Bonnie Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 I am in the process of quilting a twin size quilt and am using the new to me "Fairfield 80/20" batting. So far its quilting with ease and seems to be an okay batting....very soft to touch, doesn\'t feel scratchy when you run your hands over it. No scrim residue feeling when you run your hand down it. Its way softer, but looks sort of like Warm N Natural, but more stretchy. My question is this.....What has everyone else experienced with this one? Does anyone even use it? I don\'t have a ready supply of Dream Cotton or Quilter\'s Dream, and Hobbs is just about gone in my local quilt shops and because the Farifield corporation is just over the state line everyone seems to be putting it into their shops. Until I start buying wholesale again, I\'m kinda stuck with whats available in the LQS\'s. Just wondering how it washes up...the label says a 2% shrinkage...True or False? Does it stay as soft as the one I have now after washing or does it fall apart like the Fairfield 100% cotton battings? It seems that in my 50 mile range I can get Warm N Natural, and the Fairfield products, for the others I need to go further. Just wondering what everyone else thinks. Thanks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Bonnie, I can\'t help you on this one. I\'ve never tried this batt. I think I\'m going to stick with Quilters Dream exclusively for my quilts since I\'ve had such good luck with it over the years. I will recommend it to clients too. I will probably keep a roll of Hobbs on hand but with my experience with the batting pokies I\'m really afraid to use it. I will try the steam approach on the next quilt. Heidi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanros Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Heidi, Is Quilter\'s Dream nice to quilt with and what kind do you use, 80/20 most of the time?Have you ever had any pokies from it? tahnks . Jean Mille Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Jean, I have used Quilter\'s Dream almost exclusively for my quilts since the mid 90\'s. It is wonderful. Washes so beautifully, never beards and needles great. I have been machine quilting for 2 years now and I have never had any pokies. I have their quilters dream blend which is 70% cotton 30% poly. My favorite though is their poly - request (mid loft). It looks beautiful when quilted and drapes beautifully on a bed or to snuggle in. I prefer the cotton blend for wall hangings. I want to order some of their wool too. I bought a roll of Hobbs 80/20 and have been less than happy with the results. While it drapes nicely I had really bad pokies on the 2nd quilt I did. I also used Hobbs on my last hand quilt and it did not needle anywhere close to Quilters Dream. Heidi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 I have quilted on the Fairfield batt. It was for a customer and it quilted nicely. As for washing...I have no idea. My two cent on Dream Cotton...it is a nice batt but it is too stretchy for my liking. The thinnest one is so easy to stretch out of shape. The next weight up is not as bad. The best are the blend or dream angel as far as I can tell for not stretching out of shape. It does quilt up well and I have no problems with it except the stretchiness of it. As for pokies on the Dream Cotton, I haven\'t had any major problems. My favorites are Hobbs 80/20 and Hobbs Heirloom. Hobbs Heirloom is like Warm \'n Natural as it has a scrim and it is all cotton. But it is lighter than Warm \'n Natural, is softer and has a nicer drape to it. As for pokies on the 80/20, I haven\'t had any major problems (everyone is different and every machine has its quirks). If I could get my customers to use Hobbs Heirloom all the time (instead of Dream Cotton) I would be much happier. But I let them bring me what they want in their quilts. If they ask for an opinion I will let them know what I think about all the batts available and the way they will affect the outcome of their quilt. The decision is ultimately theirs, but there are a few batts I will not quilt on because of skipped stitches (I have problems with the Fairfield batt sold a Michael\'s Crafts and JoAnn\'s Sew \'n Crafty). Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted October 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 I would perfer Hobbs myself, but with the price of gas these days its harder and harder for me to get the battings without making a special trip across the state to where it is....guess mail order will be my best bet. I do not care for any of the other Fairfield products, but this 80/20 might be okay...will have to see how it washes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Hi, I have two rolls of batting from Hobbs...the organic cotton which lays beautifully and the poly down....I was going to use 2 layers of organic cotton for my son\'s wedding quilt to give it poof but decided on the poly down as the field of the quilt has on point squares which have created a little bit of stretch to the center of the quilt...i am sure the poly down will pull that up....do you think the organic cotton would too??...thanks, Denise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuiltNutOne Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Originally posted by Stagecl My two cent on Dream Cotton...it