Ordering a bolt of Hobbs 80/20,... need to know
 

I'm going to be ordering a roll of this in the next week or so, and I am trying to figure out where to put it. I'm reasonably sure it's going to be suspended from the ceiling, so my 3 questions are...

1. What is the diameter of the roll once it's out of its packaging? I know some battings puff out a lot once they're sprung. I would be receiving a 120" roll, so I'm "assuming" that it's 60" wide and the photos online look like there's a cardboard tube in the middle.
2. Any ideas on what the weight of the roll is? Most places don't seem to tell that, only shipping weight, or that it's "oversized". Depending on weight, I may rig a pulley system to help with raising and lowering so DH doesn't have to be involved every time.
3. Lastly, my ceilings are probably 8ft after the drop ceiling is factored in, I'm 5'4", would it seem like a roll of batting was looming over me if it was suspended in the room I quilt in?

My roll of 80/20 is nearly empty, so the only firm information I can give you is that the cardboard tube is 2" in diameter. I don't remember how big the roll was when it was full, but it was very cumbersome. I stored the roll in the guest bathroom's walk-in shower. I would not like to have it hanging from the ceiling, but I am 5' 11", so my situation is different from yours.

My recommendation would be to call customer service at Hobbs in Waco and ask about the dimensions and weight. I have not had a lot of need to visit with them, but when I have talked to them, they have been very helpful.

Dayle

Why not contact the Hobbs people and ask them?

some hubbies build a nice roller and hanger for their wives....... I bought a roll once but never again. I never got a hanging roller, sniff, sniff.

Dayle, that helps too! I know now the size of dowel to use.

I may call Hobbs tomorrow to get more info. I mostly thought people might have an idea, since I've see so many people here hang them and otherwise manhandle them around.

The reasoning behind hanging it for me is that I have so many back problems I don't want to be lugging it around. It's easier in theory to have it hung once then be able to pull from it than pick it up and carry it.

Mostly because it's Sunday and the curiosity after hours of looking at possible solutions was killing me. :)

That's why I don't wait for DH. :thumbup: I build lots myself or enlist him to help. I have managed tons of hair brained ideas on my own over the years. :) There was a great one on Pinterest made entirely of PVC pipe and on wheels that DH thinks is perfect and won't become a casualty if I decide to rearrange the room again (though I don't know what he's talking about. Rearrange? I've only done that like a half dozen times in the last year.... )

I like having the roll because I just cut off what I need. Mine was is just kept in a corner of the room and moved from place to place, as needed. I would not like to hang it from the ceiling only because it would always be in one place and I like to move things around from time to time. Sorry I can't tell you the circumfrence, I use a different batting and my roll is not new.

I store my roll in the attic or walk in closet.

I don't know if every Hancock's Fabric has this, but the one near me has the niftiest batting holder. It's a piece of flat wood, I would say about 16" square, with wheels mounted on the bottom. It has a dowel mounted in the middle, which is where the batting goes. It moves around really easily and you can also tuck it away in a corner or closet. It's kind of like a vertical paper towel holder, except on wheels. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? I think it may work well for you.

I just stand my roll in a corner. I hoist it up un the cutting table and chop off what i need. Not really that heavy but certainly can be a bit unwieldy, especially when new and full. Have a different brand so can't offer any info on size or weight.

I just bought a roll of 80/20, 120": it's about 18 inches in diameter and weighs about 25 lbs. or so. I had to call my grandson to take it in the house as it was too heavy for me to lift. If your ceilings are 8 ft., and the batting is 18 inches, it will leave you with "head room " of 6 1/2 feet if you hang it from the ceiling. Weight wise, I'm not sure whether a pulley system would work or not...Hope this helps a bit!

[QUOTE=LyndaOH;6954027]....Hancock's Fabric has the niftiest batting holder. It's a piece of flat wood, about 16" square, with wheels mounted on the bottom. It has a dowel mounted in the middle, ......kind of like a vertical paper towel holder, except on wheels.... QUOTE]

What a fabulous idea!! I really like this and now plan to make one -- when I'm mobile again -- for a roll of batting left over from the Military Barracks Quilt Project, which I don't use very often. It's currently stored on end in a little cubby behind the front door at the bottom of the steps to the attic....a pain to lug to the cutting table each time.

Jan in VA

Harbor Freight has some dollies that would be great to make on of these. I will have to check them out next time I am in town.

