I hope you will let us know how this works out. Also, I'd be interested to know how you decided it should be prewashed. Quilters Dream is my favorite batting.

Okay, my two cents worth. I open the backing package, shake the batting out, and spritz the batting with water from a Washed Windex Bottle and then I take 5 washcloths soaked in water and throw every thing in the dryer on medium. I set my stove timer for 10 minutes and when the buzzer goes off. Go and take everything out, shake everything out and put it back in and set the timer again for 10 minutes. Go shake everything out and do the procedure one more time. Lay out the batting when it is finished after 30 minutes. It is fluffy and works great batting for the quilts.

Maybe I have just been lucky, but I always pre-wash all my Warm & Natural batting as I prefer the less-crinkly look. I unfold it, put in in the wash using hot water, gentle cycle, gentle spin. Then transfer it to the dryer on medium heat, delicate setting. Never had a problem. My washer is a front loader, not a top loader with the agitator, maybe that is not as stressful on the batting.

i never prewash my bats

thanks all--think my hole in this bat was an anomally. The bat was a Hobbs 80/20 and I did follow directions on the bag--not sure why I got the hole--it was like I pulled it apart in one area. I normally don't wash a bat as I don't care about the crinkly look--it's usually ok with me. But this is a quilt for competition and I plan so intense quilting and know the poly bat I'm doubling it with won't shrink--and all the fabric is preshrunk, so wanted it to stay relatively flat. And it said up to a 5%shrinkage--which is actually quit a bit!

I usually use 80/20 Heirloom in my own quilts and I preshrink all my batting. I fill my wash machine tub, push my batting down into the water, let it soak for a little while, then spin the water out. I never let it agitate. Then throw it into the dryer for about 20-30 minutes. Never had any problems with tearing or holes.

I, too, use the wet towel method. When I change out my clothes from winter to summer, I put a damp towel in the dryer to get rid of wrinkles. Works for me.

I use Hobbs 80/20 and when I need to preshrink I put it into my washer, hot water, rinse and spin but don't agitate, then toss into the dryer on high heat for about 20 minutes. I have never had a hole or dryer scorch. Has worked very well over the past 17 years.

I do similarly but just use a washcloth and wring it out pretty well first, then dry on warm.

I had Hobbs 80/20 batting ruined when I tried to prewash it. I contacted Hobbs and they sent me new batting to replace it. It shouldn't get ruined, and they were nice enough to make it good. A pleasure to deal with!