Help please!
 

What's it mean when I can see tiny white dots of batting poking through on the backing as I am quilting? Never had this happen before. I have just started quilting this top and the backing is red(it's a Christmas quilt) and white speckles are showing!

sounds like "bearding". some poly batts are known to do this. i used a batt recently for simple project that was supposedly punched or something so that it wouldn't do this. it did. i don't have too much trouble w natural fiber but the poly always beards like this. i use a lot of black fabric. hobbs has a nice black batt. it is dark, shouldn't see the bearding but you do. fine shiney "hairs". will follow this discussion and see if someone has found something that doesn' beard, at least so noticeably.

The batting is warm and white. Will this go away after washing? (I hope!)!!!

You might also try putting in a fresh needle. If your needle has even a small burr on it then this increases the problem.

I agree with mom-6, I had this problem and after I changed the needle, the problem went away.

Lee

Unfortunately, it means you put the batting upside down. Warm and white and warm and natural DO have a right side up. Oh there will be plenty here who post "I never paid any attention and never had that happen" but it does happen.

Chances are it won't wash out. You can try switching to a new, sharper needle like a top stitch or quilting needle but it may not solve your problem. You don't say if you are quilting on home machine or LA. If LA, I would recommend cutting the batting and flipping it over. But if you are quilting on a basted quilt it hardly seems worth the effort.

Google right side up on warm and natural batting and you find blogs that tell you which side is up with photos.

Bearding usually does not go away. Did you prewash the backing fabric? I don't normally prewash but, in this case, I would -- especially since the backing is red. It would take care of not only the possibility of dye bleeds, but probably would "tighten up" the weave of the backing fabric so bearding would be less likely. I also agree that the batting may have been sandwiched wrong-side up (although bearding can happen even when batting is sandwiched correctly) and that it is a good idea to use a new needle.

Using the warm and natural batting, the SMOOTH side of the batting goes on top of the wrong side of the backing: then the "BUMPY" side goes to the wrong side of the top: ie, for your quilt sandwich, lay out the backing, wrong side up; place the smooth side of the batting on top of the wrong side of the backing and add your quilt top, right side up. I have done mine this way for years and don't have those problems...Good luck!

I learned the hard way that there is a correct way to place warm and natural. I put the batting on wrong on an oversized king which I quilted on my DSM. Believe me, after that frustrating experience with those little dots of batting poking through, I am now very, very careful when making my quilt sandwich. Maybe I don't read the packaging well; but I have never seen on the warm and natural batting that there is a "right" and a "wrong" side. I learned the correct way of laying out warm and natural here. Thanks to people like momto5 who told me how to do it.

Wow I am always learning here. Gotta love this place and the people here. 0;-)