is a nice batt but it is too stretchy for my liking. The thinnest one is so easy to stretch out of shape. The next weight up is not as bad. The best are the blend or dream angel as far as I can tell for not stretching out of shape. It does quilt up well and I have no problems with it except the stretchiness of it. As for pokies on the Dream Cotton, I haven\'t had any major problems. Cheryl Cheryl i soooo agree with you about the stretching. i\'ve started to use it in charity quilts to just get rid of it. it does quilt up nicely. i\'ve just started a flannel quilt where i\'ve double it up, so far so good lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeri Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Just finished one with request weight Dream Cotton. Very stretchy! I really prefer their Select or Delux is yummy and it doesn\'t stretch much. I mostly use Hobbs 80/20 bleached but have had quality issues with it for awhile My latest favorite is Warm Company\'s Warm Blend. It is an 80/20 and quilts beautifully. Unfortunately I haven\'t used it on one of my own quilts so I can\'t do post washing comments of my own. My customers tell me it puckers just a bit like the Hobbs 80/20 and just seems to get more drapeable and softer with washing. The next quilt on my machine is one of mine so I\'m going to find out first hand. My all time fav is Alpaca Wool/Cotton blend but it\'s expensive and hand washable so it\'s not for everyone. Even stays really soft with really heavy quilting. jeri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Bonnie, You can order Hobbs from Kingsmen Quilting. I like to order from there because they ship the batt in a box so plastic that covers it doesn\'t get torn during shipping. Therefore you don\'t lose any yardage, which suits me just fine. Haven\'t tried the Alpaca Wool/Cotton blend. I\'ll have to sometime or another. Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted October 26, 2007 Report Share Posted October 26, 2007 I used to always use alpaca/cotton as it is thick and soft but it has become unobtainable in these parts. Karen - the Goddess - McTavish wrote somewhere that she has used Hobbs Polydown at some point (I hope I did not just make that up but one of my most favorite quilters wrote it anyway!) At the moment I use Hobbs Polydown all the time as it is light but very pouffy (also cheap). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted October 26, 2007 Report Share Posted October 26, 2007 Is it my imagination or is Polydown on the roll more puffy than the cut pieces in the bag?. I don\'t like the pieces in the bag cos they come out with bits stretched which won\'t flatten down. How does anyone deal with wadding like this? My Millie is at customs, duty paid just waiting for clearance. Hopefully delivery on Wednesday, set up Thursday and panic on Friday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted October 26, 2007 Report Share Posted October 26, 2007 I don\'t buy polydown so I can\'t compare. When I do get a polyester batt from a customer I will put in the dryer for a few minutes. The warmth from the dryer helps to soften the lumps and bumps and help restore it to the original shape. Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnHenry Posted October 26, 2007 Report Share Posted October 26, 2007 FF 80/20 was one of the battings I used on perhaps my first ten quilts. Back then one had to pre-wash (really just soak) the batting, especially for hand quilting because of sizing or something. I was machine quilting, but washed it anyway and then machine dried it. (I\'m not sure if pre-soaking is still necessary for this batting). It quilted up very nice and fluffy, and because of that, I used it for several succeeding quilts. Now, several years and several washings later, it has lost all its puffiness, and "lookswise" is no great shakes. It does make a very nice lightweight quilt, however, and I am completely happy with it from that standpoint. Please note I would NEVER recommend it for what we do, which is make a quilt look pretty, because the pretty isn\'t going to last and the customer will see that she spent all that money and the quilting will not stand out if used in a utility quilt. Probably OK if cheap / panto is desired for a utility quilt. For this same reason I never use 100% polyester battings because they start out nicely fluffy puffy and die with repeated washings. Hobbs 80/20 is a much more substantial batting, and I used it to hand quilt a wholecloth quilt (took me 18 months, but now I can call myself a quilter)and it looks beautiful. However, I don\'t like the way the quilt feels . . . it doesn\'t feel cozy and cuddly . . . Since I have discovered Quilter\'s Dream, the batting discussion is closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted October 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 Thank You AnnHenry...this is exactly the information I was looking for. I have to say its a great batting at this point it feels so soft and seems to be good, but it was the washing that I was wondering about...and I was afraid it would do as you said... Thank you....will continue to hunt for Hobbs 80/20 or when I can get it the others Dream Cotton and Quilters Dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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