't really addressed my curiosity. I quilt on a Sweet Sixteen sit down midarm machine. (Pretty new to it too) I like the way the quilting pops when the quilt has been quilted with A second layer of batting, I.e. A layer of 80/20 plus a layer of wool. Has anyone had experience with this on a machine other than a longarm? My concerns are: 1) how do you baste your sandwich together to stop the layers from shifting? 2) how manageable was the weight of the quilting while quilting? 3) Is it worth the effort, or is there an easier way to get a similar result with one layer of another type of batting? If so, which batting?

Thanks for any insight any of you can offer on this. My own experience so far is with only one layer of 80/20 in my quilts.

I used two layers of warm and natural. I spray basted. I used a domestic machine I did not have shifting issues and loved the final result!

Great to know! I am a spray basting fan as well. So assume you spray between all layers? What size was your quilt? I'm interested in doing this on a King?

Cindy Needham, on a Craftsy class, uses what she calls a designer batting. She uses Dream cotton batting(probably Request) and Hobbs wool, which has been split in half. She says the wool has a memory so it springs back and has no creases and the cotton gives it the weight. She was required by Superior Threads to use this for quilts for shows as they look better. I have not used this but plan to in the future.

Gee Wiz, for a King size quilt, that is a lot of weight!!

I have done a double layer of batting in several smaller quilts, but nothing as large as a king. I put the batting down and glue basted the backing like normal....then flipped and glue basted the second layer of batting to the first...and finally added the quilt top. After the entire sandwich was dry I put down a few rows of diagonal stitching (temporary basting stitch to be later removed) to secure and prevent any slipping. The only problem I had was bulk....the second layer of batting (cotton, poly or wool) will add a lot of thickness to the quilt and make it more difficult to maneuver. You might want to try a single layer of super thick batting...less issues in the basting stage.

Someone I used to work with wanted me to quilt a baby panel using 2 polyester layers. I didn't have any problem pin basting it or with shifting, but my machine didn't like to FMQ on the thickness. I had some problems with skipped stitches, and I had to go real slow. But it got done and, frankly, I thought it looked a little stiff. But she loved it.

I haven't yet, but I'm about to do a double-batt king size as soon as I get done with a baby quilt and a wedding quilt I'm on a deadline for. So I'm watching this thread with interest!

I'm going to use a layer of cotton and a layer of wool. I know it'll be heavy - that's what we want; this is to be our winter bed quilt and DH in particular loves a heavy quilt. My idea is to spray baste between the layers of batting first so I end up with one very thick batting to work with. Then sandwich & quilt as usual. I hope it works! The top is done - I made it with large 12" blocks of fabric so I don't have a lot of seams to fight with, hopefully that will help! And I intend to keep the quilting pretty spare so it will have maximum fluff; both bats have 8" max; I will probably quilt at about 6" or so, probably in a simple on-point grid.

I have no personal experience with quilting my own quilts, but the LA'er I use does not seem to have a problem with two layers. When I want the quilting to really stand out, I give her a layer of W&N, then a layer of polyester or wool for the top layer. It turns out beautifully, and I am pleased with the end results.

Thanks everyone! I have that Cindy Needham Craftsy class and forgot about how she handled that! Thanks for the reminder! It's encouraging to hear that some of you have had success with two bats. As for the weight, I'm going to add a quilt suspension rack to my set up to help with handling the quilt bulk anyway as I find the drag a challenge at the best of times, so hopefully that will help. I always ditch my quilts on my DSM before taking them to the S16 for FMQ, so keeps the layers under control by that point. The quilt is for my son who lives in Alberta where the winters are pretty cold, so figured it would be a good one to double up on. (Not that he doesn't have Central heating ;-).)