Splicing batting

[Mary Beth]

Just a thought...

Do you all every have to splice another piece of batting on for a quilt that might be larger than the batting you have on hand??

If yes, how do you do it??

I know there are instructions on the Longarm University web site (I think), but I just wondered if you all have a trick.

Thank you in advance

[jkerekes]

Mary Beth,

When I have done that, I try to cut a wavy line on the two pieces of batting and then join the batting with a zig zag stitch using cream colored thread. I've only done this for charity quilts and my own quilts--not for a customer. I have had customers do that for themselves(under my guidance) and then give me the batting. It's fine to do that. Once your quilt is machine quilted, that batting is not going anywhere.

Jill Kerekes

[Mary Beth]

Thanks Jill. I have done that method too, I wonder if there are any others. That can really take time, and you know what they say....seems like you would need to charge for that if you were doing that method on a customer's quilt. I think I am thinking too much...but just seems like that is another thing you should be charging for.

[Bonnie]

Mary Beth,

I usually have tons of scraps of the same weight of batting laying around...and I just make sure that the edges are somewhat straight and I use the wavy zig zag stitch on my DSM and lay the edges close together and make sure that the zigs are hitting each side....I have had to sew at times 5 or six pieces together to make a batting big enough and I just do this as if making a crazy patch quilt. I only do this for myself however, but for customers I have done 2 pieces that have a single seam.

[JLM]

Or, you can cut the wavy line through the batting, then use spray baste to hold it together while you quilt.

Janet Mohler

Colorado Springs

[jkerekes]

Hi Janet!

Will the spray baste hold the batting together on the edges? Will it behave like a broken, warm brownie, or will it fall apart? If that would work--yup, I'd do it, I've just never tried it.

Jill Kerekes

[BethDurand]

I vote for the cut with the rotary cutter and ruler so that your cut edges are straight, then zig zag the edges together, not overlapped. I'm like Bonnie, and did numerous pieces on time for a charity quilt. The top was given to me by a friend, I used stuff on hand for the backing, and the batting was whatever pieces needed to be used up. I think I spent $2.82 for a second spool of thread to quilt it. I refered to it as my "Franken-quilt" Like Frankenstien's monster that was pieced together from many things.

Beth

[Georgene]

I use the same method as Bonnie and Beth. Just even up the edges and zig zag them together while they are laying flat, side by side.

I too have pieced an entire quilt batting this way with no problems. You can never tell where the batting was stitched once it's quilted.

[Phyllis]

I am piecing batting for a king size (120"x120") quilt for my son. Recently I received a customer quilt where the customer had just done a normal seam in the batting. I kinda cringed.:mad: But you know, when it was quilted you couldn't even tell. So that is the way I am doing Michael's quilt...hope I don't regret it. It is almost impossible to find batting big enough to do a quilt of this size.

[ffq-lar]

Great story--- A new customer brought a pieced batting.

Two pieces, one Warm&White and one Warm&Natural--pieced down the middle with a huge zigzag stitch in bright orange thread. Also, the Warm&Nat half was covered with dog hair (don't even want to know what that was about!)

It was for a baby quilt--not very big.

I told her I couldn't remove the dog hair--she didn't care.

I asked about the orange thread as it was bound to show--she didn't care.

I quilted it and she paid. (shrug) Sometimes it just doesn't matter! I had to share!

Linda Rech

Oly Wa

[Bonnie]

Well...there you have it....

Yuck, dog hair, that stuff will migrate for years....I sure wouldn't have wanted to be the child that got that one.

I hope no allergies were involved, with the hair and dander hidden, they may never know what was causing the flare ups.

I guess they come in not only all sizes and shapes, but wierd stuff like this....poor quilt.

[Mary Beth]

Linda,

Thank you for that disgusting story That is terrible. Okay, most of the suggestions were good...but I willl be omitting that one!!

MB

[SandraC]

If possible have the seam in the batting run horizontal to the machine...I find that easier.

[andriko]

Recently I had to add batting. I tried a tipp from a seamstress and it worked out realy fine.

