Quilting with Wool Batting
 

Hi,

I am getting ready to quilt a throw sized “sofa” quilt, and would like to use 100% wool batting. I’ve never quilted with a high-loft batting and would really appreciate any tips! I do plan to first quilt on a sample sandwich, but I have no idea where to start with machine settings.

It seems like it would be good to reduce the foot pressure (?) but what about the top thread tension? Would you use cotton thread for quilting? I will be machine quilting with a walking foot on my Bernina 770.

Thanks for your help!

Definitely reduce foot pressure on Bernina 770. It was necessary with 1/8 “ cotton batting.

It’s been a while since using wool. It was a good experience. Use a new needle. I prefer a looser thread tension. And a poly thread (Bottom Line) for quilting. It’s stronger and won’t break. If the quilting will be dense, cotton is fine.

If you can, please, post pics.

I used wool batting once and didn't adjust anything on my Brother PQ1500 - it came out nice.

There are a lot of different wool battings. And it does puff nicely. At least the wool batting I used which was Hobbs. Good to do a test piece. From what I know, you just can use usual threads like So Fine 30. Glide 40, although some quilters I know also use Silk 100 if they are doing things like micro stippling. I only have used it a few times and I thought it was delightful and it felt wonderful after quilting. Be sure to read about whatever brand of wool you have. Some shrink more, some require closer stitching. If I recall correctly, the Hobb's wool bat only shrank about 3%. Some high loft batting may be difficult to quilt on a domestic machine because it is too high. Your 770 is a high shank machine so hopefully it will do OK, and don't forget to use your settings on your machine. actually, I do believe the machine will adjust pressure and stuff if you tell it what you want to quilt on. Check the manual or help button.

I've never needed to adjust tension settings for wool. Do a test on scraps first to make sure.

I've used wool batting on top of Warm & White in art quilts, and I'm not going to do it again.. No adjustments were necessary, but when I blocked the quilts, the wool batting shrunk much more than the cotton fabrics in the top, creating wrinkles. If I decide to use it anyway, I'll preshrink the wool batting.

There is wool batting and there is wool batting, most manufacturers have the specs if you go to their websites. For example, Hobbs specifically states not to prewash some of their wool batting and also gives you the amount of shrinkage to expect when the quilt is washed. There is also washing and drying directions like "always wash in cool or cold water, dry on air or low and lay flat to finish drying. This varies amount the wool battings.

I have used Quilters Dream all wool batting. It was so nice to work with. I did free motion quilting on my Pfaff without any special settings or changes. I machine washed the completed quilt before gifting, using cool water, dried gently in the drier. No noticable shrinking. It was a special quilt for a special person.and I was very happy with the results.

Thank you so much for the advice and information! This gives me a great starting point. I will definitely try this on a quilt sandwich (or two) with a lot more confidence since I have a good settings to start with.

Thanks again!