Question re: Batiks
 

Hi, I am at a standstill with some batiks I bought recently at a craft show. These batiks were packaged and are all dark medium to dark and I am wanting to put lights in the mix, I have tons of light tone on tones, fossil fern and such. Having not ever worked with batiks before I am in a quandary as I spoke with a friend who is also a longarm quilter and she quite strenuously opposed the idea of mixing these non batiks with the batiks saying that mixing these is a bad idea as they do not play well and are a nightmare to quilt...her machine hates them???? I need to know if this is the case ie you should never mix Batiks with non Batiks.
Grateful for any and all input.
Cheers
Lonnie
from Australia

I have mixed them and never had a problem.

Mix them all the time with no problems. I am a pre washer of my fabrics but I don't know if that makes a difference.

I have mixed them particularly in bargellos and I quilt my own things on my Elna and have not had any problems.

I think I might be able to answer this, there is heavier higher thread count thicker Batiks, if you match your Batiks type with other non Batiks fabric you'll be fine. For example denim (Blue Jean) fabric even the 100% cotton has different weights with higher or lower thread count and thickness, you wouldn't mix the different weights thread counts thickness together or problems are sure to happen.

Mixing fabrics is the new "in thing".

LOL, it's your fabric, it's your quilt. In other words, make your own rules.

I mix them all the time - and I don't pre-wash :eek::shock:

I often use none batiks for borders and binding with batik top and back and never had a problem. Obviously that's not a huge amount of non batik in the quilt but as I said, no problems, and I quilt them on my normal domestic machine.

I mix them all the time and do not have problems, but I am usually quilting my own. Maybe her machine is temperamental and she has to fiddle with tension between the different fabrics?

Like the other ladies I mix them all the time too and never had any problems. I do my own FMQ and never noticed any difference in FMQ between the different fabrics. Does that mean I'm bad at FMQ? :)

I think most of what I have used are fairly similar in weight, but I have no problems. Some I have quilted, others I have had quilted by local LAQ, have had no problems or complaints as of yet.

I prefer not to mix batiks and non batiks. It's a personal preference for me. I have however seen a number of quilts lately where they are mixed. Do your own thing!

I love batiks mixed with other fabrics!

I have had some batiks that are much more tightly woven than normal quilt fabric. That was @ 10 years ago, though -- the batiks I've bought recently are maybe only a smidge tighter.

I've never had to adjust tension (domestic machines) between batiks and non. For the really tight ones, I have had to change to a new, sharp needle.

my opinion, do what you want, it is your quilt

I haven't had any problems mixing the two. But I have a Featherweight and she is not picky about fabrics or threads as I have heard that some of the newer fancier machines can be.

I do prefer to keep the look of my fabrics similar so I generally use similar style prints as the other fabrics alongside batiks. But that is personal preference for the designs I've used up to now. Never know what I might do next time if the spirit moves in another direction! Lol.

Me too! It's your quilt. But remember, the quilt police are everywhere.

I disagree with this and think it is unnecessarily alarming to novice quilters. The advice to use lower thread count batiks is bad advice. With batiks, the dyes need a higher thread count to be able to handle the resist and the multiple washings in the batik making process. The designs are sharper and the colors are brighter with higher thread count greige goods as well.

Almost all batiks are a higher thread count than prints or solids and there's really no need to match thread counts within any quilt. It's no different than mixing flannel and quilting cotton. Problems are NOT sure to happen with batiks, especially if you use a microtex (aka sharp) needle.

I often mix batiks (thread count up to 200) with Kona solids (thread count of 60) and/or good quilting cottons (thread count of 68-75) and have never had a complaint from my Bernina or my longarmer. If the longarmer claims her machine "hates" the mix, perhaps you should find someone else to do your quilting. Sounds to me like she's just making excuses for not knowing how to adapt her machine to different quilting conditions.

Mix away! That's what I do all the time!

I am a longarmer and I don't have a problem with batiks (knock on wood). I personally mix them quite a lot.

I mix mine. I will say that batiks do quilt up differently though, so you have to pay more attention to your tension if you are going back and forth between batiks and non-batiks. Just takes a little extra effort.

I mix them all of the time as it is hard to find lighter batiks and I usually find what I want for my background in regular cottons. I also quilt my own and don't have an issue.

Just finished a quilt that had some batiks in it.. didn't prewash and it turned out wonderful.

I can see where some quilters might not like mixing batiks with others. The thread count being different might cause some problems. (although it didn't for me)

Besides: I thought there were no rules. Give it a try!

I mix them and have had no problems, either in piecing or on the longarm.

Heresy, I tell you, heresy! ;-)

Lonnie,

I used to not mix batiks with non-batikds too. Then I saw Edyta Sitar's quilts on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. E.S. is famous for mixing batiks with printed fabrics and the results are just gorgeous (IMHO). So now I mix batiks with all sorts of non-batik fabrics as the fancy strikes me and I've never had a problem. I don't know anything about longarm quilt machines. Maybe they have a hard time because I can tell you that handquilting regular quilt fabric and handquilting batiks is a bit of a different experience. The batiks tend to be higher thread count, I've heard. Anyway, don't worry about it.

Originally the rule I was taught was that you do not mix.

Mix away. I am doing a BOM from a LQS and they are mixed. Personally I like all batiks as a rule in pieced quilts or the background regular with appliqued batiks. Solid blacks with batiks (think modern Amish) are stunning in my opinion.

There is a difference and you may even need to reset your scant quarter inch. But the final product will be worth it.

I don't know why the big deal of mixing. If they are 100% cotton what's the problem. Maybe her issue was with cheap batiks? Here's a close-up of one I did this fall. I didn't have any issues and the colors were just what I needed.

Ditto! And I quilt my own quilts and don't have a problem with mixing them.

I mix them all the time.

I mix them too although my machine seems louder going through the fabric, but does not present a problem.

This is a very timely thread to me. Prior to coming to the board this morning I was looking at a wall hanging project I am planning to do for a 15 year old girl who is 'horse crazy'. The pattern calls for batiks but I don't have white or off-white for the mane and was considering a non-batik and wondering.... Now, thanks to all these interesting comments, I will consider a mixture of fabrics. In fact, I will look through my 'whites' as soon as I finish today's wealth of information on this board.

I also mix batiks and other cottons without any issues. Sometimes prewash and sometimes not. It's your quilt, do as you please!!

Edyta Sitar, a well known quilter mixes batiks and non batiks in her quilts. She has several videos and books that explains her techniques. Even her applique quilts have them mixed...she has some awesome quilt patterns...

I have never had a problem

I mix them and don't have a problem. It's all fabric.

I have done a lot of "mixing" over the years and had only one problem. I had a batik top and was in a big hurry to finish it. I grabbed a black fabric for the binding which by accident turned out to be an unwashed regular black cotton. When the quilt was washed the binding shrank and the top did not. That has been the only oops with batiks over many years.

We dont experience the same issues as others.Something I cant do you can do very well etc. Maybe its just her machine that doesnt like the mix, maybe your machine will have no problems. Give it a try and go from there.

I mix them also and never have a problem. I don't prewash and do my own quilting on my sewing machine.

I also mix them....however, I try to use only higher thread count non-batiks. No problems with quilting or washing.