Interesting historical challenge for me
 

An older couple in our church, knowing that I quilt, gave me two wool battings that were assembled by hand by his grandmother -- tufts of wool layered and basted betweem cheesecloth. They are very well done, and have been stored with cedar in rubbermaid bins, so I think they will be usable. A quick, cursory look tells me that they are thicker/heavier than modern commercially made battings. And because of the way they are contstructed, I think I will make a quilt top to fit the batt rather than risk cutting into the batting.

I'm not invested enough in these to do the quilting by hand, so my approach to quilting will be an experiment too.

Anyone here worked with batting done the old fashioned way? Any tips or experience for me?

Good point, but on the other hand, this is loose fibers sandwiched between the cheesecloth, so shrinkage of the fiber before it's quilted and stabilized by that quilting will be uneven. These aren't in muslin -- a thick cheesecloth, well basted and the edges neatly turned. I have no doubt that laundering will have to be very careful and in cold water only, probably by hand.

I would recommend relatively close quilting (every 2" or so) so that the batting is stabilized for the first wash.

Edit: The encasement in cheesecloth was to prevent bearding. You definitely do not want to try to wash this batting before quilting as it will turn into a mess. Modern processes are able to pre-shrink the wool and bind the fibers together so there is no need for cheesecloth and so the batting shrinks much less in the first wash. However, the old stuff doesn't have any of that. You need close quilting so that, when the batting does shrink for the first time, it is prevented from shrinking too much in any one area. If there is not enough quilting, the batting will not only shrink too much, it will also distort so you can get a lumpy result. That is correctable by adding more quilting, but you really don't want to have to deal with it. Better to do enough quilting first.

If you are nervous about bearding (or allergic to wool fibers), you could add another encasement layer of cheesecloth. The problem with wool is that the fibers have little hooks on the end; it is those hooks that bother people like me who react to wool against the skin. Modern wool batting has been processed so the hooks are already entangled with each other, making bearding (and allergic reaction) much less likely.

I love carded battings. A friend of mine at university grew up on a large farm with dozens of sheep that they had sheered every Spring. I know her parents always had the wool washed prior to making the batts because honestly sheep are pretty filthy. Their wool is all dirty & covered in twigs & leaves and grass and whatnot. They would get it back from the sheerer cleaned & carded and then would sew it inside cheesecloth (I think they maybe used muslin once or twice, but usually it was cheesecloth). You don't want to wash the quilt every week, but theirs held up fine with waiting to wash them after the quilting was completed. They hand tied all their quilts at 2-3" apart.

Anna's parents no longer have their sheep, but I'm saving up to buy some hand carded wool batting from a local supplier in Wisconsin. For a sewing machine, you're probably going to have to lower the pressure on your presser foot to accommodate the thicker batt/cheesecloth. I would do a test run with water soluble thread to see how it quilts up (or water soluble in the bobbin & standard thread on top). I wouldn't quilt farther than 3" apart to help prevent shifting/balling of the wool fibers. I know that's what the supplier I have recommends for her carded wool batt.

If your quilts are anything like the ones in Anna's home, there is nothing like them. They are so warm & comfortable whether on the coldest day of winter or a chilly summer night. The cushioning makes them almost like a sleeping mat if you put it on the floor. I think you're really going to love this special gift!

You might want to invest a little time researching on the internet but using a cheese cloth should work in keeping the batting together. In the old days, batting use to easily bunch up. I would be careful about washing it. I thought that wool batting until recently could NOT be wash but dry cleaned only.

I would not wash it. I would make a pillow case type to cover it, then sew the end shut, and using 1/4" stitches all over.
The "big" stitch is being used more now then in the last 50 years in quilting. I would use it for a throw and not use it a lot so it does not get dirty. Enjoy it, no matter what you decide.

OK--have to first say I'm a retired history teacher who still loves studying history--so what I'd really like to do with your wonderful gift is to go ahead and put one of the bats into a quilt using others suggestions to you. And then keep the second bat (or at least a section of it) un-used so that you could display them together as a living history lesson to so many that have no connection of farm to home. Just me...

Does anyone know if you need better wool to make batts this way, or if the wool from meat breed sheep would work too, since it isn't actually touching your skin. I have access to an almost unlimited amount of wool, but it is all from meat breeds, not fiber breeds. I know it matters for making yarn. When my husband was growing up, there were woolen mills that the sheep farmers took their wool to. Now all the mills are gone and the sheep farmers have nothing to do with their wool.

