Help for beginner- batting & washing
 

Hi everyone. I'm new to the site & new quilting. I'm writing from the UK so hoping all you experts across the pond can help me.

I'm producing a quilt as a gift for my parents who are both unwell so it's important for me to get it right, & also to try to get on & give it to them sooner rather than later. I've pieced the front & back so am just about ready to baste but now I am confused about the batting.

My local haberdashery recommended a 100% cotton batting, so I have purchased this. However, I wasn't planning on creating the wrinkled look so i'm not sure I have purchased the correct product, as reading the leaflet that came with the batting it seems as if this will happen.

On the other hand, I am not adverse to that effect & at this stage I am thinking it may just be a case of what works best.

I have prewashed the majority of fabrics used in the quilt, but not the border or two larger pieces used on the backing. I guess I still wash the front & back pieces as I have them now. I thought it best to mention this as I guess it could influence the overall effect.

I really appreciate your help as I am a real novice!

Best wishes
Helen

Hi Helen and welcome. I would not wash your unquilted front and back pieces. You will end up with a mess of tangles and strings.

As to washing the batting...with 100% cotton batting you will get some shrinkage. If that is not the look you prefer - and many don't - depending on what the package directions say, you can wash/pre-shrink the batting. You have to be very careful thought that you don't end up with a mess of wet cotton in your washer! Read the directions on your packaging carefully before attempting.

There was a thread here on the board about this just yesterday. I'm horrible at being able to find those things but I'm sure someone will come along shortly and provide a link for you.

Good luck with your quilt and hope your parents will be on the mend soon.

for a less wrinkled look, i like an 80/20 blend like this https://www.creativegrids.com/acatalog/info_HL120.html
Welcome from western NY and happy quilting :)

When we quilt we learn some things simply by experience. And, I think it important to use those experiences as opportunity to make different choices the next time. From my own experiences over many years I would make the following observations. Cotton batting does shrink when washed as does cotton fabric. To minimize this appearance I do not wash either beforehand. Both shrink but it is not as obvious because both shrink at almost the same rate. When you prewash some of the fabric, it is already shrunk when you add the unwashed batting. The batting shrinks and makes the fabric look more crinkly. Contrary to what someone else said, I would wash the unwashed fabric. You can put the border pieces in a lingerie bag to control the strings. If the backing pieces have had the selvedges cut off, wash them on the gentle cycle or simply soak them and dry them flat rather than agitate them in the dryer. If you choose 80/20 batting you will have somewhat less shrinkage. If you use polyester you will have no shrinkage in the batting and some shrinkage of the cotton fabrics unless you wash it first. However, the feel of the quilt and the warmth are greatly affected by the batting. I, over the years, have tried all these combinations. My preference is 80/20 batting and unwashed fabric. I always wash a quilt before gifting or using. I dry them flat on a plastic painters drop cloth. I do use other batting, like silk or wool when I want a special effect-but I wash everything after construction. I wish you well in your quilting journey.

Helen, welcome to the QB. I’m sure you will get plenty of suggestions and those who prewash and those who don’t. Just as Nan and Purpledog have mentioned, I also use Hobbs 80/20 and I do not prewash. We would love to see your quilt when it’s finished. Good luck.

Hi and welcome from North Carolina! You will get plenty of help from us experienced quilters here. I use any batting on sale, including poly since it is usually less expensive. I find that it is the most forgiving. Just remember that there are no "quilting police" and that your quilt will cherished by your parent. Wishing you much happy quilting time!

I prewash Warm and Natural batting. I put it in the washer in hot water and leave the lid on the washer open so it doesn't agitate. I let it soak until it is really wet. Then I turn the washer on spin cycle and get the water out. Then I put it in the dryer. I hand quilt and the batting is softer and easier to qullt that way....to me any way. I do not let the washer agitate because i was told it would ruin the batting. Once the quilt is finished, then by all means agitate when washing.

You don't have to wash the batting in water to get it to shrink. Spray it with water until lightly misted. Then put in dryer on high heat. The wet heat will shrink the batting. No need for the wet soggy heavy wad of batting to wrangle.

I pre-wash my fabrics to reduce shrinkage, avoid bleeding, and get rid of chemicals left by manufacturing, but I never pre-wash the cotton batting. Occasionally an unwashed piece of fabric gets into the quilt (usually because it was a pre-cut) and I don't worry about it. I do quilt fairly heavily, and that reduces the puffy look, but that's not the reason for the heavier quilting. There are so many ways to handle washing and not washing quilt fabrics and batting that there is no "right" way. Do what makes sense to you and don't stress out over it.

I never prewashed a batting. I do put it in my dryer to get the folds out. I use Hobbs 80/20 consistently. I would love to use wool but my grandson is allergic and the one quilt I made with wool batting made him itch.

Thanks everyone for your replies, really appreciate it. The instructions for my cotton batting advise not to machine wash it first. It says you can hand wash it but "if pre- washing batting is not desired we recommend that directly after completing your quilt....should be machine washed ....this will give your quilt the perfect antique -wrinkled look". I've got into a habit of prewashing fabric as once I had some fabric that seemed to shrink on ironing, which prevented my pieces lining up.

On another matter, just in case I don't use this cotton wadding on this project - i've heard that cotton wadding is necessary for baby quilts - is this true?

Thanks again everyone & happy quilting 😀
xx

Welcome Helen to the QB. Just my thoughts-I never prewash my batting. I did this once and had an absolute mess but we learn from our mistakes so I never did it again. I always use Hobbs 80/20 and when the quilt is completely done then I wash on a gentle cycle with cold water and I don't get much wrinkling at all. Good Luck and please share a pic of your quilt. Your parents will treasure any quilt you make them I am sure.

