What batting to I use for "puffy" ?
 

I have a friend who may ask me to make her a quilt. I think she is still mulling it over, which is fine. She did ask my DH though that she would like it "puffy" She has seen several of the quilts I have made in which I used Warm & Natural cotton batting. My question is this, is polyester the only option for puffy? I have only used polyester batting to make (2) dog pads. I used my walking foot and just did them both with a grid pattern. They turned out fine and were the puffiest quilts (small or otherwise) that I have made. If you use polyester batting does that limit how it is quilted? I just want to be prepared if this pans out and she does ask me to do this.

I like Hobbs Polydown for a fluffy, lightweight batting. It compresses enough to make quilting easier, unlike some thick poly battings that are stiffer.

Hobbs Polydown has nice loft and is puffy. Quilting must be done a minimum of 4" apart. Wool is another option but carries a very hefty price tag. Again Hobbs makes two wools. The most commonly found is Hobbs Heirloom washable wool. Also requires quilting spaced at 4" minimum.

Quilters Dream also carries a wool bat and a high loft poly called Dream Puff.

Do you quilt it differently than you would cotton? By that I mean simpler quilting?

Warm & Plush is 50% puffier than Warm & Natural. It isn't as easy to find in all the JAF stores, but I never struggle to find it online. I really love it! I ordered a 25yd x 90" roll from walmart.com and am thrilled every time. The only thing is that that extra thickness does add some extra weight. If she wants something that is light like a comforter, poly is probably your only option (or a poly-cotton blend).

Edit: Just saw your second question ... regardless of what type of batting you use, the heavier you quilt it, the flatter it becomes. You really don't want to leave more than 2-3" between your quilting lines if she is going to be washing it on a regular basis because wider spacing will result in more tension on the thread/fabric and the threads can weaken or snap over time. If you quilt closer together than that, though, it will be less puffy.

Just a thought here - would a fabric with a satiny finish (cotton sateen?) be a good choice to enhance the appearance of puffiness? I know real satin is slippery and probably impractical, but cottons with a sheen wouldn't be. Since this would greatly limit fabric choice, maybe just the dominant fabric, border, or back?

It really depends on what you mean by simpler quilting. If you are used to doing a close stipple, then that would be more difficult to do with a lofty poly simply because you would be dealing with a lot of dramatic differences between flat and puffy near your quilting lines. Anything with higher loft is going to be slightly more difficult to machine quilt on a domestic sewing machine. However, the loft of the Hobbs polydown is so soft it doesn't create a lot of extra difficulty. Using a very high loft off-brand poly would usually be harder to quilt (especially in larger quilts) because the polyester is relatively stiff and therefore harder to compress as you quilt. Plus, close quilting on that kind of very high loft batting tends to result in a very stiff quilt. You can do close quilting on Hobbs Polydown and still have a nice, soft quilt.

Edit: Regarding sateen, my experience with it is that it loses its gloss with washing and wrinkles badly once that finish is lost. I would not recommend it. Satin and silk have that wonderful soft feel to them, but they are so slippery they can create problems with the piecing, layering and quilting processes. They require extra skill in handling.

Prism & Bree123 I think you have answered my questions. I do quilt on a DSM. It makes perfect sense that more quilting would make it less puffy. I'll take a look at the Hobbs Polydown. I think she probably does prefer something lighter like a comforter. My friend says her decor is "antique-y" and I know she would not ask for anything specific, so this is just me starting to plan things in my head. I guess for me "simpler" and "antique" go together anyway; stippling seems more modern to me. Nothing wrong with a grid pattern or S.I.D. :-) Thank you!

I use to have people request to make them a puffy quilt. I don't like quilting with poly. I told them that the difference between comforters and quilts is that comforters are fluffy and quilts are flat. :)

I've used Hobbs Polydown in a few quilts & I wouldn't consider it puffy. I would use W & N with another layer of the Polydown if you want more loft.