Pro's and Con's
 

Realizing there are no "real" quilting police and "it is my quilt, do as I like",
what are the pro's and con's of mixing the beautiful batiks with regular 100% cotton
in quilts? Thanks in advance for your ideas, suggestions and input.

I did it with no problems.

The batiks are a much closer denser woven fabric than the cottons. Short term, the regular cotton fabric will probably shrink more. I haven't washed any that I mixed the two on enough to know if they will fade or not. If you know the item will be washed often, I wouldn't mix the fabrics. But....your quilt....your choice.

I have been reading where batiks quilts that were made some years ago, the fabric has deteriorated in spots. It seems the harsh way batiks are made causes this. Batiks were for clothing but so beautiful quilters had to use it. I wouldn't make a heirloom quilt from batik but still use it. I mix batiks with regular cotton with good results.

Edyta Sitar mixes the two often with stunning results. Many of her designs uses both.
Here is a video of her talking about her designs and why she incorporates both:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r25NJ5nBYJw

I was fortunate to take two classes with her a few years ago and loved her style of using both. I don't always mix batiks and prints but also do not hesitate to use them together - results so far have been good.

I have a friend who struggled to quilt the batiks in her mixed quilt, she had massive tension issues. She tried several things and found what worked was spritzing fabric silicone spray on the batiks.

I've been mixing them and never gave it any thought. However I prewash everything so maybe that makes a difference. I've not noticed having tension issues moving between them on the LA.

The only problem I've had is that I have experienced more bleeding with batiks than the other fabrics. And that is after prewashing too. At least most of the batiks I've used are multi-color to start with so the bleeding isn't that noticeable to anyone but me.

I've mixed batiks and regular cottons as well as rayon batiks and regular rayons in both garments and quilt for years with no problems quilting or bleeding.

I try not to mix the two just because, no other reason. It is interesting to see the different opinions on this question. Thanks for asking. I've often wondered about that too.