Pre-shrinking Batting
 

Does anyone pre-shrink their cotton batting? I just washed a quilt made with Pellon 80/20 batting for the first time and the batting really made the quilt wrinkly. I am fully aware that it is normal to have the classic crinkle look with cotton batting, but this was way more than I expected. I quilted it about 1" apart allover .

I'm wondering if putting the batting in the dryer before using it would pre-shrink it a bit?

Or is this normal?
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I had the quilt so nice and flat. I was expecting some nice crinkle, but not this much. DH first thing was "Wow, it looks old now."

If this is normal, then how do you gift a quilt that looks like it's pre-loved?

I'm interested in others comments. I have a brand new roll of this batting and haven't used any yet purchased on recommendation of LQS LA'er. She loves quilting with it.

I found this information on Pellon's website.

http://www.pellonprojects.com/produc...rab-n-go-roll/

Does anyone toss batting in a dryer on air or low temp with a damp towel?

I have use all Quilter’s Dream brand batting. They clearly state the amount of shrinkage to expect from each type. My favorite for personal use is their Dream Orient, a blend of silk, bamboo, eucalyptus and cotton. I have never needed to pre-treat any of their batting in any way and it has always performed as expected.

But what does 'expected' mean?

I have always pre-shrunk batting except wool. It can be kind of a pain, as the batting can stretch when wet. Some brands specifically say not to pre-shrink, I guess because they don't want people to stretch it and then be displeased with the results.

Warm and Natural had directions on how to do it, which specified not to spin it wet; I laboriously squeezed the water out with towels, until some people on the QB said they spun it with no problem, so then I did, too. The hardest batting I worked with was Hobb's Tuscany silk, which was very stretchy when wet. Their wool-cotton blend is lovely and I took a chance on spinning it and it came out fine, and dried very nicely in the dryer

Having said all that, I don't know if pre-shrinking batting is worth the trouble. I measured a bat once before and after washing/drying, and it didn't shrink much over width but about 7 inches in length. Still, my quilts always crinkle much more than I would like even with the pre-shrinking, and even when I air dry them. I think your quilt looks beautiful, NZQ, and I would not hesitate to gift it.

I do this (low heat with damp towel) when the batting is wrinkled, as it often is at the end of the roll.

NZquilter, your quilt looks lovely in the picture. I don't see any wrinkling that would concern me. However if it bothers you, you could pre-shrink the batting for the next quilt, following the instructions on the Pellon website. I don't know for sure, but I don't think just putting the dry batting in the dryer on high heat would cause it to shrink any.

I wonder if you took the quilt out of the dryer while it was still slightly damp and stretched it out on the floor (or a bed) to dry, would that make the wrinkling less obvious? (Again, I really like the way it looks now.)

NZ--actually think what you are seeing if fairly normal with 80/20 or even an all cotton. About the only bat that doesn't shrink some is the all poly bats. Like others I have put a wrinkly bat in the dryer with a wet towel. It does help.

I like the wrinkly look and feel after washing. I usually use Quilters Dream select, but recently bought some Pellon 80-20. I don't usually wash my quilts before giving them away, but when I do, I like the soft "hand" that results.

Shrink!! I soak the batting in the washer overnight, using hot water. Spin it out in the morning and dry on regular cotton setting. No surprises!