I'm working on a quilt for my bed and almost ready to start quilting it by hand. I love to sleep under heavy comforter type blankets. What batting would be the heaviest but still let me hand quilt? Thanks!
Sarah

thick batting and hand quilting do not play well together. if you use polyester then the low loft if about the only one you can use to hand quilt. otherwise a cotton warm n natural type. have fun.

I agree with happyscrappy, thick batting and handquilting do not go well together. I've hand quilted a couple with wool batting. I think they feel real light. I'm currently working on one with Fairfield 80/20 batting and it is noticably heavier than the wool. The 80/20 needles pretty good as well. I've tried the Warm and Natural but just can't get my needle through it easily. Gave up and machine quilted the one I had all based with Warm and Natural.

Fat batting and hand quilting = fat swollen fingers !!

I'm handquilting my quilt, and let me tell you that sandwiched together....it's quite heavy! I'm using Quilter's Dream Select batting, and it's low loft but man is my quilt heavy!!! You probably dont need heavy batting.

I just finished hand quilting a full size quilt with high loft polyester batting from my local joann's store. I have used lower lofts in the past; both polyester and the warm and natural. I wanted to make my design 'pop' with a higher loft. It looks beautiful! It was really easy to quilt, too.

The very first quilt I made was for a Christmas present for my Mom and Dad. I used a high loft batt . At the time I did not know it was supposed to be easier so I kept going. It took me a year to complete. I will never do that again. My hands were about 25 years younger then and they hurt all the time.

i use two layers of Warm and natural in my kids quilts, I made two twins this way. I like them heavy.
I had NO problem handstitching them. I mean, if it was a chore I would not have done the second one LOL.
If you got a good sharp needle, that makes all the difference. For me stitching through mutliple seams is hard, but all in all stitching through batting never gave me any trouble. You can always test it out first. Make a small sandwich and see how it goes.

sarah, do you actually mean heavy? or did you mean thick? if you want heavy, the more quilting stitches there are, the heavier the quilt - fyi

Quilters Dream "Dream Puff" would be ideal - I've used it several times
http://www.quiltersdreambatting.com/dream-puff.htm

Do you want heavy, thick, or warm? I've used Polydown, which is a higher loft than my usual battings (Quilters Dream, thinnest ones in cotton and poly) and which was fine to quilt, but I doubt it was any heavier. The heaviest thing I made was a basic tied quilt with flannel on both sides, but as I tied it, I don't know how easy it would be to quilt.

Katrine, Thanks for this Quilters Dream site, I found just the batting I was looking for. May in Jersey

CloverPatch, good to know. I was afraid to buy the Warm and Natural because I am a hand quilter. I should get a piece and try it!

Completely agree with the hand problems and high loft. That had me sworn off handquilting for several months!!

My mom is quilting something by hand with a thick poly batting - don't know if it is the highest loft, but sure higher than I like to use, and it is harder to get small stitches, but not impossible to quilt. If you're going for more of a "folk art" look you could probably use a larger needle and perle cotton to do the stitching, and it would work. If you have or can get scraps of batting, try it out on a test swatch first to see how you like working with the thickness.

If you would like I can send you some of my Warm and natural scraps. Send you a couple 12 x12 pieces to see how you like it.

My first quilting was with Warm and Natural. It was difficult to get the needle through. So I then took two hand-quilting classes, figuring since I didn't know what I was doing, something had to be wrong. Both instructors advised me to use wool or a cotton-poly blend. Both are easy to work with.

Has anyone tried the bamboo-cotton blend? I'm interested in any feedback on it.

Linda

i have used the bamboo batting. no problem - but then i do not have problems with the warm and natural either. it is a bit "creamier" tho (the bamboo)

Not sure what you mean by heavy. If thick is what you are looking for, I use two layers of wool batting from Taos Mountain Wool Works
http://www.manta.com/c/mm4xmz8/taos-...in-wool-works. They do not have a website. I've used them since before wool batting was widely available. Quilting through that batting is like quilting through butter.

Not sure what you mean by heavy. If thick is what you are looking for, I use two layers of wool batting from Taos Mountain Wool Works
http://www.manta.com/c/mm4xmz8/taos-...in-wool-works. They do not have a website. I've used them since before wool batting was widely available. Quilting through that batting is like quilting through butter. I've also found basting very well and keeping quilt very loose in hoop helps me make smaller, more even stitches. Actually, my biggest problem is seams, not thick batting- unless it is poly or worst- cotton.

Maggie

What I meant with using "heavy" I meant the opposite of down comforters/duvets. I have a down comforter on my bed and yes it keeps me warm but it is very light. I like the feel of a "heavy" blanket. I know heavy and hand quilting does not really go together which is why I'm asking the wise quilting experts on this board ;)

i suggest you go to a store that sells batting. Take along a needle and test a few to find the one what works best for you.

I have used high loft batting. I use slightly larger stitches but like the "trapunto" look you get from it. You might have to adjust your needle size a little.

So I ordered 2 rolls of Hobb's 80/20 batting - now I cant decide if I want to use one layer or two!