Selecting Batting for Quilt Projects

As a quilter, I often get asked about how to select batting for quilt projects. For me low loft, traditional or cotton batting work best. High loft batting shifts quite a bit which makes the fabric shift causing numerous headaches. Many people have expressed this same opinion to me.

What's the difference between low loft, traditional and cotton batting? Traditional and cotton batting are very similar in texture and appearance. However, traditional batting is made of polyester and is typically less expensive than the cotton batting. These are very thin. Low loft batting is also made of polyester and it has that squishy feel to it that so many quilters crave.

How do you decide which batting to use for your projects? Any of these work well with any quilting project. The only time that cotton batting is required is if you plan to use batting in the center of your quilted potholders. Polyester is spun plastic and will likely melt if you use it to remove hot items - even if it's sandwiched between two pieces of cotton fabric. Additional advice is that you should use several layers of cotton batting if you're going to use this for potholders in order to avoid burns. Other materials are also available that deflect heat that you may want to check into when making potholders.

The low loft batting is highly preferred because of the familiar "puffy" look quilters want when they make their quilts. Below are a couple of pictures to give you an idea of the way these different types of batting look.


Cotton batting; traditional batting looks very similar

Polyester low loft batting