I wrap my Hobb's 80/20 in a twin size sheet and put it under one side of my quilting frame. When I need it I get hold of one end of the sheet and pull it out and the keeping hold of the sheet roll the batting back under the frame until I have the length I need. cut it off, the roll it back up and under the frame it goes

About the dolly, you can get one a Wal-mart they sell the to go under their metal file cabinets. You can cut a piece of plywood to put on the dolly and maybe screw it to the frame and attach a length of closet dowel the set the roll of batting on.

I don't know if every Hancock's Fabric has this, but the one near me has the niftiest batting holder

DH made big thread stands for the batting rolls for my guild with luggage wheels that turn in every direction. They are so nice.

I've seen these online. I also saw where someone added a T Square to it for perfectly straight cuts. I would do this but for one problem I didn't mention in my original post. I have cats. I suspect that having it like this would encourage them to use it as a scratching post, since their favorite post looks the same. I try to keep them out of the room, but periodically one sneaks in, and I thought that hanging the batting might minimize carnage. :)

This is what I was thinking - it's the unwieldy part that I'm trying to manage. 25lbs (what momto5 said) spread over 5ft would probably cause my back to go on strike. The other option I suppose is to roll it out onto 2 rolls and then it's lighter. I have a spare, and a client who empties those cardboard rolls like crazy who would love for me to take them off his hands.

Thanks momto5! This is exactly what I was looking for. The 18" is before or after coming out of the wrap, or does it not expand? I would probably put the dowel height at 11" then so that it's not rubbing against the ceiling tiles. I will measure my ceiling for sure, I don't want to find out it's 7.5'! We used a pulley system for our Kayaks, and I can manage those by myself, so I think the batting should be OK, and at 25lbs, I think it might be an idea, depending on where it ends up.

It lays on the floor, wrapped? I hadn't even considered that. With my girls, I don't think I could do that, but what a simple solution! :)

That sounds TERRIFIC! It also sounds makeable if the price is prohibitive or nonsensical.

I fixed up a place on the wall, for my roll of W&W batting. DH brought me home a large dowel and three supports, from the hardware store.The dowel is long enough to also hold a roll of paper towels, at the other end. It's high/low enough that I can just roll my cutting table up to it.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=497662&stc=1

http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=497663&stc=1

http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=497664&stc=1

Wow, Neesie, I envy your set up! I just keep mine in the closet. I have to shove my clothes all to one side, but which is more important....clothes or quilting?? :)

Dina

Dina, my quilting stuff is in a re-purposed shed. Even though it's insulated, it still gets hot during summer and cold in winter . . . so I dragged my machine into the house. Most of my 'stuff' is in the shed, so I have to run back and forth, when I sew. Good exercise, at least! :D

I recently purchased a 96" wide roll. It did not have a cardboard tube. Shipping weight should be very close to the actual weight, so use that as your guide.

I thought I wouldn't be able to pick the batting roll up, but I could. My guess is that it was around 20 pounds, but I might be guessing low, and yours will no doubt be heavier. The batting is folded in half before it is rolled, so that means my roll stands about 48" high.

I measured the diameter of the batting roll and went to Lowe's and bought a circular aluminum tray - that is usually used under water heaters - to stand it in. It cost about $ 15, and is only about 3" high; I bought it so that it wouldn't sit directly on the garage floor. Plunked the batting in the aluminum tray, right next to a ceiling support in our garage, leaned the batting on the support. Then I took two long, narrow scraps, tied them together, wrapped it around the post and the batting and tied it snugly. It is right next to the table where I cut fabric, so it's easy to unroll, measure and cut, then secure next to the ceiling support.

I was going to put it in a shower that we don't use. It would have been out of sight, but a bit of a hassle when i needed to measure and cut. I also thought about buying a large plastic trash can, cutting a 2" wide slit down one side and using that as a way to store it. That might work for you, and you could cover it when you're not getting batting off of it. You could secure the cover in place with a large bungee cord, which would also make it easy to remove the cover.

What I did was much easier, though, and the space the batting is in wasn't in use, so it works for both me and my DH.

Great ideas here. I really like the trash can idea...an easy fix.

Neesie, what you have there is exactly what I'd do if I still had wall space. :) It's a nice clean setup and easy to put up. I've got so much stuff crammed in my studio that the ceiling is all that's left. I've got a "full" kitchen in there, a quilting machine and other quilting stuff and all of the stuff I use to service machines and the room does quarduple duty displaying some vintage machines too.

