Kwiltr Posted September 15, 2017 Report Share Posted September 15, 2017 I've been working on stabilizing my quilt (112"x96") with 2 layers of batting, Hobbs 80/20 on bottom, Hobbs wool on top. Both are King sized Battings 120"x120". I'm down to the last 30" of the quilt and if I'm lucky I have 31" of wool batting left, about 12-16" more than that of the 80/20. All along while advancing the quilt, I gently tugged both layers of batting and checked to make sure I wasn't getting any folds or wrinkles anywhere I could see. I have been hyper vigilant in this process, as it is a new thing for me to use 2 battings. Is this a normal thing to happen? When I loaded the quilt I loaded it with the 112" across the frame and at the time found the wool batting a bit short of 120" wide and chalked it up to having spritzed it a put it in the dryer for 10-15 minutes to get the wrinkles out. Figured it may have shrunk a little. It was about the same width as the top going across the frames, so not big enough. So I rotated it, thinking it was still lots to go 96" down the length. It's going to be nip and tuck! Well I guess I got all worried for nothing! I had about 3" to spare on one side and maybe 6" on the other Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbams Posted September 15, 2017 Report Share Posted September 15, 2017 Although I have never used two layers of batting, I have found that wool batting gets a lot shorter as I quilt it than the cottons I use. I figured it was because the wool "un-flattens" due to being off the roll (I have rolls, not packaged battings), causing it to shorten as it puffs up, but I don't know if this is actually the case. There have been a couple of times I almost ran out of batting before I finished my quilt, so now I make sure wool batting is extra long for my quilt top. You may need to add some batting to the end of your wool. Haven't tried it with wool batting yet, but that iron on batting tape has worked well for me with cotton battings - even the time I I had to use it while the project was on my machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail O Posted September 15, 2017 Report Share Posted September 15, 2017 I have only every used poly/wool combination, when double batting. The wool does seem to "suck up" a bit more during the quilting, but not to the extent that you have experienced. It could be that the cotton fiber in your bottom batt is causing the wool to draw in more than normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryQuiltsTx Posted September 15, 2017 Report Share Posted September 15, 2017 All I can offer is empathy. I know how it feels to be worried about running short. I hope it works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwiltr Posted September 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2017 Thank you ladies! There is some comfort in knowing it's probably not something I missed when rolling on and this sucking up batting can happen. Betsy, you mentioned the puffing up factor, and now that you mention it, I remember thinking when I took it out of the package that it was way thinner than I expected. However, it was so badly wrinkled, I first hung it over my longarm frame to relax and spritzed it with water. After two days it was still pretty wrinkled (and no thicker), so I spritzed it again and popped it in the dryer on Extra Low for no more than 15 minutes and poof! It was thick and like I mentioned, was shorter in the one direction, not that I thought to measure it previous to that, but assumed it was as advertised on the package. So that may very well be where the length went, in the poof. So, you have to wonder if when its prepared for market and is so thin when we get it if it is stretch out to size? I'm not afraid of adding at the end if I must, but was more afraid of a wad of batting somewhere in the sandwich that is too late to fix! Another learning experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 Betsy: I use wool a lot off the roll, and have found that it stretches as you pull it off the roll, so I've started to cut it about 5" or 6" longer than I think I need to deal with the stretch. You might try that to eliminate "surprises". Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbams Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 Thanks Jim, I hadn't considered that the wool batting might be stretching as I unroll it. I have taken to cutting it longer than I do cotton, but it's nice to have a good explanation as to why I need to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 Betsy: I'm not sure I explained what I meant. While the wool batting stretches when you pull it off the roll, it snaps back after you cut it off, and becomes shorter than your measurement . Good you've already begun to adjust for this. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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