I remember my grandma used old, worn out blankets for batting. Back then, it was necessity. Now we call it recycling.

I did know some used newspaper as foundation (such as in paper-piecing) but they didn't bother to remove it. I wouldn't be surprised to hear it was used as batting since even further back they used leaves as filler to make their beds softer. As was said before... necessity is the mother of invention and many folks used whatever they had at hand.

If anyone is reading the Elm Creek Quilt books, one of the books goes into great detail about a quilt found in a church closet and no one knew where it came from. They opened it up and found newspaper inside and determined the possible date by the papers found inside. That was the first time I had ever heard of newspaper being used as batting.

you might check this on the Quilt history List

Haven't you ever fallen asleep with a newspaper over you? It's surprising how much warmth it can provide really. When I was a kid, the quilt on my bed was not the top layer. It was covered with a bedspread so it didn't get very soiled with use. The quilt was more of a blanket. Quilts were more utility than for beauty, I guess.

I remember my mother hauling the quilt box outside at least once a year to air the contents on the line and leave the lid up to air it in the sun. As a child I was playing with the box and climbed inside. The lid came down and the hasp closure came shut. Here was one scared kid until luckily a neighbor came to visit and rescued me!

Too, I remember my grandmother telling of using straw for padding under the rag carpets. Can you imagine the dust? And we wonder how we have accumulated so many allergies over the years.

Have you heard newspapers being called rags? The paper used was made from rags that the poor collected from the trash of the rich and sold to paper factories. No lie. I'm sure some people continued using newspapers after they were mostly wood fiber without realizing a change had happened.

it was probably actually just made with newspaper templates/foundations. i have an old quilt my great grandma made back in the 20's...it still has the newpaper in it...when i asked my grandma about it she said they stuffed newspaper into the cracks in the walls too, for insulation, it was believed if you leave the paper it adds an extra layer of insulation. her's did have batting too, not just fabric, paper, fabric. but fabric, newpaper, batting (an old wool blanket) and backing

an elderly neighbor once told me that during the war times they did not have enough bedding to stay warm so they put sheets of newspaper between the bedding that they had to make it warmer

OMG that is me. Yep, feather pillows and feather ticks. I am violently allergic to down, feathers, any type. A real problem staying in the nicer hotels as many have total feather bedding and they have to come and take them out of the room.

We had rented and apartment once where half the front bedroom floor hung over the downstairs porch. My Mom told me to lay newspapers down on the floor. When I looked at her funny, she said that that is why the hobos in the park use newspapers for a blanket, because they are so warm. Well, I laid the newspapers on that portion of the bedroom floor, and I was amazed at how much it helped during a Wisconsin winter!