Polyester vs. Cotton Batting
 

Since I am a new quilter I have a question. What is the difference between polyester and cotton batting? Why do some quilters prefer one to the other? Thanks for responding.

Karen

Polyester batting does not shrink at all. It tends to give a more "modern" look to quilting lines. Unless it is a really thin batting, it also tends to give more "loft" to the finished quilting.

Cotton batting shrinks (unless you pre-shrink it; not possible with all cotton battings) and gives a more "traditional" look to the quilt -- i.e., a more crinkled look, and a somewhat flatter look.

However, a lot depends on which specific batting you use. There are very thin polyester battings that give a very flat look to the finished piece (often desirable for wall hangings). There are also combo battings.

If you are looking for an all-around high quality batting to start out with, I recommend Hobbs 80/20. It is a good starting point.

it is really just a personal choice- try both & see what you like. I will say often I use Polyester batting in kids quilts- it holds up well through frequent laundering and is loftier than cotton batting. my absolute favorite though will always be wool batting- it is lightweight, lofty, does not shrink, is soft and wonderful to work with. I use a lot of polyester battings but once in a while a cotton batting is a good choice for my project- when that is the case I tend to turn to Hobbs 80/20. if I want something flat & stiff I *might* use warm & natural. but as a new quilter- try every different batting you find- catch them on sale, follow the recommended quilting requirements and decide what YOU like best- and why. :)

Some of us just prefer to use natural products in our quilts...cotton and wool. :)

The 80/20 is what most long arm quilters use. The poly gives more fluff or loft and looks really great. I use it in my hand quilting. But, sometimes it can cause problems on the long arm.

I'm in the natural camp. I use cotton batting (warm & natural specifically). Poly fibers melt...they don't burn. If, heaven forbid, there is a fire, a quilt with poly batting can melt to the skin causing horrible problems. Plus I like the crinkled look!

I agree that it becomes a personal choice...I would suggest trying several different kinds and see what you like best. It could be one is better for each quilt choice you like. I love the old wrinkly look that cotton gives and I don't like big and bulky quilts...so my choice is easy...low loft cotton. But I would consider using poly if I wanted to quilt it to have a puffy look in certain areas of the quilt. As you look at finished quilts on this board you will see how they vary.

I prefer the loft of the polyester batting. And the cotton batting isn't as warm as polyester.

Your choice also will depend on how you quilt it. If you send it out to be professionally quilted, your quilter may request a specific type or brand. Feel free to have a discussion with him/her about the reasons why.

If you quilt it yourself (by hand OR machine), you might want to experiment first with crib sized batting or maybe some scraps of batting (ask around for scraps from fellow quilters and pro longarmers) and see how each batt "needles" and how it looks after quilting and washing. You will most likely develop your own preferences, depending on how densely you quilt and how you like your finished quilts to look and feel.

Where did you hear this?

I know that polyester clothing can melt to the skin, and poly batting will melt, but I would think that the cotton top and backing would act as a barrier and stop the melted poly from fusing to skin.

I have a fireman friend, I'll have to ask him if he's had any experience with this.

I like both - I agree polyester is more "lofty", but sometimes that's not what you want!

I also often find a need to use black batting, and so far I haven't seen cotton batting in black so I use black poly. I've never tried Hobbs (which I know has a blend in black) because I tend to need to quilt farther apart than it allows.

If I want shrinkage and crinkles - cotton. If I want puffy and smooth - poly!

I use poly most of the time because it's cheap and the quilts are for everyday use and will be washed a lot. For special quilts I like cotton best but it's expensive.:thumbup:

I believe the response you'll get will be that polyester nightwear is in close contact with the skin and surrounds the body so is more of a potential hazard that a poly batt quilt which is (usually) loosely covering the body. That's what I've been told anyway.

The top and backing, being cotton, will burn to ash and disappear quickly, so I don't think that's any real protection against burns from poly batting if a child were wrapped in it. It's just not something I'm willing to risk at all, no matter what the age of the person I'm making the quilt for.

When I started quilting, I used poly bat because it was easy to get, inexpensive, easy to hand quilt, and I could get it in different weights. If I wanted a really big fluffly quilt to tie, it was no problem! It can tend to beard, but some of them have a scrim on the top now to reduce it and I think you can get it in black now too. Then nice cotton bats came along and I decided to make a quilt with one. It was very very difficult to hand quilt. I could only take one or two stitches at a time and it made my hand sore. As a result, I started machine quilting my quilts that I used cotton with. It was nice to machine quilt because it layed flat and it sort of grabbed the cotton which helped in quilting. But I love hand quilting. Someone on this Board suggested to me to get samples of bats from the companies that make them. Then make a little mini quilt out of the squares; hand quilt one half of the square and machine quilt the other half. That way you can try out all the different bats and see which one you like best. If I had to buy a whole roll of each bat, it'd be forever before I tried them all out!