Prewashing batting
 

Does anyone prewash cotton batting. I just finished a 38.5" table topper and after I washed it, it now measures 36.25 inches. It doesn't appear that the fabric has shrunk, mainly the batting. If you do wash it, how do you do it. In machine or by hand. Thanks Lylamarie

I have never pre-washed my batting and have not had any problems. I use mainly warm n natural cotton. Could it be the brand you bought? I will be watching to see if others have had issues with that much shrinkage.

you can purchase batting that does not shrink- many people use fusable fleece or the thinnest batting they can find for table toppers-
most batts do have instructions on the packaging for pre-shrinking if you really feel it's necessary
also the more quilting done the less shrinkage occurs....so densly quilting will keep shrinkage to a minimum.
what ever batting you have you should follow the instructions on the package though- they are all different- and i could tell you one way-and your batting could come out shredded- a horrible mess-
i never ever deal with pre-shrinking- i read the packages before i buy them and buy the one that works best for my project
i usually make runners for my mom & aunt- they like them to stay really flat- i use inexpensive single sided flannel i pick up for $1 a yard- that i do pre-wash- and dry in a hot dryer- then i use it for batting- works out great.
different batts shrink different amounts- or not at all- and have different (lofts) , quilting recommendations- choose the batt that works best for your project-
the packaging contains a wealth of information (including pre-shrinking instructions)

I did prewash one time and had some "thin spots" in the batting. I think the package said it could shrink by 2%. Not sure I'll prewash again. Totally agree with ckcowl's posto above.

I never pre-wash. But I do toss in a cool dryer to remove the folding wrinkles so it will lay flat when I pin baste. Most packages say that the batting will shrink 2 to 3 %.

You can wash batting to avoid the more crinkly look but do not agitate. Tried that one time with Hobbs 80/20 and came up with swiss cheese batting. I dry in the dryer after spin cycle.

mltquilt

An easy way to pre-shrink batting is spritz it with water until it's fairly damp and then put it in the dryer. The heat of the dryer does most of the shrinkage anyway.

I pre-shrink batting( unless its poly) for tablerunners . I soak in the washingmachine overnight , and spin, then dry . I use mostly Warm and Natural for runners as I prefer the structure of this batting for runners, and it will take pre-shrinking well.

I don't pre-wash or pre-shrink my battings. I like the crinkly look of the quilt after I finish it and wash it.

I really don't care for the crinkly "old fashioned look" for the quilts I make for children so I pre-shrink everything. I very heavily spritz the batting with H2O and then put it into a zipper plastic bag overnight to make sure that the moisture is evenly dispersed and then dry in dryer on med-high heat.