ISO Batting that is Fluffy and Can be Machine Quilted
 

Hi,
I'm a beginning quilter, and bought low-loft cotton batting as per recommendations from online quilting classes. I bought a few different ones to see what I liked best including Hobbs, Quilter's Dream, and Warm and Natural.

I was very surprised at how thin the low loft cotton batting is. And when I tried to spray baste the quilt top and back to it, it was hard to get the batting to stay smoothed out and it would wrinkle or bunch and I'd have to reposition the quilt top again and again to get things smooth. I think it was Hobbs natural cotton on that.

I would like to use my home machine to quilt. But I want a bit of a thicker quilt feel than it seems that the low loft provides. Unless it fluffs up a lot in the wash after I quilt?

Any recommendations for mid-loft or other batting that is easy to sandwich (using spray adhesive or that is itself fusible), that is reasonably easy to machine quilt, and that provides a bit of that traditional fluffy quilt feeling?

Thanks!
Anna

I use poly batting. To most here that is anathema, but it is the only thing I have. It has a lot of puffiness--and if I need less puffy, I have to buy a lighter weight batting. We buy it by the gram weight...I'm finding 100 gr (not sure 100 grams to what) is pretty low loft, 120-150 gr is med. loft and 200 gr would pretty much HAVE to be tied as it probably would be almost impossible to machine quilt on a home machine.

Hobbs 80/20 would be a good place for you to start. It fluffs up more than the all-cotton battings you mention, is easy to hand or machine quilt, and takes the spray well. If that is still not fluffy enough for you, you may want to go to all poly. Quilter's Dream polydown gets good reviews, and QD has another poly batt that is even higher loft.

Wool batting is pretty fluffy and it is so warm. It's thick!! I only use wool batting. I use to use cotton, but my quilts were so thin and I complained to my LQS owner about how thin they were and she turned me on to wool batting. I can sleep under just a quilt with wool batting...it's that warm!!!

Dream Puff is very light and fluffy - I use it for trapunto. I haven't used it in a quilt but think you'd like it if you don't mind that it's polyester http://www.quiltersdreambatting.com/dream-puff.htm

I love Hobbs Polydown. It machine quilts beautifully, is soft and slightly puffy, washes and wears really well. It comes off the roll without thick or thin places and is easy to handle. It's also affordable (about $5 a metre in Canada if I've bought the 30 yard roll at my LQS's batting sale. Even some really good hand quilters in our guild love this batting.

I find it interesting that you think the traditional quilt is fluffy. Low loft cotton batting is very traditional. In some old quilts the batting is so thin you can barely tell it has any batting at all.

Oh, I missed that! Yes, traditional quilts are quite thin and flat (but very soft!). It is the newer commercial comforters that seem to have introduced the idea of "fluffy" bed covers.

Quilter's Dream has just come out with a fusible batting. Since I'm a longarm quilter I won't be trying it but I have loved all their other battings that I carry.