Quilts for cold climate
 

I am making a flannel quilt for a young lady at school in Madison, Wi. should I put in two layers of warm and natural or use a different batting

Thanks for all the wonderful information posted by all!

My only concern is if you are quilting it, will your machine handle the two layers of batting?? I know that some on this board have used one layer of cotton batting and another layer of wool batting. W&N is much heavier than Hobbs cotton batting.

Even though she lives in a cold climate, that doesn't necessarily mean that the interior of her apartment, house, or dorm is cold. I would ask first whether she has trouble keeping warm at night. You can do that without admitting that you're making her a quilt. For warmth, I think I would use one layer of wool rather than two layers of anything else. It's light, and it breathes. Flannel is already heavy, and I'm afraid that adding two layers of W&N would make the quilt very heavy and difficult dry when it is laundered. That might not be as big an issue if you're making a lap quilt, rather than a bed quilt.

I would also recommend wool!

Depends on if you are hand or machine quilting. I've hand-quilted 2 layers of W&N and it was not easy. Doable but not an overly fun experience. For me it was for my deal Nana so the pain was worth it. Other's mileage may vary.

I would not use two layers of W&N because of the weight. Some people like heavy quilts, but I don't. I would use a single layer of Hobbs wool batting -- warm but "breathes", light in weight, and gives great definition to the quilting.

I wouldn't. I live in Illinois & find one layer of Warm & Natural plenty warm. If you want something thicker, I'd go with Warm & Plush. It's 50% thicker than W&N and is really the thickest thing I can get through my machine. I'm not really sure it's any warmer (maybe -- I can't tell though), but it gives really nice definition to the quilting. Both of those choices have kept me plenty warm on the coldest winter days.

Otherwise, as others have suggested, Hobb's washable wool is always a good choice. It is super thin but plenty warm.

I agree with the others, wool is the way to go. One layer should suffice.

There was another thread here recently, discussing the temperature at which people keep their houses. The answers surprised me, and caused me to picture those who posted shuffling around their houses in shorts, tank tops and flip-flops, as the snow pounds against the window. As dunster said, the climate doesn't matter, the temperature of the young lady's housing does. (When I was in college we left our windows open all winter, the dorm was so overheated.) An "ordinary" quilt with cotton front and back, and cotton batting is pretty darn warm.

I always put just one layer of W&N in my quilts, and it seems nice and cozy, although I also have a sheet and light blanket on me too. I usually end up in the middle of the night, turning on the ceiling fan -----I am hot blooded.

One layer of batting would be warm enough. We live in Madison and I use Hobbs 80/20 and that is nice and comfy. If it is too warm that can cause its own set of problems and then they might not use it as much.

You could also use a Minky backing. Polyester is naturally warmer. That's what I do when I want a warmer quilt. All cotton just seems to have a natural chill to it, except in the summer.

Dunster has made some very good points. When I get really cold, I just get another quilt to put on top of the other.

I've found when camping that very heavy isn't necessarily warmer. If you look at low temp rated sleeping bags they are very fluffy with thick poly batting.
However unless your recipient is actually going to be sleeping in a cold room, whatever batting you normally use should work just fine.

If you plan to use wool, find out if she's allergic to wool first.

I made a flannel quilt - pieced flannel on the front, 80/20 batting inside, and flannel on the back. I free motioned it and it is quite thick/heavy. It's really warm and is my "reading a book" quilt. It would certainly add warmth to a bed. I live in Minnesota so it works here.

I live in western Iowa and it gets fairly cold here too but I've found one layer of either W & N or Quilter's Dream 70/30 works just fine for me. My mother is 89 now and her bed quilt keeps her nice and warm in the winter.

Our bedroom is on the west end of a very old house, and when it is really windy out in the winter, it gets colder than the rest of the house. We try to keep that door closed during the day, so it is sometimes quite chilly in there when it is 70 everywhere else. And our house is well insulated.

