i was wondering if you could use a thin blanket for batting instead of regular batting i would appreciate any thing you could tell me thanks dorothy from tenn

Of course you can!! Plenty of modifications have been made over the centuries by quilter's. I have no idea what they used before they made batting, but almost all of my personal blankets that we use have those thin fuzzy blankets, similar to the heating ones as the batting. Makes the quilts much warmer than regular batting will.

Couple pieces of advice. 1. DO NOT MACHINE QUILT THIS unless you have a darning foot or a walking foot as it will be VERY thick. 2. Tack if you can to make it easier. Hand quilting with the blanket in the center can be done, it's just more difficult.

I use recycled cotton baby crib blankets (the thicker ones, not recieving size) for batting for lots of stuff. They're perfect for making new baby blankets out of old ones :). You can get them rather inexpensively at Goodwill and other thrift shops too. Usually they've been well loved enough that they make a very soft quilt. I also use them for batting for pot holders and hot pads...since they are already flame retardent they're perfect, and they are just the right thickness; not too thick not too thin.

If the blanket is new, prewash it. It is likely to shrink. (Been there, done that - it was BAD)

I wouldn't try to hand quilt it. It should machine quilt just fine.

The main questions with batting are how will the quilt be used, do the batting and the top/back match for washability, the thickness desired and how it will be quilted or joined together. I have used thin blankets with success. I have cut some apart for placemats as they are thin, will not wrinkle after being washed and I machine quilt them. It might be hard to hand quilt through a blanket. You can test this, if this is your preference, by laying fabric on top and bottom for a pretend sandwich and trying to sew through the layers. I hope this answers your question.

that is how I make mine. My daughter loves the ones I made for her with sheet blankets in them. She says they are "Just the right thickness" . I use reg new blankets, washed to pre-shrink, for ones that I do not plan to hand quilt too much on. I do a little hand quilting on them, it is harder tho. I used thin white blankets from the dollar general store on the ones I hand quilted a lot on. They are easier to get thru. I do not have to worry about the bunching up from batting when washed 100's of times, because I tell the receivers that the quilts are meant to be used!!! and loved!!!!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

I read once that they used NEWSPAPER for quilts way back when!!!! Course that was before washing machines! :lol: :lol: :lol: I just have a hard time with that conception. (wonder where they got that many papers and how would you QUILT through that??) :?:

I have used think blankets when I couldn't get batting. Being "away from civilization", it's hard to find things. I know have the "smarts" to buy in bulk when things go on sale. Thank God for Joann.com. The bulk batting goes on sale alot and I order 2 boxes at a time. A girl can NEVER have too much batting, right?
Plus, with my left over,,,,I stitch it all together and use that for quick quilts I make that go to homeless shelters or whoever needs a quick quilt for charity.