Two Layers of Batting
 

I used to be a Warm and Naturel quilt batting girl like many of you but I recently had a revelation. I like a quilt to have a substantial feel, like it's not just used in the summer. On my latest quilt I used 2 layers of Fairfield cotton and I just love it. It's not flat like W & N, but has that nice wrinkled antique look. I've had these battings in storage forever and have never used them because they make too thin of a quilt for my taste. I don't think I would want to hand quilt this and it might be a little stiff for some people but I have had it on our bed for a month now and the stiffness is breaking down (just like a new pair of Levi jeans) and getting so cozy. It's actually warm. I would like to experiment more with this concept using different battings like maybe W & N on bottom and wool batting on top. Do any of you have any experience with this concept?

I use two battings on most of my quilts, unless it really just a summer quilt. I use one layer of cotton with a layer of poly on top. The cotton is for a bit of weight, and for the crinkle antique look when washed. The layer of poly is for the warmth and to give a bit more definition to the quilting. Double batting a cotton and poly is a bit cheaper than wool and both battings are readily available. The layer of poly makes the drying time much less than if I had used another layer of cotton or wool.

I may try the double batting with cotton and wool on the next quilt for myself and see how I like it. I don't care for poly on my own quilts but keep it on hand for client's who like it. I have to have something that "breathes" to sleep under as I get too warm very easily.

Silverneedle, I'm the same way. I get very hot if anything has poly in it. So far this double cotton batting has been the "just right" temperature. It's not too heavy but it did take awhile to dry on the line after completion. Have you ever felt the quilts you can buy from higher end retail stores such as Sundance? They are pretty thick and I've been searching for a batting that would have this feel to it.

I never thought of doing this but I will try it with some of the lesser liked batting I have. Thanks for the idea.

For a heavier weight batting try Quilter's Dream Deluxe weight batting. It is also great for wall hangings. I have been doing a lot of them for clients lately with very dense background fills.

I have a friend who raises sheep and sells some of their wool to a quilter who uses the wool as batting. The quilter cleans and cards the wool, then places it over her backing. Some of her quilts are thin and some are very thick. I am told that she really, really likes the versatility of making her own batting out of her own processed wool.I have heard that the price of raw wool is down now, so she is saving money by doing this.

Hi TanyaL, I have worked with raw sheep fleece before and no thank you. I don't think you're saving money by spending an entire day sorting, picking and cleaning. Another day would be for carding with probably an expensive carder. Please find out more for me, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

I have used double batting a couple of times and really like the look. Green Fairy does it a lot.

I also get warm very easily but don't have a problem with poly bat. In fact my summer quilt is poly batting but just a single layer. I love the look of two layers of batting but I would think two layers of cotton would be heavy. I have mixed bamboo and poly and 80/20 and poly. Greenfairy has done two layers of 80/20.

Another option you may want to consider is trapunto. Very labor intensive with the cutting away of the extra batting but a beautiful look as well.

I think it must be in how you look at it. Quilting is this lady's hobby, so she puts no money value on her time - only how much does she enjoy her time while she is involved in what she is doing. Her carding paddles are very basic and very old. She compares the cost of the raw wool to the cost of the wool batting. The time and effort in preparing the wool is considered the same as the time and effort in making the quilt top. She prefers to make her own and not buy quilt tops already pieced .So, she makes her own tops, her own batting, does her own quilting and says she saves money doing it that way. I know she buys the raw wool by the volume not by the weight if that makes a difference.