I preshrink Warm and Natural. I put it in the washer with hot water and just let it soak until its wet. Do not agitate it. Then I put the washer on spin cycle and then put it in the dryer. Its nice and soft and it shrinks before I quilt it.

This info has been very helpful to me. I was going to ask a question about the preferred batting to use. The few quilts that I have made I used batting that was given to me, not knowing what kind it was. My first purchase was a Warm & Natural. Not knowing any better, I just used it right out the bag without doing anything to it. I think I'll Keep that quilt for muself.

I live in Arizona and I use 100% cotton for batting. My favorite batting is Mountain Mist. Recently it has been a bit hard to find so I have been using Hobbs Tuscany cotton batting and I have also tried their silk batting.

I only use warm & natural now and so far no one has complained about my quilts. I have a few that I use and wash often with hot water and put in a hot dryer. No problems and they are cuddly quilts like any other. There's no reason you have to keep quilts made with W&N for yourself. Many many people use it with no problems. I've never preshrunk it and I've used it with both preshrunk and never-washed fabrics. It's just for table runners where I would use it with non washed fabric so they shrink together but it's not an issue with lap or larger quilts. It's probably one of the most popular battings since it's reasonably priced and is easy to find.

eta: I just read through the thread again to see what would make someone decide warm & natural is no good for quilts to give and I cannot find anything other than one post about when they first started making it. Confused here.

Warning on low-loft iron-on: I tried a very low-loft iron-in batting I got at Joann's on placements. It was sure flat! Stuck out straight up! Stiff as a board. Too flat, but once I washed it, it puffed right up again and now I think it is all too puffy even through I prewashed everything and the quilting was 1-3" apart. it will take a beer mug but a wine glass gets tipsy :)

I was under the impression you would have to do something to keep it from shrinking.

I don't do anything but you can preshrink it if you want to. I happen to like the crinkly look of washed quilts but I can't really tell the difference when it's all done and washed. Here is one made with prewashed fabric (and washed after it's been pieced and quilted)
http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=495285&stc=1
and a close-up:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=495286&stc=1

and one made with unwashed fabric (precuts) which was washed after it was pieced and quilted:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=495287&stc=1

and a closeup (the label but you can see the quilt behind it)
http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=495288&stc=1

I honestly don't see that much of a difference. I wash in hot water and dry in a hot dryer. I figure that way whoever washes it later will be able to wash it whichever way they need to.

Thank you Sync! I have family living in Tuscon, as you know, it bakes in summer. I see you live just north of Tuscon, in the foothills. Do you use your quilts year round?

Christine, I do use my quilts year round. Hubby likes to keep the house "cool" in the summer. There's always a quilt on the bed and a quilt or two out by the sofa in the living room.

I pre-soak mine according to package instructions, with 1 Tbsp of Tide Free. They don't shrink much. If I quilt well under 2" apart, the quilt top will seize up a bit, giving it that crinkly look, but that also softens it quite a bit. When I quilt way far apart -- 6-8" apart in most places, it tends to stay quite flat & smooth.

I wasn't aware of the poly scrim. Seems like they shouldn't be able to advertise it as 100% cotton with something like that in it. I'm looking to see if there are any other options, but I suppose it would either need to have a scrim or glue to get the cotton to lie flat & form a good bat. I don't know. What did they use to do in the "olden days" before all these chemicals & synthetic fibers came into existence?