FoxyLady

Years ago I picked up some very good advice for butting batting (interesting word play). The person suggested overlaying two pieces of batting and then using your rotary cutter, cut a serpentine line down the two pieces of batting. At that point, take it to your machine and stitch it together using a zig-zag stitch. Cutting it like this makes the two pieces fit together nicely. I find that this method makes the pieces lay smoothly and fit together very well -- no lumping or stretching.

Gemm

I'm glad I found this thread! I was wondering, though, if you piece your batting, does it affect the quilting you need to do to make sure it stays in place, or is the zigzag strong enough to hold it all together no matter how densely you quilt? I have really only done stitch in the ditch quilting so would probably try to make sure the zigzag seam is slightly offset from the quilting lines, but the idea of the serpentine join that FoxyLady suggested might be an even better idea to keep it from having one easy separation zone... Any thoughts on this? I'm still on a pretty steep learning curve and would be grateful to hear more from you experts out there!

lindaschipper

As for the backing I would simple purchase a coordinating color or design and sew it to one side of the back. Easy peasy.

Iceblossom

I really try to not piece batting but of course I have! I think that serpentine idea would be awesome on like a warm and natural type batting. Otherwise, If I can I like to use the outer edges for nice smooth edges, or just cut nice edges, butt-join and whip stitch together. Once you've made the batting the size you need, you should be able to just sort of forget that it was joined.

For my fluffy poly batts I do a tiny bit of an overlay, smashing the fibers around so they are smooth(er??), and simply whip together with a huge hand zig-zag.

Just in general, you do want to avoid seams in backings or battings down the middle/normal fold lines. Just a couple inches one way or the other is enough. So think in thirds, whether horizontal or vertical, if your yardage is wide enough that two widths will do you, put a whole width in the middle. Slice the other piece down the length and put one side on either side of the whole piece. While the temptation is great to use the selvedges attached and some fabrics are good for this, for the most part, it is best to remove them. They are thicker which can be felt or impact your quilting, and can store tension (make ripples and such) in the fabric that is released by cutting them off. I advise open 1/2" seams for backs but I've used 1/4" too.

cashs_mom

I think it was Marti Mitchell's book on quilting in sections where I first heard about doing the serpentine cut for piecing batting. She suggests using her batting tape to hold it in place, but I've done this without using the tape and it worked fine.

Quiltwoman44

I've hand sewn mine together with no problems. usually with a large stitch on an angle and then back going with another angle, like a big X. sometimes i've sewn smaller tighter stitches. both seem to work. i do try to pay attention where I put that join though.

Gemm

Thanks for all of the insights - I'm definitely feeling a bit more confident. What's funny is that the minute I had decided I would be fine with piecing the batting for the next quilt on the pile, I found a piece that is just big enough. /smh That's the way things work out, sometimes! :-)

Irishrose2

When I add to the back of a quilt, I don't make blocks - I just use scrap pieces of fabric 4 to 7 inched tall and about 19" wide - or whatever I need to make it wide enough. Just a big 'stacked coin'. I set it 1/3 of the way in from the edge of the backing.

I can't do batting by machine - my zigzag machine distorts the batting so it won't lay flat. I butt the edges together and do a large whipstitch with double thread (by hand).