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Question of the Week

Question for the week of February 24, 2003:

Our question this week comes Lorrie B:

I would like to know the differences between the various types of batting, what makes a batting superior over another?

Rendi Ames :
The differences in batting is in the content, warmth, how it appears in the quilt and ease of use. Contents are commonly Polyester, cotton or wool.

If you want a really warm quilt you would want to use the cotton or wool batting. If you are after an authentic look, like the old original quilts you will want to use cotton batting. With the various brands of cotton also comes the differences in ease of putting your needle through it. Cotton and wool are very durable too.

If your objective is for a fuller, puffier look then you would want polyester as it tends to have a fuller appearance. The Poly comes in a variety of weights too.Polyester is very easy to send a needle through.I am not certain about durability of the polyester batting.

Superior is subjective according to the the above described differences. And whether or not a person is doing hand quilting or machine quilting.

Pat :
Well I think Kathy covered the topic really well. The only thing I would add is to buy, beg or borrow a copy of Harriett Hargrave's book, "Machine Quilting". She has entire chapter's dedicated to the subject. She also has pictures showing different types of batting in different quilts. I also believe Quilter's Newsletter did two in depth articles on the subject. Check out their website for info on that. The best thing you can do is to buy lots of different types of batting and make up sample squares and experiment and see what you like. Good Luck!!

Kathy in WA :
I've been thinking about this since I read it earlier and I am sure that there are those who will have better answers than mine and also those who will have very definite opinions about which batting is "best." Different battings have different characteristics and you should choose one according to the needs of the project you are doing. Some of the things to consider:
1. Fiber--Many quilters like to keep everything in their quilts cotton--the fabrics, the threads, and the battings--so they would want to choose a 100% cotton batting. Natural fibers "breathe." Polyester does not. For that reason poly batts can be overly warm. There are also new wool batts available if you hunt them out--I haven't used them but have friends who swear by them. Cotton/poly blends are another possibility.
2. How you are quilting--Be sure to check the batt package for how close or far you can quilt. Some batts must be quilted as close as two inches and some can go as far as ten between quilting lines. The quilting effect you want will make a difference in whether you choose one of these batts.
If you are hand quilting you will want a batt that is easy to needle--for machine quilting that is not a problem.
3. Loft--If you like a puffy comforter style quilt then you will want a high loft batt that you don't have to quilt too closely. Thinner bats work well for close quilting, but many of them can be quilted at a greater distance apart, too.

I hope you get some input from quilters with definite preferences. I used to think quilts had to be puffy and I tied them with poly batts. then I had a very important quilt done professionally. The quilter did a custom job, a wonderful job, quilting closely with a thinner batt. But I cried because that was not what I was used to. Now I have come over to the side of elegant quilting--though I can't do it well myself except on small items and I can't often afford to have it done.

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