We use one light quilt in the summer time, one heavier quilt in spring and fall, and during the winter we have them both on. Two quilts works really well. If we get too hot, one can be tossed off. Occasionally if I'm still cold I can put on my afghan made with worsted weight wool in afghan stitch. Very heavy but not too large.

we get pretty cold her in Montana too and I have found that light quilts with lots of loft are the warmest. I can't sleep with a lot of weight on me.
Lynda

It doesn't matter what weight quilt when it's cold. The bed is still cold when you get in. They used to make bed warmers in the days before central heating. After the bed is warm, it's whatever is comfortable. A bed warmer looked like a frying pan with a lid and a long handle. You put warm coals or ashes in it and set it in the bed for a bit.
Hot water bottles do the same thing.

I've got an electric blanket under the quilt. It gets turned to low or off when bed is warm.

The modern version is called a husband. :o

I've used Quilters Dream Puff poly batting which they claim is warmer than down. It is so nice to work with and has a very nice feel when finished--high definition on the quilting. I think I would recommend that for maximum warmth, but I'm only trying my first wool batting now, so I don't know how it will compare.

No wonder the population was so low during Colonial days; the women were sleeping with frying pans instead of husbands.

Having lived in a cold climate for many, many years, NH, SD, MA, I can attest that a flannel backing and one layer of Warm & Natural will be sufficient to keep her warm.

Wooll is good, and the bamboo batting is good also.

Have never used a wool batting. What I love is Hobb's Poly Down. Its warmth without weight, reasonably priced and wears very well through frequent washings. IMHO the only time I use a cotton batting is for a summer quilt. The other three seasons it isn't warm enough for me. This being said, I'm 62, live in the northeast and still have plentiful hot flashes.

I would use wool batting

When I was in college, it was required that we kept the dorm windows open. I think it might have been fire code or something. If we closed one in the middle of the night, we were told about it in the very early morning.

When I lived in a chilly mobile home in Minnesota a wool-batted comforter on my bed kept me warm and comfy. The same comforter kept me warm, but not too warm, and comfy in California the following year. I find polyester to be warm but, for me, sweaty; I cannot wear it or sleep under it, so I stick to natural fibers.

I grew up in WI and my grandma always gave us tied quilts with wool batts. We were never cold.

Thank you all for the great advice. I know she keeps her place cooler to save on cost as she is still a student. I will post a photo of finished quilt. I am going with the wool. I am also,making it a quillwork for her feet! :thumbup:

Wool is great for anyone who feels the cold easily. I've only used it once, but the recipient was very pleased.

What I mainly put in my quilts are high loft polyester batting. Warm without the weight. No one has ever complained and tell me they are very warm. I always use it in the quilts I keep for us.
On lots of quilts I just donated I used warm & Natural, 1 layer, they felt very thin.

I mat be wrong, but few folks live in unheated homes nowadays. I vote for 1 layer of W&N. She can always add another blanket or quilt. Unless she lives in the North Pole????

I live on LOng Island, NY. It's cold and damp here and one layer is more enough for me and dh.
THen again, the 10 lb kitty Zoey throws off a lot of heat.

I live in the NE. It gets very cold here. I made my DS and DD a rag quilt. I used flannel and just one layer of batting. The batting I used was Warm and Natural cotton batting. They love it. It keeps both of them warm, even when watching tv.

I agree with manalto, I live In cold contry, but go around in shorts n tank top year around house is at 68 hubby likes it there plus he runs room heater 1 layer of batting is plenty I have a sheet, a regular blanket and a quilt all I need

I live in wi. all my life and one layer of 80/20 batting is all you need in a quilt.

It works better to be able to layer bedding than have one very heavy blanket. I would just make her a normal quilt. I'm sure it's not the only blanket she will have.

Keep in mind that the higher loft batting traps the body heat and actually keeps one warmer than a close knit batting. It was difficult for me to imagine, and I personally love the feeling of a heavy quilt on me during the winter, but this point rings true.