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The main types of batting are cotton, polyester, poly-cotton blends and wool. You should choose the batting you need based on how you want your quilts to look and feel. Most cotton battings create a flat, draping quilt, while a high loft polyester batting will make a quilt look puffy and light. Cotton and wool, being natural fibers, will breathe more, while the polyester battings will retain heat.
While a low-loft poly is recommended for beginning hand quilters because of the smoothness of needling, a dense batting such as cotton is fine for machine quilters who don't use the power of their fingers to push a needle through the layers of a quilt.
If you are working on a mostly dark-colored fabric, however, a wool batting, which also hand quilts smoothly, is recommended because the fibers don't push through the fabric and show themselves the way a polyester batting does. This manner of the batting coming through to the top is called "bearding," and the appearance of small white fibers isn't something you want if you're working on a black or dark-colored quilt.
For the best results for your quilt, and to rid the batting of creases and folds, it is best to remove the batting from its packaging the night before you need to use it. Unfold the batting and give it time to relax to help the folds stretch out naturally. This is done by laying the batting across an unused bed or along a clean, open area of floor. Be sure to keep pets away from the batting during this time.
If you are running out of time and need the batting right away, they can often be fluffed in the dryer for about 10 minutes on a low heat setting. Be careful, however, not to distort the shape of the batting or you may end up with thinned out areas. If desired, your batting can be prewashed before you use it, but it is neither recommended, nor required.
Follow the instructions on your batting package to determine the best quilting density to use. Some cotton battings allow your quilting lines to be up to 6 inches apart, while other battings may suggest to have quilting every 2 inches. If you disregard these recommendations, over time you may find you have clumps of batting sagging down into corners rather than staying evenly spread along the inside of the quilt.
When you go to purchase your batting for a specific quilt project, have an idea in mind for the kind of quilt you want. Purchase the batting based on the puffiness of the quilt, the density of quilting, and method in which it will be quilted. Choosing the right batting for you and your quilt will make all the difference in your experience quilting it and in the finished look of the quilt itself. Test out a few different brands to find the batting you prefer.