Thanks cathyvv! I guess I always assume that the shipping weight is way off for something that big because DH used to tell me stories about "cubing" things that were big to calculate how much of the "truck" it costs to ship. The "cubing" in the roll of batting is 169lbs based on one Canadian shipper, which is why it costs so much to ship from most carriers.

Thanks for the idea of the trash can! If I can find a spot to hide it, I just may do that! :)

At a recent meeting, our speaker said she takes the bottom of a old office chair with rollers on it, takes the seat off and places pvc or a pipe into the base of the chair rollers and then places her rolls of batting on it then she can roll it around to where she needs it.

My husband built a similar set up in the guest room closet (where I store more fabric). After all who wants company to stay THAT long?! (I have a hanging hook on the outside of the closet and a fold up suitcase stand for company.)http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=497739&stc=1 He used a closet rod and brackets and hung it horizontal so I can just roll off a piece and cut.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=497740&stc=1
Sorry, the last photo is sideways, but you get the gist.

I agree. I have done business with them directly for a few decades and they are always very helpful. I hung my 30 yard bolt with a thick dowel with eye holds on the end with light chain to the ceiling. You need a close pin so that the roll won't unroll.

I have a guest room that is not used often so I use the QS bed for my design wall. I store my roll of batting on the pillows & simply move it to the foot of the bed, unroll what I need, cut & return the roll to the pillows. It keeps the batting flat & since the bed is on risers, it is not too hard on my back. Hope this info is helpful.

As a take-off on Lynda's idea above, get a plant caddy from Lowe's or Home Depot with 4 wheels (rollers) designed to transport heavy planters. Mound a dowel in the center and stand up your roll of batting on it so you can roll it around. That might work very well for you. Good luck.

I think my batting is Hobbs 80/20 or its Quilter's Dream 80/20, similar to W&N batting if that helps. Its 43" in diameter at this writing and I don't think I've cut any if much off it yet. I have mine suspended on the ceiling over my cutting table so I can just roll it out over the table and cut it from there. As my sewing room is in the basement my ceilings are not tall, only 7'4" to the top. I bought some long hooks with an eye installing it into a 2 x 4 and then into the ceiling as I didn't want the long screw to go up thru my floor joists. I purchased a 1.5" thick dowel 64" long, added eye hooks to each end with a removeable clip gadget so I can release it when I needed to remove it. Even with 1.5" dowel the weigh still bowed the dowel a bit.

Here are some photos to show you what I did................

Good idea....this seems like something a diyourselfer could make pretty easily...

Snooze2978...your set up looks great! You are so organized!

:)hey snooze2978, are you sure it's 43" in diameter? It doesn't look like it's half the height of your basement.... I'm guessing that's a typo. :)

what you did is exactly what I was thinking, but I have a drop ceiling, and the same height measurement that you do. Your post prompted me to measure and find out that it wouldn't work here.

Since most people seemed to be gently guiding me to a different solution, I did some rearranging today and managed to find some wall space. I went and grabbed the brackets that Neesie has (only I couldn't find her stainless ones in small town Alberta), used the curtain rod i'd originally thought to attach to my frame for a batting bar and am officially ready for my batting to arrive. :)

http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=497802&stc=1

Thought I'd follow up on this. My batting arrived today, and works perfectly where I put it. I think it would have "loomed" over me at the cutting table. Thanks to everyone who gently steered me away from putting it over my table.
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The 1/3rd of a roll of the cotton/wool 80/20 fit in the cupboard beside it too.

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love all the ideas ladies, thank you

My sister and I went in on a roll of Warm and Natural. She got the box last time, so I got it this time. I just keep it directly under the sewing table. It even helps keep the pedal for the machine from sliding forward.

I can't help either. I keep mine on the bar under the long arm table.

LOL! That's great! I hadn't thought of it as a bumper stop. The way my table is set up, it wouldn't work, but I love that you managed to make it do double duty. :)

That was what I'd initially wanted to do but our furry animals get into the room from time to time and I didn't want cat and dog fur on it. In fact, the grey curtain rod I used to hang it was meant to be under the frame. Now I just have lots of drawer sets under there. :thumbup:

My studio has a full bath so I store all my batting in the shower (which is never used) :)