I loaded and quilted until 25cm (10 inch?) where left before advincing.

splitted the already in use batting in half for about 1 inch and cut away the lower part.

From the "new to be added batting" I also splitt it and cut away the upper part. Now I layed that one on top of the other batting at the machine. Carefully wathcing that only the halfs were meeting. Quiete easy as from each one only halfs were left. So no bulk at that point of handling.

I smooth it and by doing a little pressing by hand the fibers of the battings get interlocked.

To have more assistance with this interlocking part, just splitt deeper than 1 inch.

Advanced the whole thing and quilted over it. No problem and not to be seen or noticable.

Hope you get what I am trying to explain. It worked great and I could do it at the machine. Had not to shift and handle that at my DM.

Greetings from Switzerland

Andrea

[kennan100]

That's a great method Andrea! I would never have thought of doing it that way but it does make perfect sense! You are brilliant!

[FowlManorQuilting]

Way to go Andrea! Sometimes thinking just outside the box is the perfect way to do something. I'll keep this one for future do's. G

[Merryjo2003]

Here's what I do. I lay 2 pieces of batting together with the edges over-lapping. Then I cut either a straight or wavy line. That way they match when you butt the edges together before you sew. I use either a wide, loose zigzag stitch or one of the stitches designed for joining edges. Works fine. You would never know it was joined when the quilt is finished. I do this for my own. For customers, I always use a whole piece unless it's over sized. Then I get approval or make them supply their own.

For high-loft polys, I hand stitch because sewing them flattens them. I've also used the basting spray, but sometimes it slips. I'd rather loosely baste it together than take the extra time to futz (is that a word?) and keep it from slipping. It's less time for me in the long run to baste.

I just hate wasting batting so I always figure some way to use it, even if I end up using the smaller pieces for table runners or place mats, pot holders, etc.

[Crystal]

I have spliced batting cutting a wavy line as suggested by the rest of you. This works fine, and sometimes I've spray basted or hand basted with a ladder stitch. But here's what I'm excited about. I just got the new Husqvarna Viking ER10 - a needle felting machine (SMRP is only $349!). I got it to play around with machine felting, but realized that I could probably piece batting together. Voila! It works great, takes only a couple of minutes for a seam, and doesn't feel any thicker where it's joined. Now as soon as I trim a quilt and have the remainder of my batting, I attach it to the one before it. This has solved a storage and labeling/measuring issue of leftovers. I'll use these pieced batts on my own stuff or on flannel quilts. The seam feels very durable and has stood up to some tugging. I'll never do it another way from here on out!

[CucumberQuilting]

LOL

Oh Linda that was so funny. How true. I'm like you and will quilt just about anything if that's what they really want. But how funny. You gotta wonder sometimes, "WHAT where they thinking!?"

And I LOVE Mary Beth's answer: "Thanks for the disgusting story.:P" I guess that falls into the category of more information than I really needed! ha, ha, ha...

Anyway, about piecing the batting. I used to do the wavy rotary cut thing and have gone to a simple straight cut. Edges butted up and zigzag stitched with the longest, widest stitch my machine will do. I use the even foot feeder thingy, sorry can't think of the name. You know what I mean, even feed foot or something like that. duh.

I just finished a quilt 125" X 120" that required black batting and had to do some calculating to turn two Queen batts into one that would work that size. Turned out just fine.

Wool batt I cut and piece together by hand because of the loft. It's just easier to do it that way. Everything else I've done by machine. Well, except when I started and kept forgetting to leave enough batting for the entire quilt and would run out just inches before the end. RATS, then of course you have no real option but to stand there and hand piece in more batting. hmph. I'm a slow learner and that only happed a few times too many. Now I cut plenty of batting off the roll and donate the extra that I cut off when the quilting is done to our local guild for making small pillows they give to mastectomy patients.

Enough chat for now. Thanks for the great start to my day. I'm working on deadlines from here to the middle of July. You could say I'm in the quilt-show crunch. Three weeks to our local show with the Sisters Outdoor Show right after that. Everything I have in my studio right now is hoping to be at one or the other so I'd better get at it!!!

~~ Eva H.