Need info on Wool Batting
 

I am going to be making a quilt for my husband who is always cold. He wants one with wool batting. I have always used Warm and Natural Cotton Batting and I am finding that my search for information is getting conflicting results.
Have you used wool batting? What brand did you use? Did you quilt it by machine? Did you wash it in the washing machine and dry it in the dryer. What was your shrinkage?
I want to be able to wash it in the washing machine and dry it in the dryer. If I can't do this, it is useless to me. I will be quilting this with my home machine and I don't see having any problem with that part. I do not prewash any of my fabrics prior to assembly and I do like the crinkle look when it is washed and dried with the batting after quilting. I have no problem with quilting even 3" apart.
Love to hear your experiences.

I haven't used the one I bought yet but I did hear from a lady that brought one to a trunk show just last week. The quilt was several years old. She doesn't do laundry...her husband does so she knows it's never been given any special treatment. She doesn't prewash her fabrics either and she didn't say if she quilted it on her home machine or q longarm. The quilt was wonderfully soft and cuddly. She had used the Quilter's Dream brand. The quilt I'm using the wool batting in will also have a flannel backing. This winter has been so warm that it's still on the UFO list but I do want to have it ready for next winter.

I have only used the Quilters Dream Wool and it was machine quilted on my longarm. I love the way the quilt drapes with this wool batting. I have not washed any quilt with this batting, but I totally trust Quilters Dream.

I think the wool batting I have used is Hobbs. Quilts beautifully on my HQ16, washes great, no special treatment. Not sure of the crinkle effect, I prewash my fabrics. It gives a sort of trupunto (sp?) effect.
Have one waiting to be quilted, flannel backing and wool batting.

I do like Hobbs wool batting, but I have been using a combination of a layer of warm and natural and a layer of poly and get very good results. The poly is much warmer than just a single layer of warm and natural. I can get the crinkle look if I want by not pre- shrinking the cotton batting. I also like the weight of cotton so the combo of the two works for me. The combo also drys much faster because of the poly. Finding the Hobbs wool ... at a reasonable price can be a task, unless I stock up when on sale on line with free or reduced shipping.
When I double bat ... I use a Long Arm pro as wrestling one bat through a machine is tough... two would be a real problem.

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I have checked out Hobbs and that is where I find the most mixed responses in regard to machine wash and dry. I have found that on Quilters Dream website, they say that the wool batting is machine washable and dryable. I have written to both companies to get their response to my question. I know that if I have to be super careful when washing or drying the quilt then I will be sorry that I ever made it. At this point, it looks like I will be purchasing the Quilters Dream Wool.
I just knew that there had to be people on this forum who had used wool batting before.

Someone has just donated a huge box of raw sheep's wool batting to our Mission Sewing. It is all cleaned layered and made into a bale. I am not sure what to do with it next. I suppose I have to flatten out how much I would need for a quilt and then encase it in a large cotton cover. What do you think.
Marilyn

I have used Hobbs wool batting and I wash and dry those quilts just like those made with cottom batting. I do not see any significant difference in shrinkage between Hobbs wool and Hobbs 80/20.

I'll add my penny to the jackpot on this one! I love wool batting: don't have a clue on how it works for machine quilting but I hand quilted a full size quilt and it was the easiest to needle of all the battings I've tried in 30 yrs of quilting. Being a natural fiber I think it "breathes" better: people who find a polyester batting makes the quilt too warm can tolerate wool just fine. Goes through the washer/dryer with no problem that I can see. I've got a queen -size wool batting sitting unopened in the corner of my very messy sewing room just waiting for me to finish this unending scrappy thing (sorry, there's no other way to describe this project!)

I have two quilts that I did with the Hobbs wool. I've machine washed and dried both several times and they still seem beautifully fluffy and soft. I would say the 3-5% shrinkage that they quote is pretty accurate.

Actually if you look at the package inserts in both the Hobbs and the Quilters Dream wool, both suggest hand washing and line drying. I was terrified the first time I machine washed the Queen size one. I wash the wool batted quilts in warm/cold on gentle cycle with a smaller amount of detergent and then tumble dry on the medium setting. So far so good. From my knowledge of wool; hot water, alot of agitation and soap is what makes wool felt. So as long as you stick with cool or warm water and the gentle cycle you should be good.