I am ready to do the quilting on my quilt. All my fabric was prewashed, but should I prewash the batting (Warm and Natural)? I never have and I don't think any of my quilts were ruined by it, but I usually just put it in the dryer to get some of the wrinkles out. What do you say? Wash or Not and if you do, any special precautions?

I wet my batting and they put it in the dryer. I don't like the wrinkled look on my new quilts and there is some shrinkage with cotton batting like Warm and Natural. I haven't had any problems with this, but there's always the possibility the batting will stretch or tear. Be sure to cut the batting larger that you need to allow for the shrinkage.

Linda J in GA

Thank you Linda.

It is all personal preference.

If you like the older puckered look, do not wash it.

If you want absolutely no (or at least minimum shrinkage) you need to preshrink it.

Don't think "wash," think pre-shrink. If you decide to pre-shrink your batting DO NOT let the washing machine agitate. You'll end up with a giant cotton ball instead of batting.

I also have a question about batting. I love Warm and Natural and used it on my last quilt. It looked nice when I finished it but after washing the item it was rather wrinkled. Is this normal? Would pre-shrinking the batting keep it smooth and flat?


Sandy

Yes, Cookie, that is normal. That is the way I like my quilts to turn out. Except for a quilt I made for DHs DD...I did not know if she would like it or not.

Preshrinking will eliminate most of the shrinkage of cotton batting.

I found this on preshrinking batting: Soak batting (do not agitate) in warm water for 10 - 20 minutes and then spin dry. Dry in dryer.

I don't like the puckered look myself. I put the batting in on rinse, gentle cycle then throw it in the dryer. That's what works for me.

Thanks for the information. I will pre-shrink the Warm and Natural the next time I use it. It is my favorite batting but I am not fond of the puckered look.

Sandy

Sandy,
If you're cutting your batting from a larger bolt, be sure to allow extra for the shrinkage. I can't remember what the package says - but it seems to me a piece of Warm and Natural (or Warm and White) shrinks 4 or 5 inches.

Linda J

Cookie
I do not like the wrinkled look for my finished quilts so I preshrink most of the time.

If I want it to have an older look then I leave it as is off the bolt.

It is so helpful to get questions answered here. I thought I had done something wrong after trying to machine quilt a baby quilt. It looked okay until after I washed it.

Now thanks to you ladies, I will preshrink my batting before using it.

Thanks!

Sandy

Mine never shrinks much and never dry my quilts. I block them on a sheet in the floor. I use the dryer only to get the wrinkles out before quilting.

I also use only warm and natural batting, and prewash all my fabrics and also the batting on the delicate cycle and low heat tumble. I like them to lie flat prior to machine quilting.So far, so good...

My feeling on prewashing(prewetting) is how you want the finished quilt to look. I think the dryer influences how much shrinkage will take place. If you want all the shrinkage gone before quilting, dry it in a hot dryer!!! Typical, you can keep any quilt from shrinking or acquiring that "old" look by avoiding the dryer completely. But since some of our quilts are gifts to others, we don't always know how they will be taken care of so we should do all we can to keep the quilt looking like we want it.

When the quilt does need washing, you can wash it in the washer or the bath tub and for the drying process, it should be blocked and allowed to dry flat.

Just for the record, I prewash my batting and dry in hot dryer, but after that the quilt doesn't see the dryer. I feel tumbling in the dryer causes to much damage in the longrun to the quilt and they will wear out faster.

Karen L

http://thegoldenneedle.wordpress.com

You're suppose to prewash your batting? Who knew! I hate prewashing even my regular fabrics...so probably won't prewash the batting either. If I'm going to gamble, might as well go for it all right?

To prewash or not should be based on the type of batting selected. Some battings change in consistency after washing, some not at all. You should base you decision on how you want the finished quilt to look, how much quilting you are going to do and what the use of the quilt will be and the big thing, how much texture do you want the quilt to have??? Those should be the factors that determine washing or not!!!

My most favorite batting I use now: Quilters Dream 100% Wool. That stuff is the best.

Karen L