Help needed please, before I start my first quilt, I am looking at the batting on the internet, I see it comes in, Cotton, Poly, and Wool.

What you have is commonly known as polyester batting. I have done a lot of upholstery, so that is how I know. I also teach quilting.
It depends on what you want for your final product with a quilt. If you want it light and fluffy, then use the batting that you have. If you want it thinner so that your quilting stitches will show, then use cotton or bamboo. The polyester/Dacron will be warmer than the cotton. Either will be very visually pleasing. Good luck!!

Pam adding my two pennorth. We are in the UK and unless you are going to order from somewhere else you might not have some of the choices mentioned

I've also recently seen a new batting, "green" batting, made from recycled pop (soda) bottles, and you can quilt it up to 12" apart. I'm going to try some, it's not very expensive. It would also depend on whether it's going to be a real bed quilt for warmth, a picnic quilt, a wall hanging; whether or not you want it to be washable, how much use it's going to get & how much washing. There's a whole lot to consider. Do make sure of how far apart it can be quilted, some are only 3", some 8-12". You really need to know this, because if you don't quilt it close enough, the batt could shift or start to come apart. I don't think your Dacron would work well, because it isn't designed as a batt, to hold together when being stretched or pulled. It's great for uhpolstry, but it's sandwiched between the fabric & foam, and they provide so much friction that it can't shift. I think it would come apart inside of a quilt, maybe. Good luck with this, lots of batting information on line. Hugs, Marji

1 comment

by justsew 13 Aug 2012

Thank you.

I too have never heard of this. My choice for most quilts is Warm & Natural as it is very warm! I do use the high loft batting for baby quilts as they are more for looks than warmth & people seam to like a puffy baby blanket instead of a flat one. Each type of batting that is available will also tell you something about the quilting that is required for this to stay put! Sew be careful to choose one that you are comfortable with this requirement as it is very important to the final appearance & stability of the quilt! All the very best Luck with your new endevor Pam, but be careful it is very addictive! LOL Hugs Loralye

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by justsew 13 Aug 2012

Thank you for that. we learn so much as we go along.. I will start on a small one for myself to use when we sit outside our caravan. and the next one I want to do one for our bed. I have the designs. they are Kokopeli indian ones..I just need to get it right in my head before I start..

Batting also comes in silk, some people us flannel like a blanket. Batting also comes in different weights or thickness. The choice of batting depends on how you are going to use the quilt, how big it is, and if you are going to hand quilt it, tie it, how far apart you are going to make your stitches.

If you are going to hand quilt it, you want a thin batting. Cotton is harder to push the needle through, than polyester. Generally these bats are 2 or 3 oz in weight and depending on how they were manufactured, the distance between your stitches can vary. If you look at old quilts, the stitches were very close together so that the batting would not ball up all in one spot. Nowadays, the battings are treated so that your stitches can be up to 8 inches apart before they start bunching up depending on what you buy, so read the package label! These weights can also be machine quilted as they fit under home machines well.

The thicker lofts are polyester and their weights are 4 oz or more. They are more lofty and are usually tied with yarn of different types, perle cotton embroidery yarn, tapestry wool etc. Really fat bat was popular a while back, but I haven't seen it around for some time.

If this is your first quilt, I suggest you make the quilt top and back before you purchase your batting. Then decide how you want to finish it.

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by justsew 13 Aug 2012

Thank you for that. and I thought it was only the quilting I had to learn. it is on the embroidery machine I will be doing this , and only just realised, I can not use Dacron. HUMMM DUMMBO.. every time I saw the word Batting, I thought it was a word used in USA or elswere to describe dacron.WOW good job I found out before I made my Quilt.. Thank you for your help..
Hugs pam.

I, myself, have never heard of anyone using Dacron for quilting.

I use Hobbs heirloom premium batting. It's an 80% cotton and 20% poly. But there are lots of quilt battings out there and everyone has their favorites. I also like the Warm and Natural batting. Some people prefer batting with a higher poly content and a higher loft/thickness to it. I like the flatter batting. Someone else will have to tell you if Dacron is something that will take a lot of machine washing and wear well as a batting. Even though it is a strong product, I have no idea how it would work in a quilt.

1 comment

by justsew 13 Aug 2012

Thank you.