I do think you're right. This can happen with any cotton fabric, and some here have given examples. It's hard to predict which kind or which one.

I am watching this as well. I have been using quite a few batiks in quilts lately, and it would truly hurt my feelings if I spent that kind of time on a quilt, only to have to repair it. Good luck with that and keep us posted.

I believe most batiks are rayon. I don't quilt often, but garment sew frequently. I love batiks, however, I use them infrequently for the reasons you all have on here. They do not hold up well in garment sewing either, because of frequent washings. I think it also depends on country of manufacture.

So I went and looked close ats my deteriorating quilt, and the batiks, in general all look thinner and aged. The colors giving way are the light pink and light green and they are giving way along the hand quilting lines of cotton (YLI) quilting thread. Just like the thread was stronger than the fabric. so sad.

Here is a thought that hasn't been talked about. Cotton fabrics shrink at different percentages so you should wash all of them before you start your quilt. If one cotton fabric shrinks a little and the batik doesn't shrink, or shrinks at a different percentage, the fabric will pull, and threads will break. Actually, it is the pounding in the hot dryer that shrinks fabric, so don't line dry them.

Is it possible that the needle might have had a burr on it and that damaged the fabric?

Sometimes we won't know what the fabrics will do until years later.

I made one quilt many years ago (over 20) of blues and tans - one of the blue prints is soooo faded - it looks like it has been washed about 300 times more than the other blues. The fabric is still intact - even though I used (gasp!) the "old" Coats & Clark Dual Duty thread on it.

would putting a light weight interfacing on the wrong side of the batik before using in a quilt help? kind of like the t-shirts used in t-shirt quilts.

Yes, this is really frightening! Batiks are my favorite and I am anxious to know what caused this. I do know that some batiks are higher quality than others and I wonder about that. I can't wait to hear if someone can tell us more about what i happening!

I lost interest in batiks after hurricane katrina flooded my home. I was able to rescue my fabrics but the batiks were all washed out and the fabric frayed. It is likely something with the dying process. The newer batiks may not lose their dye as much anymore but I don't want to risk spending all that money for a fabric that has proven itself useless in extreme conditions. I want my quilts to survive at least until I have died, lol. They are pretty and make great blenders but if you're going to use the quilt, I wouldn't use a batik.