question about preshrinking bat
 

I decided to preshrink an 80/20 bat as I am going to use it along with a Quilters Dream poly bat (double bat) and didn't want the cotton 80/20 bat to cause the whole quilt to shrink eventually. Anyway, I've never preshrunk a bat and followed the directions on the package. Gentle soak, spin only, and then air only in the dryer until just very damp and then draped over the long arm belly bar to finish drying. Anyway, my problem is that the 80/20 bat developed a hole in it, which won't be a problem since it's bigger and I won;t use that part, but what could I have done differently to prevent this?

The directions on Warm and Natural say not to spin, and I've followed that with other brands. The bat is so heavy when wet, it needs to be handled carefully so it won't rip or stretch. What I do is squeeze it out, and then squeeze between towels, then dry (I dry it with heat, since I'm trying to pre-shrink it). Both Quilter's Dream and Hobbs say pre-soaking is not recommended, and I suspect they say that because chances of damaging the batting are pretty high unless you're careful. Also, I would lay out the batting so it's all supported, as on a couch or bed, to finish drying, rather than hanging it.

I wouldn't even attempt it to begin with. It simply isn't necessary.

Well, this is a good topic for this morning. I just read Sue Garman's recommendations for washing batting. She always washes her batting. I bought Quilters Dream Request and want it washed. Her article says soak and spin only. I think I'm going to try it.

I have washed batting on the delicate cycle and air fluffed only for a few minutes then laid across my bed with the ceiling fan on. Dried in no time and no holes. I prefer to flat dry.

I take a bath towel and get it very wet. I open the batting up and throw it and the towel into the dryer and let it go for half an hour or so. I read about this method here on the board and it works well for me.

I pre-wash my batting. I use Warm and Natural or Warm and White. I put it in the washer with hot water but leave the lid open so the washer won't agitate. I let it soak for about a half hour. Then I switch the washer to spin and spin it out and put it in the dryer. I love to hand quilt and the batting is softer and easier to hand quilt. I also don't like the puckery look if I can avoid it and this helps.

I wanted to be sure I understood -- you put the wet towel in the dryer with the dry batting? Is the aim here to pre-shrink the batting?

Yes, that's what I do. The steam from the wet towel and dryer heat shrinks it enough for me. I take it out promptly and lay it on the bed when it's still warm to get it flat. I've never actually compared this method with the one where you get the whole batt wet, so this may not shrink it as much, but as I mentioned, I'm happy with it.