wool batting

[connieb]

I am looking for advice/tips on doing a good job with wool batting. I have never used it before. I am loading my sisters christmas present tomorrow and she has requested wool. Thanks in advance.

[AnnHenry]

Wool batting is so delightful to use that the last time I had a quilt on the frame, every night before I went to bed, I went in and "petted" the quilt because it felt so wonderful.

It doesn't handle any differently from other battings, so no special instructions needed. I do, however, make an extensive label with explicit laundering instructions because some people wash their quilts the same way (and as often) as they wash their underwear. I have lately added to (all)my quilt labels "Wash as infrequenlty as possible."

[Gator]

Love, love, love wool. My millie thinks it's butter. It hangs and lays beautifully. I use Quilter's Dream. I treat it just like any other batting. I wash and dry all my quilts (cold water) and haven't had any problems with shrinkage. Now that the price of cotton is skyrocketing, wool will be my batting of choice.

[Dave-Jane]

Same as the rest - wool is wonderful, is soft like butter and quilts beautifully. Nothing special to do - just go for it!!

[LadyLake]

The only time I have trouble with wool is when the quilt and back fabrics are thin, because the wool is thin also, so it creates a thin sandwich. The thin sandwich can have thread tension issues, which means you may need to tighten your bobbin tension more than normal and at most, you may need to lower your hopping foot height (but probably not). I'd suggest using thinner threads top and bottom, if the sandwich is thin, as well, to avoid thread tension issues. Otherwise, wool is wonderful. I've only used Hobbs wool, but have just ordered Quilters Dream wool, which appears to be thinner but denser than Hobbs. I have quilted two layers of Hobbs wool, which is another ordeal altogether, but it doesn't sound like you will be doing that.

[victoriasews]

My favorite lap quilt has wool batting. I don't even remember how many times I have washed it (regular cycle wash, air dry) but it still looks like new. I use wool in all my own quilts and it quilts up lovely and the quilting definition is wonderful. Once you use it, you'll be hooked.

[BethDurand]

I've got a new friend in Hobbs Heirloom wool. I'm currently hand quilting one, and it's fabulous! Quilting on my girl (millie) is also great with wool. I've machine washed and dried quilts with wool batt on low heat with no problems. It's also so light, yet so warm. One of my quilts with wool batt just went to Austria, where they are going to need warm. Give it a shot, you'll be glad you did.

[Quilting Heidi]

No real advice other than just enjoy it! I love to use wool. Your quilting will look beautiful and I never seem to have tension issues. Drapes beautifully too. If this is a wall hanging I'd be sure to add a thin layer of a solid type of batting as wool will sag over time when hanging.

[WendyJ]

I love wool and use it a lot. The only little advise I can give is when you have a bit of a thin backing fabric in a dark colour (navy blue I did the other day) there may be some bearding of the wool to the back. Change your needle to the smalest size (like 3,5) you can use for your thread. Perhapse even take thinner thread (so fine). Then you have no problems any more and will love the wool!

[shelleywa]

Wool is my absolute favourite batting and I use it all the time in my own quilts, and most of my customers now bring it because they know how much I like it. I've not used the brands mentioned above, we have "Matilda's Own" wool battings over here. They do a 100% wool batt, which is a bit thinner than the 60/40 wool/poly blend. There is also a wool/cotton blend too. Another brand we have is Nu-wool which is also another lovely batting.

Except for making sure I layer the batting with the scrim side to the backing, I don't do anything special. I also just use whatever threads I want to. The results are always great, with great definition of the quilting design and soft drape. The quilts are also light and warm. I'm sure you will enjoy using it!

Shelley

[Sandra Darlington]

I love QD wool (but I haven't tried the other brands). I found it to have nice stitch definition, and not too thin.

[Primitive1]

QD Wool is my favorite!!! I'd use it on everything if I could!

[connieb]

Thank you all. After a crazy day the quilt is loaded and I'm going to go start, yea. This quilt is scaring the crud out of me. It's the biggest I've ever done. Plus it's a panto (I've only ppp pantos) and she wants a custom boarder, yikes. Thanks again for the advice.