Battings
Well I have shared a few things about battings on my blog before….I think people underestimate the type of batting they put in quilts….they just buy what ever is on sale…or whatever they have been told is the best.
Honestly…I was one of those people. Before I bought my own long arm I used Warm and Natural batting. If My LQS was out of the cotton batting…I would use The warm company’s poly brand..as my second choice….cause it was readily available and I trust that company. They have a good product. So why change? I tried wool…it was so expensive so those were for “special” quilts. Then I tried dream puff..loved the poof.
Then I went to a quilt show. Things changed for me. I have been experimenting with battings ever sicce…also different combinatations..different brands and what not. I make notes to myself of what I use in each quilt..how they wash up…how my machine likes them…How they appear…ect.
In my experience Cotton and a bamboo battings have the same look and feel after they are washed. I actually prefer bamboo now for some reason…I can’t explain why..it just feels softer…while I am working with it. These battings really give your quilt a vintage feel after washed & dried. I posted some vintage quilts last week that quilted and washed and dried with bamboo and W&N battings.
Vintage 1929 Before & After
Vintage Grann Squares Before & After
I would encourage all of you to do the same. Since I offer Hobbs polydown as my main batting, I thought I would share why I like this batting. I like it because it is the same loft, drape, and feel as a wool type batting..at a lesser price. I like poly batting because it doesn’t shrink…it doesn’t create lint while I am quilting. It photographs well because it poofs in all the right places. The pictures make it seem like it is a lofty batting..but it really isn’t.
I also thought I would share pictures of a few quilts after they have been washed with poly batting. Now the batting doesn’t shrink…but I am not a prewasher of my fabrics..and they did shink a minor amount..and that’s ok. I would also like to point out that the Purple and Gold Navaho rose quilt was pretty badly pieced and not square…I didn’t even know if I could quilt it…I did get it quilted and it looks great…but because of the extra fabric it will have extra crinkle. So there are many factors in the end result of our quilts. Fabrics…..whether we pre-wash or not, Batting, the way we piece them..the way we quilt them…. the way we wash them…if we dry them. These quilts are couch quilts….so I wash them and dry them in the dryer ( just like our laundry…detergent, fabric softner..ect)
Here are the links to them before:
So now you can see what they look like after being washed ..they both contain Hobbs poly down batting. I think there is not much of a crinkle look. 
I think you can still see the quilting designs pretty well. which I like. Sometimes if they crinkle to much you can’t recognize what was actually quilted..which may be good in some cases..but in others..I want to see what I did.
So there is a lesson in batting today…just from my own experience…perspective. However. you call it.