Warm and White Quilt batting problems?
 

I've just made a quilt out of old cotton button down shirts / cotton backing and I used the Warm Co's Warm and White needle punched polyester batting. It appears that tiny polyester fibers are poking through the backing of the quilt, ALL over the place! They don't seem to be poking through the quilt top, but maybe that is because there are more seams on that side.

Has anyone else ever had this problem? Will these poking fibers magically go away when i wash it? Is there any hope? It's sort of annoying!

Warm and White is a cotton batting. Warm and Bright is poly, so perhaps that's what you're using? Both are made by the Warm Company. I've used both with no problems. The main cause of bearding is using a fabric with a low thread count. Quilting with a dull needle can also contribute. The fibers won't magically disappear, but they should eventually break off and hopefully quit shedding. Don't use a lint roller or try to pick them out; that will just cause more fibers to come through.

The most likely cause is a tiny burr on the SM needle. I doubt if they will go away, but may be less noticeable as the quilt puffs a little.

If it was needle punched you may have loaded it with the wrong side facing the backing. Other causes: dull needle, wrong type/size needle, fabric with a low thread count.

Yes indeed. It was not warm and white...it was Soft and Bright. OOPS!!

Thanks very much everyone! I'm learning a lot! I hope you are willing to give me a couple clarifications though.

(1) So is "bearding" when the batting fibers poke through the outer layers of the quilt? I've never encountered this before, and just recently heard the term.

(2) RE Needles: How can you tell if the needle is dull? Is there any way to SEE that? Or, do you just avoid a dull needly by routinely changing to a new needle after a certain time? Also, I've been using a Schmetz maching quilting 90/10 needle. Is this type/size appropriate?

THANKS!!

Mimsiroo, that is exactly what bearding is. Regarding the dull needle: I can usually tell my needle is dull when it makes a popping sound going through the quilt. I use a longarm, and am uncertain if the needle would make that sound on a DSM (not sure what you're using). But that sound usually never happens because I routinely change needles after each bed quilt, or the equivalent in smaller quilts.

I only use size 12 needles, but that's a personal preference. 14 is okay, too. Your 10 is for delicate fabrics like sheers and silks. Is it a universal or a sharp? A universal has a slightly rounded tip for sliding between the fibers on knits. Schmetz makes a quilting needle, but I didn't find any difference when I tried one rather than my inexpensive ones. I change my needle for every project. Take the needle out and gently poke a finger, then do the same with a new one. If you feel the difference, change the needle. You can try poking it through some closely woven fabric, too. If there's any resistance, change the needle. A dull needle pushes the batting around rather than piercing through the fibers.

A question from another Grundy Co Illinois person. With needle punched batting, how do you know which side faces the front or back?
margee

The dull-needle popping noise also happens on a DSM. On my old Kenmore, it a dull needle would also have a different "feel" as it pierced the fabric . . . a sort of micro-second hesitation.

One sewing machine guy told me that you should change the needle after 8 hours of sewing.

(1) So is "bearding" when the batting fibers poke through the outer layers of the quilt? I've never encountered this before, and just recently heard the term. Bearding is more noticeable (1) when the fabric is darker than the batting you are using and (2) the thinner the fabric is. So if you are using darker fabric, use black batting. It may not solve the problem, but it will be less noticeable. It can happen on both the bottom and top of the quilt sandwich.

(2) RE Needles: How can you tell if the needle is dull? Is there any way to SEE that? Or, do you just avoid a dull needly by routinely changing to a new needle after a certain time? Also, I've been using a Schmetz maching quilting 90/10 needle. Is this type/size appropriate? I usually use an 80/12 for piecing/paper piecing and a 90/14 for quilting. I have never seen a 90/10. I use Schmetz needles (because they are easily available) and always use sharps. I never use universal needles. I have heard good things about Organ needles, but haven't bought any yet. I have heard recommendations to change the needle every 8 hours or at the beginning of every project. I agree with others that there is a different sound and feel when the needle needs changing.

THANKS!![/QUOTE]

Oh, I want to know this too! I had not idea that there was a difference!

Dina

[QUOTE=margee;6290868]A question from another Grundy Co Illinois person. With needle punched batting, how do you know which side faces the front or back?
margee QUOTE) If there is a rough and smooth side to the batting, the rough side goes up against the quilt top, and the smooth side goes down, against the backing. Sometimes there are also brown flecks on one side, and that is the side which goes up against the quilt top. If there is a scrim layer, it goes down against the backing. The purpose of that layer is to prevent bearding through to the back.

I use the the rhyme "bump is up" to remind me. The obviously more bumpy side with little flecks of cotton plant should face up when making the sandwich. It would be the side that rests against your quilt tops wrong side.

Attempting to upload a photo pulled from a longarm forum
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Polyester battings are more prone to bearding than cotton, although I have heard a few reports of Quilter's Dream cotton and Warm and Natural cotton bearding. Soft and Bright is needle-punched polyester:
http://www.warmcompany.com/sbpage.html

Here is an article that explains right and wrong sides of battings that are needlepunched through scrim:
http://www.apqs.com/blog/2013/01/22/...n-up-and-down/

Not all battings that are needlepunched are needlepunched through scrim. I believe the Quilter's Dream cotton battings are that way -- needlepunched cotton, but not needlepunched through scrim. Scrim adds a little stiffness to a batting, so the QD battings tend to be softer than those needlepunched through scrim.

I'm not sure if needlepunched battings that do not have scrim also have a right side and wrong side. I'm thinking not, as I assume the needlepunching is done from both sides. I see from the website that Soft and Bright polyester is needlepunched, but they do not say if it is needlepunched through scrim. Perhaps it is, since their needlepunched cotton batting (Warm and Natural) is needlepunched through scrim.

Why is it manufacturers of batting do not label their products better? You'd think they would want us to use their products in a way that does not disappoint (as in when a quilt beards because the batting was layered incorrectly).

Thanks again everyone. This is really informative!!
Still need to learn some abbreviations.
SM = sewing machine???
DSM = ?

DSM = domestic sewing machine (regular sewing machine). This differentiates from a midarm or longarm frame quilting sewing machine.

Isn't a size 10 needle a little small for quilting?

You are using either a 70/10 needle ( which is very small for quilting but fine for piecing) or a 90/14, there is no 90/10. The numbers are for 2 different needle systems but the sizes remain the same. The larger the number the larger the needle.

For sewing machine needles.

Just to make life more interesting, for HAND sewing needles, the larger the number, the finer/thinner the needle.

[QUOTE=JustAbitCrazy;6291331]I tell myself " eyes up" ---- meaning if there are seed remnants- those brown specks- I see them as I layer the quilt

I had that happen and I called the company. They told me there is a right and wrong side.
If you put the wrong side up it will punch through.
So it has to be bumpy side up, against the top and smooth (scrim) side down,
against the backing.
And no, mine never went away.

looks like others had answered also.

Thanks for the answers to right/wrong side of Warm and Natural. I wonder how many of my quilts I have done it wrong in? I will do it correctly from now on though, so, again, thanks!!

Dina

I've never had any problems withany of the Warm Products.

Did you call their customer service?

What is scrim? That is a new term to me.

Scrim is a very light layer, almost like fine interfacing. It's a non-woven fabric and it helps prevent boarding. You can feel the difference and see it also.