asabrinao

Hi, Everyone,

I'm working on a bed quilt for my own bed and would like something with a little bit of weight. Any thoughts on the best batting for something designed to be a little heavier? I was planning on quilting--not tying.

Thanks,
A

MadQuilter

Not sure that any of the single layers of batting will give you the result you want. A recommendation in a blog I read was to use an Army blanket instead of batting. If that is not an option, you can put two layers of batting together but that will result in a somewhat thick sandwich to handle while quilting. Some quilters use a layer of cotton (like Hobbs 80/20 or Warm&Natural and then put a split layer of wool batting over top of that. (they carefully separate the wool batting into two thinner sheets.)

ManiacQuilter2

I have read previous posts that quilters have used a layer of Hobbs and wool together for warmth, not weight. But I don't think you can quilt that thickness on a DSM. I had a heavy quilt made out of scraps of wool and I just didn't care for the weight on my body. It sure kept me warm when roads closed down due to snow.

feline fanatic

Cotton is the heaviest batting weight wise. Other things that will or can add to the weight is lots of piecing. The more seam allowances the heavier the quilt. so if you are looking for weight, choose a pattern with lots of pieces. Finally your backing can also add weight. Some flannels are pretty heavy.

You don't say how you are quilting it but if you are putting it on a frame and doing longarm you can add to the weight by making the quilt double sided and piecing the backing as well. But if your longarm balks at many layers of seam allowance you won't want to do this.

The heaviest quilt I have is batted with an old army blanket and I put a layer of poly on top of that to give definition to the quilting. Unfortunately the old scratchy army blanket is still scratchy even through the backing ( a quilting cotton ) so I only use it on the coldest of nights and when there is already layers of blankets and quilts between me and the scratchyness. I do like to feel that kind of weight on me when I sleep, especially on super cold winter nights.

SherylM

I agree with using something like a woolen Army blanket, or wool yardage if you don't mind paying more for it.

I just recently finished a quilt for a cousin that lives in Massachusetts. For the batting, I used three yards of thrifted vintage wool flannel that came from a mill in a town where his father was born. There wasn't quite enough so I had to buy a couple more yards from an online source (NOT cheap!), but the quilt turned out lovely and it's very heavy and warm. Good for those cold Mass. winters!

asabrinao

Vintage wool flannel and/or army blanket! Great tip. I also did not know that cotton was the heaviest batting--will keep that and lotsa piecing in mind.

Thanks everyone!

For those who had questions: I'm quilting on a DSM (Juki TL2010) and have planned for flannel on front and back.

suern3

There is wool batting, also. I believe Quilters Dream makes it and some other brands also. I just prefer Quilters Dream, though have never used the wool. I think theirs is washable which might be a problem with the older wool blankets. I made one DGD a quilt with regular pieced cotton top, Quilters Dream Plush cotton batting which is their thickest bat, and a flannel backing and that is sure one heavy quilt. I quilted it on my Pfaff 2134 dsm. If you are using flannel for top and backing I would think either the plush cotton or the wool batting would make a very cozy quilt.

sewingitalltogether

Nothing beats the wool for warmth. But if you want the heaviness, I'd use 2 battings, the wool and a cotton. It could be a problem quilting it, being so thick.

Peckish

You could also use 2 layers of fabric for your batting. That would be much easier than piecing it.

Bree123

Warm & Plush 100% cotton batting. Cotton is almost always the heaviest batting and Warm & Plush is the thickest, heaviest of the cotton batts. It is sometimes a bit difficult to locate in local stores, but I've seen it sometimes at JAF and I buy mine by the roll from Walmart.com. I love heavy blankets & W&P is my absolute favorite!

My second choice would be a blanket from the Army/Navy Surplus... but then you're usually limited to darker fabrics -- at least for the blankets that they sell in the local Army/Navy stores by me.