GingerK

I have a friend who is making quilts for her 4 year old DGS's The top and backing are flannelette and she is planning on using washable wool batting. I have heard that wool batting--even the washable stuff--will shrink if the quilt is dried in the dryer. She has asked for my advice and since I have never used it, I thought I pose the question to all of you. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated.

SherylM

I've used Quilter's Dream wool batting in several quilts. When they're done I always wash them on warm and dry them in a warm dryer on the settings I use for my regular laundry, and they turn out beautiful! Very, very little shrinkage.

Unless she prewashes the fabric a couple of times, that will probably shrink more than the batting will.

ManiacQuilter2

I don't think that is a problem with the modern day wool they make now but you need to read directions on the bag. Some of the older wool batting from the 80s and early 90s might have a problem with washing.

Jan in VA

YES, true!! The ONLY caveat I have about wool batting for a baby is this: I personally can slightly 'feel' the wool fibers through a cotton faced quilt, sometimes more noticeably than others to me. But I also have rather sensitive-to-textures skin. I don't have experience with wool in a flannel quilt.

Jan in VA

SherylM

I have a little story to share that will hopefully reassure anyone that's on the fence about using wool batting, because they think you have to pamper it.

One of the quilts that I made was a queen size one for my oldest son. When I gave it to him, I gave him very clear washing instructions - take it to the laundromat, wash it on warm in a double washer and dry it on warm.

Well, at Christmas he was telling me how much he loves that quilt and that he's washed it twice already. His dog gets on the bed and apparently she loves it too.

"Yeah, I just stuffed it in my washer with hot water and it turned out great!"

"Wait...you used hot water?! And you didn't take it to the laundromat?"

"No! That's what you told me to do..."

No, that's not what I told him to do (35 years old and he still doesn't pay attention when I talk... ), but the moral of the story is that the quilt took a lickin' and kept on tickin'! He said it still looks like it did the day I gave it to him.

I love Quilter's Dream wool batting - the quilts are so soft and cuddly, lightweight and warm that I don't want to use anything else.

CanoePam

I just wash on warm and dry on medium. I do make sure to reposition the quilt during the dryer cycle since it is too big to tumble freely. I found my Quilters Dream wool batting didn't shrink any more than a cotton Warm and Natural batt. I would worry more about the flannel. Even high quality flannel shrinks a lot.

ckcowl

I think the wool battings ( Dream Wool and Hobbs Wool) shrink Less than any cotton batts I've used! They wash and dry beautiful and hold up for years. I love wool battings!