Warm & Natural and brown flakey bits

[susanramey]

I have 3 quilts to do for a customer who gave me Warm and Natural batting for each one. While quilting the 1st quilt I kept getting a little drag every so often and my tension is weird. I noticed brown bits coming out of the backing and realized it's the batting that is giving me problems and that my needle must be hitting this stuff. I've never used it before and didn't really look closely at the batting with the 1st quilt. But, now I have the batting open for the 2nd one and can see all of the brown bits throughout it...... Has anyone had any experience using this stuff??

Susan

[Boni]

I have a roll of W&N here, but I haven't used it for a long while. I never noticed what you are describing. I just use it for dark fabrics, usually flannels where I want a little more thickness. I would never use it on lights and whites. Maybe it's a bad batch. I'd ask your customer to take it back and bring some Hobbs or other batting without the bits and twigs.

[ffq-lar]

Here is a tip for next time--scrutinize the batting before loading for big pieces of debris--anything the size that could affect your machine is TOO big to be used and should be taken back to the store for a refund. Second point is--W&N should be loaded "dirty side up"--those debris pieces are on top and you shouldn't be able to push through to the back side. This loading with the bits up shows that this batting needs to be used with darker fabrics--anything light will have show-through. In a recent discussion here this batting was a topic. Warm & White is the same price but without the extra "nature"--much easier on me and my machine!

[KathyA]

I use W&N all the time with no problems - however - I will say that about 6 months ago the roll of batting had large black blobs of thread in it. I had to pick these out before using the batting since it would show through on a light color quilt. Last bolt I got was fine....

[Guest Linda S]

I've recently decided not to take Warm and White or Warm and Natural battings any more. They have too much of a tendency to beard, they often have crud in the batting, and IMNSHO, the batting doesn't give enough definition to the quilting to merit someone spending all that money having me do their quilt. If they insist on W&W or W&N, they can find another quilter to do their tops.

Now, do you really want to know how much I dislike that batting? ;)

Linda

[Stagecl]

I have never had a problem with Warm and Natural or Warm 'n White bearding. I have used it in quilts approximately 20 years ago. I think we all have different experiences with batting, like some better than others and won't quilt certain ones. It is sort of like baking chocolate chip cookies...you can give everyone the same recipe and the cookies don't turn out the same.

For me...I dislike Dream Cotton...it stretches, sticks and I create potholes when I smooth it out.

I like Hobbs 100% cotton with scrim...it feels and drapes like DC but doesn't stretch. I, also, like their 100% cotton Heirloom for the same reason I like the one with scrim.

If you want definition in your quilting...you need a batt with some loft or lots depending on how much definition you want. I like Hobbs 80/20 for some definition.

Thank goodness there are enough different batts to suit our tastes.

Cheryl

[Merryjo2003]

I'm not a great fan of W&N. Mostly because of the bearding. I like how flat it is for wall hangings, but hate the bearding tendency. I prefer Hobbs 100% organic cotton w/scrim. It lays flat and I don't get the bearding. I always caution customers who bring W&N with their tops. I have to say, I haven't run into problems sewing it or having a lot of debris in the batting. I don't buy any W&N. I keep 3 different Hobbs on hand for customers (and myself) Hobbs 80/20, Hobbs organic cotton, and Hobbs Polydown (my fav).