Like the King of Siam said in "The King and I"

It is a puzzlement to me that some quilters will not use a poly batting in their crib quilts because the quilt is going to a child and poly shold not be used around children. Yet the same would go to the store and get a pair of PJ's that is polyester/cotton.
I sent some fabric to a group one time and they wouldn't pay postage on some of it because the fabric was a blend and they
"didn't use blends in their charity quilts". The group was in south Florida.

My puzzlement thought of the day.

Yeah!

Hummmm. Now you got me thinking. That is a very good question.

Life is silly at times!

Our guild sent charity quilts to Alaska for children, and someone suggested all cotton batting. We also didn't get it, since the children wear clothing and pj's made of poly/cotton blend. Most sheets are also poly/cotton blend.

I love it that flannel has prints geared for children, people make blankets, pj's etc out of it and it says right on the salvage edge that it is not to be used for childrens' sleepwear!

Is the poly-cotton debate due to fire safety regulations? My kids were raised back in the olden days before all these flameproof fabrics, and I managed to not set them on fire. Luckily.
Mind you, we can't be too careful these days.

I saw a demo on tv of what happens to a child's nightgown that is made of cotton when a match is set to it. The nightgown is immediately engulfed in flames because air is reaching a single thin layer of fabric from both sides. It is so fast that a child would be badly burned and hair would be on fire before anyone would have time to react. That is why so many cotton flannels are labeled "not for use in children's sleepwear". It's a no-no for nightgowns and loose-fitting pjs.

All-cotton sleepwear is fine when it is tight-fitting to the skin. You can buy some non-flame retardent cotton sleepwear like this because it is safe.

Polyester is not without its problems. The demo showed that it does not go up in flames; however, it melts into a sticky ball that can cling to skin and create deep burns. It is preferred because, if touched by flame, a poly nightgown at least gives you some time to get the child to safety.

I personally think all-cotton batting for a child's crib quilt is pretty good. The thickness of the layers means the quilt will not combust. A flame would travel slowly because it would be fed air from only one side; the other layers would be basically preventing air from feeding the flame from the other side. This gives someone quite a bit of time to react to a fire.

I do not think polyester batting is as good for a crib quilt because of its ability to melt and cling to skin. However, it may not make a difference. With either type of quilt, one would assume someone would smell something burning or hear a child crying before the fire was out of control.

Polyester pajamas are treated with flame retardent. Polyester batting usually isn't treated, although some brands do have specially treated polyester batting now for kid quilts.

TAke a look at the batting in most of the baby and childrens quilts that are available for purchase in the stores...9 out of 10 are made with polyester batting...