I was just reading a knitting about knitting socks which said the wool from meat breed sheep is good for sock yarn as it wears better than other wools. Have no idea how you find yarn from that breed of sheep though.

I remember only ever having quilts made with batting like that for winter.We had crazy quilts or simply two pieces of fabric one on top and one on the bottom that were always tied by the Lady's Aid at church on frames. My job was to go under there and poke the needle back up when it got too far to the center to reach. They were thick comfortors and we rolled up in them like mummies because the upstairs of the house was not very warm in northern Wisconsin. These will be very warm if you have heated bedrooms. The tops were some times taken off and washed then put back. You don't wash them you send the batts to be cleaned and re-carded at the woolen mills or do it your self.

I grew up in Wisconsin and my grandma always used the wool batts to make whole cloth tied quilts. She used yarn. I think the wool batts are still available from a mill in Appleton, WI (Courtney Woolen Mill?) They were thick and oh, so warm. Great memories. Good luck.

Depending on the density, you may have to tie whatever top you decide.

Thanks, all, for the input and insights.

Because I have two to work with, I will experiment a bit. I did tell the gentleman who gave them to me that I would use one to make an item to auction for a worthy project at our church. It may end up being a smaller project, depending on my results. I plan to document my experience with photos and blogging, and maybe keep a portion of one of the battings intact to serve as a sample.

Looking at these, it's very evident that the maker was experienced and very competent. They're neatly made and show a confidence that comes from lots of practice. Apparently she made at least one for every member of her large family, including all grandchildren. My understanding is that she was a farmer's wife and they raised their own sheep, processing the wool themselves.

My personal style tends to be more modern/contemporary, so deciding on fabric and a pattern best suited to this project will be a stretch for me, but I like trying out new (to me) things, so it will be fun. I am hopeful that I can machine quilt it, but if not, I'm entertaining the options of big stitch handquilting or tying.

Today's a rare sunny day for Seattle so I'm going to air and sun one of them to freshen it a bit before I begin to conduct experiments.

I will eagerly anticipate your results. I remember once there was a discussion here about those old hand carded wool battings wrapped in cheese cloth. Some members remember their grandmothers only using them in tied quilts and the bats were never washed. The quilt top and backing were assembled like a duvet. When they needed cleaning, all the ties were cut, the batting removed and beaten and aired out and the tops were washed separately. Once everything was cleaned and aired out the batting was put back into the quilt "duvet", slip stitch closed and re-tied.
The ones who described the process said it was only done once per year. Not surprising when you consider the amount of work involved.

RST, you should be able to machine quilt it -- just loosen the tension on your presser foot a bit to accommodate the thicker batting. My guess is that, like most farmers I know, they have a sheep shearer come around each Spring to shear the sheep & clean the wool. It's an enormous endeavor in itself and to be trying to do that at the same time as Spring planting would be a huge challenge.

There's not reason you can't do a modern/contemporary design with the wool batt. Honestly, I think it would be much easier to do it on the machine. One you layer your quilt together, trying to push a tiny quilting needle through cheesecloth & hand carded wool will be a challenge & there's no way to tell where the spaces in the cheesecloth's weave are after you've sandwiched everything together. My guess is that's why hand tying was so popular with it since people could use a heavier needle with yarn or pearl cotton.

Since you have 2 batts, you might even try one of each. Make one in the contemporary style you are so skilled at; then make a second one using more traditional fibers -- perhaps even with all woolen fabrics like the Australian Waggas, or some of the "primitive" applique quilts (https://www.primitivegatherings.us/s...-projects.html). I love Primitive Gatherings. Their wool & felt fabrics are top-notch & they even have some wool fabrics that they hand dye. It might be fun to do an all wool primitive quilt using the wool batt, woolen fabric & Valdani 100% wool thread in size 15. Wool applique is fairly quick & easy. You just need some Heat & Bond to help it adhere a bit and then it's mostly just a quick buttonhole stitch. You could blog about the process & time that goes into each one, as well as comment on the properties of each and why they were popular in different time periods... but that's just my thoughts. I'm sure with such high quality batting, no matter what you do it will be really beautiful.