Hi Helen and welcome to the board!
I never heard of using only cotton batting in children's quilts. I wonder why? Maybe someone else knows.
On batting- I've never pre-washed it. I would just do what the manufacturer recommends.
I hope you show us when it's finished! :)

I prewash all my cotton batting because I am not fond of the crinkled look. I just unfold it and run it through a gentle cycle with hot water, no detergent. Dry in a hot dryer. Never had a problem. Do not wash your top as the seams will fray and you will have a mess. I do prewash all fabrics before cutting/piecing.

I make baby quilts all the time and don't use cotton batting. No complaints and no problems.

You can use whichever batting you want for a baby quilt. i use cotton or 80/20 cotton/poly. i don't personally like using a full poly batting because so many of them feel like brillo (steel wool) and i don't like to think about what that does to the fabrics in a quilt. Some quilts have no batt, and that is fine.

I like cotton batting and find it easy to quilt with. Sometimes I add some polyester to parts I want to puff more

I almost always use hi-loft polyester batting. Warmth without the weight. I pre wash all my fabrics and wash my quilts after they are totally finished. The wrinkled look is great and hides a multitude of sins.

I never pre wash batting and never use cotton batting. Good luck on your quilt.

Welcome to this board.

So do we have her totally confused as to what works? As for me, I prewash nothing and, unless it needs to be flat, I prefer poly batting. There are some fabrics that I pretest for possible bleeding. I only prewash if it comes from a place that I feel more comfortable that it is "clean" before going into my stash. I like the poofy look of poly batting and it has stood the test of time and use in all the quilts that I've made in the past 10 or more years. As to cotton, I'd want a bit of poly in it as my thought is that cotton will sort of wad and pull apart even within the quilt with future laundering. Just my thoughts and methods. To each his own and your own experience will let you know what you prefer. Since you already have the cotton batt, you might decide to simply wet it and then let it dry and use it. You will find out how you like it for the next quilt you make.

I used to prewash my fabric and use cotton batting.
Now I use the rinse and spin cycle for the fabrics. It seems to be enough. However, strong colors get a different treatment (reds, royal blues, blacks), because of the bleeding factor.
I have never prewashed or tried to preshrink a cotton batting. The wrinkled look doesn't do it for me anymore. I have old quilts from 3 generations...and now I'd like to switch to less wrinkled. I've tried Quilter's Dream Green. It's great, but I don't use it if there's a lot of white in the quilt.
Baby quilts have different suggestions from the manufacturers because of flammability. It's their way to protect from lawsuits. I make baby quilts and let the parents know the composition of the quilt. From there it is up to them whether to use it or not.
Welcome to quilting and to the QB. You'll find a lot of good advice here and will get to pick and choose what route to take on quilting. Enjoy!

Not all cotton batting is the same. Some is needle punched through a scrim and more stable (the Warm and Natural brand is like this), others needle punched with no scrim (like Quilters Dream brand), some have binders (adhesives) to help it stay stable until it is in the quilt, some don't. Not all cotton battings will hold up to a prewash or popping in the dryer damp as they were never intended to do so.


You need to adhere to the minimum quilting requirements stated on the packaging and remember these are the absolute minimum your quilt spacing needs to be in order for the product to maintain integrity. I usually exceed these requirements and quilt much more. More quilting will help stabilize and reduce the amount of shrinkage. Many times the minimum quilting requirement will give you an indication of what manufacturing process was used. If your minimum distance is 8 to 10" that is usually a good indication that scrim and/or some kind of bonding process was used (but not always, as is the case with Quilters Dream brand which doesn't use a scrim or bonding agent). A minimum distance of 4" may indicate the batting will not hold up well to pre-shrinking. A minimum distance of 2" would definitely mean don't try to preshrink the batting and also may mean the batting will shrink up and give you a very crinkled antique type look.

As far as the "crinkled look" sometimes this is a good thing as it can hide imperfections in your quilting.

As many have said, your choice of batting depends on how you want your finished product to handle. I use 1/4" poly for all my lap quilts, as it drapes nicely and keeps a body warm. I use all-cotton for table runners, bowl huggies or placemats, as it has more body and protection. A wall or bed quilt can be quilted heavily and look wonderful, but I do not find this to my liking for personal coverings. For a baby quilt I also use poly, so it is soft.

Don’t wash your top & backing before it is quilted and bound, all your seams will fray and create a huge mess. There are a lot of variables that dictate how much a quilt will shrink when finished. Fairly dense quilting will help stabilize everything. Laundering in cold water will also help diminish the shrinking. It is important to follow the recommendations on the batting package- many cotton batting’s say you should Quilt ever 2-4” so that is fairly dense.

Can you tell us what brand cotton batting you got? Or if it's off a bolt, did the shop include a piece of the instructions insert? If the brand can be researched, we can see if it has a scrim, which might indicate whether pre soaking and drying is a possibility.
Personally, I don't prewash my fabric, unless it is flannel. I have always thought that if I ever want to make an "art" quilt, for show more than for comfort, I would pre-soak and machine dry the Warm and Natural batting I use.
The modern quilting fabric we use today doesn't shrink much. The batting will shrink about 5% or so (Guessing). If a person doesn't have anything better to do, she could do a practice swatch, measuring a piece of batting, and hot water soak and dry it, then measure again.

A quilt judge once told me she could spot a quilt made with high loft poly batting a mile away so apparently is isn't a good idea to use for judged show. LOL

I may not know what high loft poly is, but once, years ago, I got some thick poly and did not like working with it. It works superbly, however, for cat mats (flannel on one side, fleece on the other, mildly quilted). I think there is no shortcut for trying different things and seeing what you like for which project.