Batting...Reading Between the Layers

Guest Author - Tamara Bostwick

How important can the unseen middle of a quilt be? Heck, grandma used old, worn out blankets way back when. Well, like most other things in this day and age, choosing a batting for your quilt can be complicated and confusing with the plethora of different types of battings available on the market. I remember going to the fabric store when I was making my first quilt and staring at the rolls and packages of battings with no idea of what to buy. I ended up, as many beginners do, with a fluffy polyester batting that later caused me a great deal of grief when I attempted to machine quilt it. Let me just say that it was a good thing I was the only one at home at the time. Now, don't get me wrong, thick polyester batting has it's place, just not in the middle of a machine stitched quilt. Some battings work great for machine quilting but are more difficult for hand quilting and others work best for tied quilts. It is important to understand the differences and select the proper batting so that finishing your quilt is enjoyable rather than torturous. Those of you who are toppers (and you know who you are) can come back next week or print this out and save it in your file if ever you decide to finish those quilt tops.

Battings have certainly come a long way since the first cotton batting was manufactured by Stearns & Foster, the parent company of Mountain Mist, in 1846. Now they come in many lofts (this refers to weight and thickness), sizes, and are manufactured using natural, synthetic and blended fibers. There are even fusible varieties that are designed to elimate the need for pinning or basting prior to quilting.

There are two common methods for manufacturing battings - bonding and needle punching. Bonded battings use a bonding agent to adhere or "bond" the fibers together, hence the name. Some battings are bonded only on the surface and others are completely bonded. The 100% bonded batts are said to beard less. The needle punch method is just like it sounds - the fibers are poked with numerous needles which causes them to tangle together and become tightly interwoven. Needle punched battings are more firm and heavier than bonded battings because of the increased density.

Polyester...

batting is usually the least expensive and is readily available in different weights and sizes. It is easy to wash and creates a lighter weight quilt than cotton or wool but because it is a synthetic fiber, it does not breathe and is not as comfortable as natural battings for year round use. Another common problem with polyester battings is bearding where stray fibers work their way to the surface. The thicker, fluffier polyester battings are difficult to machine quilt mainly because of the bulk. They work well if you will be tying the quilt and give the quilt a more fluffy look similar to comforters. Lower loft polyester battings are fine for hand or machine quilting.

Cotton...boll or ball, that is the question

batting is heavier than polyester even though it is much thinner and is warmer than polyester. They work well for machine quilting but are more difficult to hand quilt than polyester. Depending on the manufacturer, it is sometimes necessary to prewash the batt before use, so be sure to read the label on the packaging. Cotton batting is not as stable as polyester so to maintain the integrity of the batting, quilting must be closely quilted - approximately two inches between lines. If you try to tie a quilt sandwiched with cotton batting, you will end up with a misshapen quilt because the batting will break into pieces and clump together. Not a good look unless you are trying to win the Worst Quilt in the World Contest.

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?

Wool battings are loved by hand quilters because they are easy to quilt. Wool is more expensive than cotton and in many cases has to be mail ordered. An upscale quilt shop may carry Hobbs Heirloom so it is worth asking. Wool also has the tendency to beard and has to be covered with a layer of cheesecloth for best results. Hobbs Bonded Fibers makes a washable wool batting that is available online and some quilt shops may carry it. If you are wondering Why Wool?, this manufacturer of wool bedding has an interesting article about the health benefits and advantages of wool bedding.

In my searches, I found some farms where you can order wool batts fresh off the sheep. Sometimes they come with a cheesecloth cover, sometimes they don't so be sure to find that out beforehand.

Alpaca...al..what?

The alpaca is a fur bearing animal native to the mountainous regions of South America that are now being raised commercially in several other countries with the largest herds (outside South America) in the US and Australia. It is a member of the camelid family and bears a fine, silky fleece that is as soft as cashmere. Also, the fleece comes in 22 natural colors. For more information about alpacas, visit the national organization's website. The finest grades of the fleece are made into luxury garments and the lesser quality fleece can be made into batting. I have not talked to anyone that has used an alpaca batting, but I have felt one and it is very soft. I would imagine that it is comparable to wool. One nice feature of alpaca fleece is that it has no lanolin and requires much less pretreating and cleaning than wool. I found one online source of premade battings here. There are other fiber sites that sell the roving by weight if you are interested in making your own batting. I have listed just a few of the many on the internet below.

Inchworm, inchworm...
Sorry, wrong rhyme...

Ahhh....silk. Sounds decadent, doesn't it? Silk batting, as you would expect, is expensive but it works wonderfully for quilted garments. The thing to watch out for is bearding because the fibers are so fine that they tend to work their way through many fabrics. The best solution is to use it in silk garment construction. I found a wonderful site that demonstrates the process of making batting that is fascinating. I found two souces online for silk batting.

Sew Silky Notions
Richland Silk
Here you can purchase a 13" x13" sample along with 25 meter Silk thread for $5.50

The Best of Both Worlds...Blends

Battings come in cotton/polyester and wool/polyester blends as well. A very common and popular blend is 80% cotton and 20% polyester. King's Men Quilting Supply is the american distributor of Matilda's Own wool batting that consists of 55% australian wool and 45% polyester. The blended batts are more stable and less apt to shift because of the added polyester but they retain the favorable qualities of the all natural batts.

This information is very basic and has been gleaned from the web and various quilting books in my collection. If you are interested in learning more, Harriet Hargrave's book From Fiber to Fabric : The Essential Guide to Quiltmaking Textiles has an in depth discussion of quilt battings (the link will take you to the book at Amazon). Quilter's Newsletter Magazine has a detailed two part feature, Lofty Decisions, written by Lois Verma. Addy Harkavy has also written a couple of articles about batting: Confessions of a Batting Junkie and Batts for Wearable Quilts. She definitely knows her stuff (pun intended). Threads Magazine has an online article written by well known quilter, Mary Stori, about hand quilting that includes an interesting comparison table. Battings are readily available from fabric and quilt shops and online fabric sources.

If you are not quite sure how to sandwich a quilt, you can refer to this informative lesson provided by Quilt University.

If you need more information about particular brands of batting, most of the commercial sites have useful information regarding weight, content and how closely it needs to be quilted. The companies are listed below in no particular order and I have no personal recommendations to offer...batting selection is somewhat of a personal preference so it is best to try a few different ones. Many of the companies fabricate natural, synthetic, and blended battings.