Let's Talk About Batting!

I'm still here!  You got used to me blogging near daily didn't you?  Lol*

I have been busy...quilting!  I wanted to take a quick break though to talk about batting.

Today I was working on a customer quilt and really took note how the batting choice effects the quilting.  It's only been the past year or so that I've really paid much attention to batting.  When I first started quilting I was turned on to the current trend for FLAT quilts.  If you're really in love with antique or civil war style quilts...a flat batting is great, it really gives that antique look!  Cotton low loft battings also crinkle up, so along with staying flat, once washed a few times they give a really charming aged look.

I LOVE that, but sometimes I want some poof.  For the LONGEST time I avoided medium or high loft battings, ESPECIALLY ones with polyester!  I immediately thought of the quilts from when I was young - super poofy with little blue geese on them.  Well guess what?  I love polyester batting these days!!!!!!!!!  Not because I want my quilts to look dated, but because higher loft battings really show off quilting detail.  The only problem I have with 100% polyester batting is their tendency to beard.  But, to combat that, I like something like Hobbs 80/20 - it's a flatter, not so 1984 looking batt, but that teeny bit of polyester allows for some quilting definition, and it's bonded so no bearding.

If you really like the poof - or are doing some really intricate quilting and want major definition, wool is the way to go.  It's washable and bonded so there's no bearding, and gives you that lovely loft that shows off the quilting in a quilt.

It's kind of fun once you begin to understand what a difference batting can make, to then play and experiment.

What batting do you love?

My camera battery died on me at the end of this video!  So, no pictures for the blog today, but here's a short video showing you a few different loft battings and how they look once quilted.