batting lint problems
 

I am making a memory quilt and used Fairfield 80/20 batting. I was horrified to find lint on my black sashing so thick it looked white! I have tried to wipe it off but it still looks awful. Has anyone had this problem and can suggest a solution to save this quilt?

I've had a similar problem with black fabric and Pellon's cotton batting with scrim. I just went on down the road and will use a lint roller when I'm finished.

bkay

Save it? Well, once you get the excess batting off, either with a lint brush or a pet brush (works beautifully, by the way) what would be wrong with the quilt?

How did you try to wipe it off? I think you are going to need several sticky lint rollers (the kind with tear-off paper) to get the lint off. You will just have to keep rolling the sashing until all the lint is gone.

Edit: Is this a quilt top? Or a finished quilt -- quilted and bound?

some bats are just very linty and I've had problems with Pellon's this way. Once you bind it and either wash or use a roller on it, it should be fine. You mention black sashing--if you used lots of black then next time I'd suggest a black bat be used.

I have used the sticky lint rollers but the lint just keeps appearing.

That's what I wanted to know. I was afraid to start quilting it for fear it would sew in the lint. And then once I finished, and bound it would that stop the lint. I have removed most of the lint with the sticky ling roller and will finish quilting it and wash it and keep my fingers crossed that the lint will finally be gone. I have too much light fabric in the quilt to have used black batting. Thanks for everyones comments.

I quit using solid dark fabrics last time I used a solid black. It picked up every fuzzy known to man. I finally got it down to a dull road after I bound it. Then I washed/dried/lint rolled it. It was ok but won't use dark solids again.

It is possible for a batting to beard. Bearding is when the batting pokes its way through the fabric fibers. It's possible that when you use the sticky rollers, they are not only removing the lint on top of the fabric but also pulling more lint through from the batting. This can happen if the fabric fibers are relatively far apart. Bearding normally affects quilts *after* quilting, not before, but the stickiness of the paper could be a problem

Did you by any chance not prewash the black fabric? If this is the case, I am thinking that any bearding that is occurring will stop when you wash the quilt, because washing and drying tends to tighten up looser fabric weaves.

What brand of black fabric did you use? Some brands may tighten up more than others when washed.

I am thinking most of the lint is actually on top of the fabric. However, with the degree of difficulty you are encountering removing the lint, my suspicion is that some bearding is taking place with the sticky rollers.

Your only choices at this point are (1) continue on and trust that the fabric will tighten up enough in the wash to stop any bearding, or (2) take the sandwich apart, clean off the top with lint rollers (without batting underneath to beard through), and then re-sandwich with a different batting.

Most cotton battings never beard. Once a quilt starts bearding (after being quilted), it never stops. Pulling out some fibers from the top simply pulls additional fibers through the fabric. The only "fix" for a bearding quilt is to use a device such as a trimmer for pills on a sweater, going over the entire quilt and cut off the batting fibers at the surface.

Here is a FAQ that talks about different batting types and bearding:
http://www.masterstech-home.com/The_...attingFAQ.html

Theoretically, your Fairfield 80/20 should be 100% bonded (look on the package) which should reduce bearding.

My thought is to take a very close look at the black sashing to see if fibers are being pulled through from the batting (rather than just lint lying on top of the fabric).

If you want to be really sure about the possibility of bearding before quilting this quilt, I would recommend taking some black sashing fabric scraps and making a test quilt sandwich with that batting. Maybe a 12" square. Bind or serge the edges when finished so batting cannot escape out the sides. Then wash and dry the sample and see if bearding occurs. It's the only way to be sure.

I have had this happen, too, and it is so frustrating. I found that the sticky lint roller worked OK. I also vacuumed the quilt after finishing. I found that binding the quilt as soon as possible to cover up any batting ends was helpful. And washing the whole quilt after finishing made it look like new. I love black backgrounds as they make for such dramatic contrasts to the colors.