http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-73073-1.htm
Maybe this will help, all I can really say is it is a very light weight weave almost like a ultralight interfacing that the cotton is punched through. The scrim is what allows us to quilt 10 inches apart. It holds the batting together and keeps it from moving around!

If you read this thread, there are explanations and photos. ??

ok here ya go...

There is a ton of quilting on the front of this quilt, however, because it is just the front and batting that is quilted that much it is soft cuddly like we all love, its not stiff like alot of over quilted quilts I have felt.

however...when you flip it over there is only enough quilting to keep the backing in place and to keep it from being baggy!

Sorry you had to go through all the work. But, one day you will laugh about the "lesson" you learned the hard way.

Oh, I do feel sorry for you.....what a lot of work. Just hope the top is salvagable. Thanks for the tip!

Your method makes sense to me when using Minkie or other plush. In fact I have wanted to use it for a backing but was afraid that a lot of quilting would mess up the plushness of it. So I am going to try your method. I'm a little concerned about getting a bunch of lint in the innards of my machine that I'm not supposed to access (will void warranty). Do you have to clean out your bobbin case real frequently doing it this way?

What a drag! sounds like something I would do.

I've never heard of this method....but I use Quilters Dream batting where there is no scrim. You might want to check out their website to see the difference in their batting. I couldn't imagine washing a quilt with just the top and batting....but then many people do a lot of things I would never contemplate doing which doesn't make it wrong or right. Guess there are methods for everything. That said, Quilters Dream doesn't require washing it prior to quilting. Cotton batting is just that cotton and I can only imagine the mess it would create but again I have never heard of this so am at a loss as to your particular procedure.

But even if you've quilted the entire top of the quilt and the batting, then when you quilt the backing through the top and batting minimally after you wash the unfinished quilt, don't you get bagginess on the backing because of too much spacing between the quilting you eventually do for the backing? I still don't get it myself. Why bother to wash the finished quilt top and batting at all before you finish the whole thing? Why not just prewash your fabrics for your top before you begin?

I agree with Amand'a Grandma - why do you do it that way? It seems like twice as much work as quilting the 3 layers together at the beginning and then putting them in the washer. That's how most of us do it. I'm ready to learn something new!

You said you do it with 'plush.' Are you talking about fleece? When I use fleece, I use it as both backing and batting - in other words, just 2 layers, and I use spray adhesive so it doesn't stretch. I've done this with 6 or 7 children's & lap quilts - works great.

After reading through all of the pages and all comments and explanations by you, THANK YOU for sharing your ideas and choices and what your reasons are. I'm really sorry that you had to go through such frustration, but I sure learned a lot about battings that I didn't know before. This also gives me a much better feeling about quilting some tops by themselves, as you did, before I put the backing on. Sometimes my backing becomes a 'reversible' side, not just plain, solid backing, and then I struggle to figure out how to quilt it. This would totally resolve the matter for me. Thank You very much!