Which side of batting is the SCRIM??
 

Good Evening Every1,


It has been awhile since I posted a thread. I hope that all is well with you & your families. I have some questions for you. I am making some quilts for Project Linus in my area. I read some where about where to place the scrim, but for the LIFE of ME, I can not remember? It must be my old timers setting in again. lolol Please and Thank you. Thank you in advance for your suggestions and feedback. I eagerly look forward to reading it all.

#1-What is scrim on a piece of batting?

#2-Which side of the batting do you place on the wrong side of the backing fabric?

#3-Does it matter if you put the scrim side up or down?

Thanks again.

Have a blessed day/weekend.

debra

I just read that if you can tell which side the scrim is on, then you place it closest to the backing fabric. Some battings have scrim on both sides... I never knew there was a right/wrong side and I just used my batting, I've had no problems...

Not all battings are needlepunched through scrim. Warm and Natural is one that is. According to this website, you position the batting this way:
http://www.warmcompany.com/faq.html

I'm thinking this means that the scrim is next to the backing fabric.

Wow. I had no idea.

most batts that allow up to 10" between quilting lines have a scrim- most you really can not tell which side is which- both sides have fibers thru- the scrim is in the center- if you can tell you might want to put it toward the backing-but when it is all done & the quilt is laundered- no one is going to have any idea....it does not make any difference in the finished quilt.

i never knew there was a right and wrong side to the batting?!?!?! I just put it down...:)

According to the folks who make Warm and Natural, "The side with "flecks" (plant and leaf particles) is the top side. The whiter side is the bottom side. "..... I use Warm and Natural on most of my customer's quilts, because they really like the way the quilt washes over long periods of time. When I mount the quilt on the machine, I always think in terms of the bumps being face-up, and my reminder is to say "Bump it Up!". Then I lay the quilt top on, and get started. This has worked well for me for years.

Boy did I learn something new this morning. I had no idea about all this stuff and that batting actually has a wrong and a right side. All these years of quilting and I just put it in and paid no attention. Thanks so much for the info.

I don't really think it matters very much. I have made dozens of quilts and no one has ever complained about the scrim being up instead of down.

Thanks for sharing!!!

I think the reason for placing scrim on the backing side is because quilts are normally quilted from the top. If scrim is on the top, the needle could theoretically punch the batting through the backing creating little "beards". In reality, I don't think this is likely to happen with modern batts because of the manufacturing process. Needlepunching means that fibers are much less likely to beard.

Also, if you think about it, the manufacturing process of needlepunching through scrim (which is how Warm and Natural is made) means that the fibers are on top and the scrim is on the bottom during the needlepunching process. Placing the scrim next to the batting simply reproduces the manufacturing process -- instead of working in the opposite direction.

I've made close to 50 quilts and never paid any attention to scrim and where it should go. Worked well for me so far, so I guess that's an indicator of how important it is ;).