I’m a quilter by hobby, a data analyst by trade, and OCD by…well, I was born that way. I only enjoy hand quilting, and I start a project, I work on a project, I finish a project, and then I start another project. It took me years to figure out no one else does that. Now, I call myself The Serial Quilter.
The data analyst in me wanted to get some stats on batting. I contacted a number of manufacturers and asked for samples. Six manufacturers sent their full line of products with a total of 58 different samples. I jumped right in. Here, in full, are the results of the batting test for the batting test for hand quilters.
Conducted by Renée Colwell (aka “The Serial Quilter”)
Test Parameters
Six manufacturers provided batting samples from their full product lines. See section on manufacturers.
Materials used
- Plain-weave white cotton fabric with a fairly dense weave,
- YLI thread for hand quilting (black)
- Gutterman quilting thread (white)
- Thimble Lady size S needle
Note: Nothing was pre-washed.
Technique
- Plain quilting stitch like I always do, using a thimble (you probably do it differently)
- 4 1-inch squares were outlined in black thread (YLI)
- Interior grid was quilted with white thread (Gutterman)
- First square – no interior quilting
- Second square – bisected into ½ inch squares
- Third square – quilted on a ¼” grid
- Fourth square – quilted on a 1/8” grid
Rating System
- Puff (loft) was determined after quilting to see how flat or puffy the final product was.
- 1=like a pancake
- 3=nice and medium
- 5= really very puffy
- Ease of Quilting was my subjective rating of how easy hand quilting was.
- 0=don’t even try
- 1=are you crazy?
- 2=maybe, if you have a reason for it
- 3=perfectly fine
- 4=great!
- 5=I’m in heaven
Note on Pricing
Because prices fluctuate and also vary depending on whether the batting is purchased by the yard, by the roll, or pre-packaged, I have not included pricing into my grid. Check with the manufacturer, or these batting sales sites for pricing information.
- https://quiltbatting.com/
- https://www.battingsupersale.com/
- https://www.connectingthreads.com/
- https://www.hancocks-paducah.com/
- https://marshalldrygoods.com/
- https://www.missouriquiltco.com/
Results
By Category
- Cotton – in general, cotton is best for machine quilting. The 80/20 blends are better for hand quilting.
- Polyester – great all-around choice for hand quilting
- Wool – Wool is by far the best for hand quilting, but of course it is pricey and can experience shrinkage after
- washing.
- Other Materials – This category includes microfibers, recycled bottles, silk, bamboo, and fusibles.
The Winners
- 100% cotton
- Heirloom and Tuscany Unbleached Cotton (Hobbs Bonded Fibers)
- Cotton isn't the best choice for hand, but this one won by a whisker.
- Runner up: Most other 100% cotton was similar, though there were some definite losers.
- Polyester
- Soft & Bright (The Warm Company)
- So easy to work with, the name says it all. One of my favorites.
- Runner up: For a higher loft, try Quality Quilt Batting (Mountain Mist) Had same score as Soft & Bright for ease of
- quilting, so really it’s a matter of preference.
- 100% Wool
- Heirloom and Tuscany Wool (Hobbs Bonded Fibers)
- Was easy to sew, very soft, my favorite.
- Runner up: Natural Wool (Fairfield) with a nice feel and good definition.
- Cotton Blend (80/20)
- Dream 80/20 (Quilters Dream)
- Best alternative to pure cotton. Nice and easy to work with.
- Runner up: Warm 80/20 (The Warm Company) Slightly flatter than the winner.
- Other Materials
- Dream Green (Quilters Dream)
- Surprise! Recycled Plastic Bottles. So easy to quilt by hand! Good definition. Lies very flat.
- Runner up: Dream Poly (Quilters Dream) Microfiber – comes in black or white. I liked the black for projects that need some depth of color.
- Also Worth Looking At
- Fairfield Poly-Fil showed well, and the hi-loft would be perfect for a tied comforter.
- Stitch in Time - Simply Bamboo was not easy to work by hand, but bamboo is one of the most sustainable fibers. For machine quilters, this would be a no-brainer!
The Manufacturers
Conclusion
- Conclusion #1: my two favorites are Heirloom and Tuscany Wool (Hobbs Bonded Fibers) and Dream Green (Quilters
- Dream)
- Conclusion #2: Don’t try this test at home unless you, too, are an OCD data analyst with a quilting habit.
The full Excel spreadsheet with raw data, a loft selector, and heatmaps is available by emailing:
reneecolwell@gmail.com
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