I made my husband one with double high loft batting. Only quilted in the ditch and he loves it. He did not want one that was just flat. on the other hand the one on my bed was also double batting and that one is not as squishy. Good luck Beth

The change in the quilt once washed will make it soft and give that old fashion quilting look. I wash my quilts in cold water, gentle cycle and then hang to partially dry, then pop into the dryer to get it nice and soft and "fluff" it.

I use Hobbs Polydown batting and machine quilt it. My quilts are never really flat and all have a slightly puffy look. The quilts I make using Warm and Natural are much flatter and stiffer. The Polydown batting is not as thick as Hi-loft batting but I think it is puffy enough and is still easy to machine quilt or tie. It can be quilted 8'-10" apart and washes and machine dries very well. It's my batting of choice for any quilt that is going to get a lot of wash and wear.

Use wool batting and don't quilt so tightly. I'd say no closer than about 3-4 inches which is fine with today's batting.

uSE a high loft batting and dont quilt closely.

High loft batting and maybe tie it instead of quilting it. I'd tie about every 6" all over.

most batting will (fluff) a bit when washed after you finish your quilt. cottons and wool batts fluff the best.
the heavier the quilting (density) the stiffer the quilt will be. some people quilt very heavily and use the thinnest batting they can find because they want their quilt to be flat...stiff....
others (like me...and you) want the quilts to be fluffy and warm...warm & natural fluffs up nicely and can be quilted up to 10" apart...the less quilting the more area there is to fluff.
flannel fabrics also wash up soft and fluffy

Ditto, Ditto

I have started using wool batting lately and love it, especially in larger quilts. It maintains it's loft and is soft and drapes beautifully. Poly batting will lose it's loft after a while leaving the quilt looking frumpy. Dream Wool (I think that's the name) can be quilted up to 10" apart. It's a bit more expensive (can't get it at Joann's with a 40% coupon) but when I have made a really nice quilt using good fabric it's worth it.

http://okleequilting.com/store/ I use this batting all the time. Mom and I once threw a 15 inch piece in the washing machine with blue jeans no covering on it just to see how it stood up. Did it several washing and it never lost it's shape. I believe I use the 6oz most of the time but have used the 8 oz for very warm and puffy quilt. Have to tie with the high loft stuff tho but that is what I do!!