Bonnie H Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 My very first customer is coming by today to bring me her third quilt. It's a biggie, over 100 inches square. She picked up a batting at Joann's called "Cotton Classic" by Fairfield, as this was the only batting big enough she could find. I have searched here and only found one entry about this batting, way back in 2006. Can anyone give me any idea as to whether or not to give this batting a go? Her quilt will be a bed quilt. I have read that it needs to be quilted within 3 to 5 inches, as per the Fairfield site. Any info on this batting is much appreciated. P.S. I'm nervous and excited at the same time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforpurple Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 congrats on your first customer quilt ccc i have no info for you I'm afraid but interested to know what other people think of this batting since eI am about to quilt a similar size quilt in the next week xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I know that Fairfield has a batting that they say is good for Longarm quilting, but I haven't seen one yet...anytime I've gotten a Fairfield Batting, it has been very thin, and your fingers go easily through it when you try to move it around when you roll your quilt forward....be careful! I 'd take it out of the package and see how easily your fingers go through it and how linty it is. I like warm and natural and Quilter's Dream is what I mostly use and like the best. If you find the batting "lacking", I'd let her know that as much time, money, and effort she put into piecing her beautiful quilt top, you would like to see it finished with the best batting that her quilt top deserves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietlifeaz Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Also let her know batting can be pieced together to make it as big as necessary. JoAnns sells batting by the yard (frequently in 108" wide -- which is all you would need for this project). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHuffman Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Look over this batting very carefully and if it is too fragile to use on the frame, let her know you can't accept it. She will want a good finished product and your tension will not be consistent if the batting has thin spots/thick spots or lumps. Be brave! You may consider buying a roll of batting to sell that you like just for this reason. Our batting choices have a great deal of impact on the final product. A customer won't understand that the final product isn't what it could be because of their batting. That will sound like an excuse to them at the end. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 All that Angela said and more....I've used the Classic and it not scrimmed at all. It linty and the slightest tug and it falls apart. Heaven help if you have a cat walk through it or you step on it. If possible I would sure let her know that this is more for hand quilting than longarm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-Jane Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 We really try to use what the client wants or brings us, but I always cringe when I see Fairfield - most is not too great. Their Bamboo is fine, and we recently had a cotton/poly that was OK to quilt on - but we have had some really bad cotton and poly ---- check it out carefully. Hobbs, Quilters Dream and W & Natural are out staples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 The gal came early today, and thank goodness, I was ready to rock n roll, no nerves or anything! For the batting, we are going to use what I already have on hand (W&N - can't wait to buy some Quilter's Dream that is on my wishlist). After I explained a little on battings, she wanted to change to the W&N and take the Fairfield back. I showed her a quilt of my own using the CL Swirls and showed her some photos of Angie's quilts recently posted here for the Circle Lord Challenge 2012, and she decided to go with SWIRLS!!! One of Angie's quilts was a basic design with rectangles, and she could see that the Swirls would work great on her own quilt. Thread color is on order and I'll post some photos when the quilt is done. It is a simple quilt pattern but the fabrics are beautiful, black, purple, and teal. Thanks again for the support in answering my plea. This is such a great list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Bonnie that is a very good call. I won't use Fairfield anything. Did once and vowed never again. It was a royal pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Hi Bonnie. I'm glad all went well with your first customer, etc. I'm like Dave & Jane: I use what the customer gives me, as long as it's clean and usable. Re: Fairfield batting::: Fairfield makes several types of batting. The 60/40 and the 80/20. The 60/40 is flimsier and much thinner and a lot of longarm quilters don't like to use it because it's delicate and can tear easily, but --- I have used it with great success on the longarm. I just handle it carefully. It is a little fuzzy but I just make it work. I think that the 60/40 was mainly designed for hand quilting. The 80/20 Fairfield is similar to hobbs and has the texture and strength to be yanked and pulled a biit. I tend to like the Fairfield battings. Anyway, I've learned to deal with all types of batting. Myself (personally) the last thing I want to tell a customer (or anyone for that matter) is the word "No" I hate that word. I find ways to avoid using "No" -- it's not in my vocab. Well... except when the quilt is covered in dog hair. I say no. But I said "yes" if she cleaned it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAQuilts Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Fairfield now has a batting called American Spirit for LA Quilting. My BF who is a LA quilter is now using and selling this batting to her customers. What I've seen quilted up with it both washed and unwashed looks nice. It's soft, has a good loft and nice drape. I couldn't tell the difference between what was done using hobbs or American Spirt when she showed it to me. She says it performs on the rack the same as hobbs and hasn't had any problems using it. She ordered directly from Fairfield, she wanted to try it out hoping to save her customers money, for the ones wanting utility quilting, the ones doing baby and charity quilts. She is very happy with the results so far and so are her customers. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Anderson Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I do use this batting sometimes. The 80/20 is pretty good. Be sure to steam it or fluff in the dryer before useing. I steam all my battings as I load the machine with a garment steamer. The steam gets rid of the wrinkles, and fluffs it up too. And I do belive the steam conditions the batting. All I know is that it seems to help a lot for me. Lots of folks (including me) need to save a buck wherever they can these days, so go for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted February 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Shana, I appreciate your thoughts ... I'm not a fan on the receiving end of "no" either! LOL My resolution will be to start slowly trying different brands of battings on small projects to see how they do in the quilting and washing process. But still, I'm relieved she didn't mind using a batting I was familiar with, bless her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cblevins Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 It's odd but I have never had anyone bring their own batting yet and only a couple that have brought their own backing. I am lucky enough to have plenty of storage space. I carry Hobbs 80/20 in 96 and 108 inch. I carry Hobbs Tuscany poly pre packaged in all sizes. I keep the price at just enough to cover my cost and make a very small profit. I do the same with the wide backing. Since I buy wholesale and can sell it cheap they love it! There isn't a quilt shop within 35 miles of my area so they appreciate not having to search for the stuff and I appreciate the quality of the backing and batting we get to use. It's a win...win situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Originally posted by Bonnie H Shana, I appreciate your thoughts ... I'm not a fan on the receiving end of "no" either! LOL My resolution will be to start slowly trying different brands of battings on small projects to see how they do in the quilting and washing process. But still, I'm relieved she didn't mind using a batting I was familiar with, bless her! I'm okay with using whatever the customer brings for a small quilt. But, medium to large quilts I only use my only batting, as those sizes are much more complicated to quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Originally posted by quiltmonkeyAnyway, I've learned to deal with all types of batting. Myself (personally) the last thing I want to tell a customer (or anyone for that matter) is the word "No" I hate that word. I find ways to avoid using "No" -- it's not in my vocab. Well... except when the quilt is covered in dog hair. I say no. But I said "yes" if she cleaned it off. :P:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisquilter Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 I usually use whatever the customer brings to me. Here is a little trick I learned with the thinner battings or ones that do not have a scrim, Since I float my quilt, the bottom of the quilt is hanging loose. When I advance the quilt and before I tighten it back up, I pick up both the quilt and batting as one piece and gently tug everything even. This avoids trying to straighten the batting all by itself. I discovered this when I got a customer who was in love with Quilters Dream Request. Every time I touched that darn batting, it "cupped" by stretching and was almost impossible to smooth out:( I found that by using this "trick" I can deal with this batting without wanting to kick the cat. Not really, lol I love my kitty cats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Poulin Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Fairfield is the worst batting that I have ever used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 I am lucky enough to have space to keep rolls of batting so my customers choose among the battings I have on hand. That way I know what I'm dealing with and they don't have to go looking for a package of batting the right size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.