wool batting for quilting
 

Hello all you fine quilters out there. I was just wondering if any of you have ever tried real wool for batting in quilts. I was just carding up some wool and thought that I would take the carded wool and just use that in a block, quilt and when it is washed, it would automatically felt. I don't see why it would be any different than the warm and natural or polyester batting in a quilt. I have about 7 bags of wool ready to be washed, carded and spun, but instead of spinning it, just use it in a block, do lots of quilting on it and then just do quilt as you go. I was just wondering if any of you quilters out there have ever tried it.

Yeah, I was thinking of just trying it on one square doing that. I wouldn`t want to ruin a whole.

Hmm. How thickly does it felt? I've felted with roving and it seemed to felt thickly, and sort of hard. I guess I would try a small sample piece, like a placemat, before doing anything very large. I would quilt it on the dense side, maybe 1" apart(?) as all other battings have been needled or have a scrim to keep them even and the batting from coming apart and bunching up. Curious to see if anyone has tried this before. There are several hits on google about this but they are all from custom wool processers who take your fleece & prepare the batts.

from someone who loves handwork and wishes quilting was a more localized, hand produced hobby, i am so excited to hear how this works out for you!

aileen

One of the problems historically with wool for batting is that it tends to "beard". It used to be that quilters needed to encase a wool batt in cheesecloth before layering. Wool batts also used to shrink a lot. Modern wool batts from Hobbs and Quilter's Dream are treated to prevent bearding and to minimize shrinkage (they shrink only about 3% now, perfect for quilts).

When I very first starting quilting I hit Ebay for wool batting, and wound up buying actual wool batts of Corriedale, a few pounds worth. They were a great deal, as the lady was selling her little group of hobby sheep and sold them just for the price of processing she herself was charged. They are just fabulous. Except of course for how I've never used them for anything because of all the fear of shrinking, shifting, bearding! I've read that bit about enclosing them in cheesecloth before, and I think, man, how would that help? It doesn't seem to me that cheesecloth would enclose anything with less diameter than a stick.

I bought some Hobb's wool batting today--I'll be interested to read this conversation.

Does fresh wool contain lots of lanolin? I would think that would eventually stain the quilt but honestly I have no idea about wool ready to card. I grow a few cotton plants to use for stuffing for small projects!

I have two vintage quilts that were made with wool. They're from the 50's and were originally store-bought, covered in a solid green fabric, front and back, stitched in a box pattern much like a down comforter except wool. They were recovered in the 80's but have never been actually quilted. The wool is quite thick, maybe 2", and the quilts have always been dry cleaned, not washed. They are quite heavy, still soft, and wonderful to sleep under if you like the heat way down at night as I do.

Can you machine wash and dry wool batting once it is in the quilt? I'm thinking of the front loader at a laundromat, not a home toploading machine (no, don't have a frontloader at home).

You can definitely wash Hobbs Heirloom wool in a machine, and I'm pretty sure it would be okay to tumble dry it also (in a large laundromat dryer). Scroll down this page to find info on it:
http://www.hobbsbatting.com/our-prod...om-collection/

The recommendation for Hobbs Tuscany wool is to dry flat.

Many quilters like Quilter's Dream wool batting too, but there can be bearding:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...m-t222212.html

Is there anything like a scrim the wool? I would worry about how close I would need to quilt in order to secure the wool and for it not to shift or bunch up.

I think wool batting are usually bonded; I have not seen any with scrim.

If you check the link that Prism has given, it gives you the quilting distance.



Here's a link to the specs about the Tuscany Wool batting ...........
http://www.hobbsbatting.com/our-prod...ny-collection/

Both links mention about bonding and non-bearding, as well as the quilting distance.



Now you all have me wanting to try a wool batting! :):):)

I use Hobbs wool batting sometimes. I throw it in the washer and dryer afterwards to give it the crinkly look. I haven't had any problems.

Ditto for Quilters Dream Wool, and I've never had bearding even on black fabrics.

My question too. Even the super-nice cheesecloth from Williams Sonoma is pretty holey! Maybe they used a tight-woven muslin? Whatever they put inside down comforters?

I have done a super Queen size and a King size quilt with Hobbs wool batting. I washed then in cold afterwards and dried on low setting at a laundry mat and they came out beautiful! It was easy to FMQ and everyone loves them.

What do you mean by "beard"? I have never heard that before

what do you mean by "beard".

Bearding = migration of fibres from the batting that pass through the quilt top or backing to form a fuzz on the surface of the quilt

Regarding the cheesecloth, I think it is an interaction process. Wool fibers, unlike cotton, have tiny barbs on them. This is what causes wool to "felt" -- the barbs interlock tightly with each other, so tightly that felted wool does not ravel when cut. With the old style wool battings, I think the cheesecloth provided a type of scrim. The barbs on the wool fibers could grab onto the cheesecloth, providing a surface for other barbs to grab onto. The cheesecloth wasn't so much providing a barrier as it was providing a scaffold for the wool fibers to lock onto. My theory, anyway......

True or not ... your theory makes total sense to me, Prism! :)