What's a Good Batting for a Table Runner?
 

Hi everyone,
The last time I made one I used fleece and it wouldn't lay flat.
I'm making one for the Christmas season and want to know what I should use.
I have lots of battings of different makes, blends, etc. I will FMQ it.

Thanks so much!
Susie

PS. I want something more substantial than flannel so that one's out.

I use insubright. It helps insulates the warm dishes so helps protect the table . I learned this when our daughter had someone put a pizza box on her antique dining room table. Pizza was hot and table was heat stained!

I’ve used double thickness of Mother’s old, slightly stained white table cloths.

I use warm and Natural.

I used Warm and Natural scraps on the last one I made. It lays flat.

I have used the Season's Cover batting. It is a thin batting used for crafts & holiday decor. It lays flat & comes in 36" x 7'. I usually pick it up at Hobby Lobby ( I think Michael's might carry it too) after Xmas on clearance & have gotten some really good buys. I haven't had any problems with it that I know off. Just a suggestion.

I use 60/40 wool/poly and found that it laid nice and flat and had a good firmness to it as well. haha, I bought a whole roll of the stuff and have found it to not be to my total satisfaction for quilts so am delighted that I have another use for it. By my quick calculations (ahem) I reckon I've got about another 3,000,000 table runners worth of batting sitting under my sewing table....guess what is my default gift idea....LOL!

I have used polyester material..strong and heavy enough to lay flat.

I don't use batting for table runners. I use deco craft. It's flat and stays flat. Great for placemats.

Is deco craft a filler?

I know someone who makes alot of tablerunners and likes Thermore. I prefer cotton, in case something hot is placed on it. Thermore is synthetic.

I used left over batting strips from quilts for my table runners. They wash well and lay quite flat. Friends have used flannel also. I don't like table runners without some kind of batting as they shift around too much on the table.

One placemat pattern that I have recommends flannel. I suppose it would be a good recycle of worn receiving blankets or a flannel sheet from a thrift store? Just so it has been used enough to not shrink unevenly with the outside fabrics.

I always use warm and white. It has very minimal shrinking, and I wash my fabrics prior to assembly, so the table runners always come out of the washer and dryer looking great.

Batting for table runners
 

I agree with Tartan - I make lots of table runners for craft shows and gifts and I find the Hobbs 80/20 fusible is just the right weight and flatness that I like. From the craft/baby quilt size of batt, I can easily cut three runners, even the extra long ones. As for binding, I prefer to stitch to the back by machine, then top-stitch on the front.

for table runners and tree skirts, I use flannel - plain old flannel (on sale or with major coupons, I buy it for about $2 per yard). It gives it a little bit of fluff without making it 'wobbly'. (My go to rule is if I can sit a delicate wine glass on it and not have it wobble.) Being 42" wide, it works for most of these projects and for a custom extra wide skirt, I buy the wide flannel. I joke about how I want to put my money on the tops, not on the inside. And since I am in the business of making money with these items, I try to keep the costs down. When I do a show, I do offer matching potholders/trivets for when they are using hot dishes and with these I do use insulbright.

A note on using wool or heavy fabrics. For years I used Army blankets. I wash them to shrink them and then put them in table runners, etc. They worked well, and I could usually find them for $5.00 at A/Navy stores. They were heavy enough to stay in place.

Thanks for all your replies! You are the best! :)

When felt is on sale, I stock up and use two layers. Protects my table well.

Thanks for this! I was just wondering how many runners' worth of batting I could get from the craft/baby size.

Pellon fleece interfacing is the only thing I use for table runners and placemats. It does everything I want it to - flat, but has enough loft for quilting to show, - clingy, so it hardly needs pins. It comes both fusible and non, but I like the non. Candles sit flat.

Me too! Or warm and white, lays flat!

This is what I use also except last Christmas in a rush to finish a gift for DD I was out and used a scrap of batting I had on hand. She loved it but after she had it in her table for a couple of weeks she called me and said it was not working. I ask her if it was too thick. She said, too soft my cats think you made it just for them. Every time I turn my back they push everything I have setting on it off and they are on it sound asleep. So too soft is not good if the user has fur baby's.

I use Warm & Natural, never had any problems with it laying flat on the table.

I use Warm and Natural for absolutely everything, but that's just me.

I like Quilter's Dream Cotton ... the thinnest ... select, I believe.

Last week I ran into a polyester batting at Hobby Lobby that has very low loft which would be good if you were to set candles or other center pieces on the runner. It was 45" wide. I bought it to add to a quilt that I was backing with Minky and didn't want too much added weight. Might take a look.