Think of how you're going to baste your quilt. I usually spray baste and have always used cotton but tried poly on a small quilt. I discovered that the spray didn't stick to 100% poly batting. The quilt sandwich looked fine when I sprayed it but, as the quilting progressed, the spray disappeared and I ended up pinning the rest. I have used Joann's Warm & Natural(?) 80/20 blend without problems, the 80% cotton keeps the spray active. I mentioned this to my LQS instructor and she also said that spray basting doesn't work well with poly. Now, if you use a long-arm you won't have this problem and I like the poly because the extra loft will better define your quilting design.

Thermore is very thin poly batting if you like the flat look of cotton. it comes in a gray bag.

I have used the Fairfield poly quilt batting I get at Walmart for the last 27 years. I hand quilt and have not had any bearding problems with the batting either. All the quilts I have made have been washed and dried in the dryer many times. The batting has held up great. With 7 grands they really put them through their paces.

Good point...I do love my basting spray. It just kills me to pay 2-3x as much for the cotton batting.

Thanks Jomama!

Last summer I attended a trunk show that Lynette Jensen (from Thimbleberries) put on. One of the questions was what kind of batting did she use. Her answer was Hobbs polly down.

I am shocked! They were handing out little sample cards at the MQX show like crazy last month! I'm sorry, I just assumed if you contacted them they would simply send you one of the little cards that had samples of all their bats. It is only a 3" swatch. Maybe they only give the samples cards to retail stores or at shows?

I like Hobbs batting, too. I've been using it for the last few quilts I've made and I've found it to me consistent. No thin or thick places like some of the others. I've used it for hand quilting and machine quilting. It's reasonable, too. I just can't afford the cotton blends or the bamboo that so many are using now.

I used wool on a king-sized quilt that I did both machine quilting and FMQ on, and I loved it to work with, and I love using it on the bed. Some people might be allergic to it, I suppose. It is pretty pricey, however.

I use Quilter's Dream exclusively - I prefer the blend, especially if it's for a bed quilt but I use the Poly Select for wall hangings and bags - it FMQs lovely with no bearding in my experience. I wouldn't like to use pure poly on a bed quilt though, especially not for a baby - doesn't breathe like the cotton.