Friday, December 20, 2013

Musings on the Quilt Back - Part 3

Good Morning!  Loving the snow we have around here right now.  I was thinking about what I wanted to write about fabric selections for your quilt back, but I will have to digress and talk about battings, because based on what batting you choose for your quilt, might impact what you do with the fabric. So, humor me if you will and let's talk about batting today.

Quilter's Dream Batting is offered in several selections:

1.  Dream cotton:  It has 4 different lofts that you can choose from.  You don't have to prewash it and has a little bit of shrinkage when you wash it.  There is no scrim or resin in it and it is needle punched for strength.  A lot of other brands of cotton batting do not go through these steps and will therefore shrink up a lot more when you wash them.

2. Dream Poly:  Microfiber batting, no resins or binders, minimal shrinkage and also comes in black

3.  Dream Angel:  Man made fibers out of 100% flame retardant fibers.  No chemicals added and is available in two lofts.  Will shrink in the washer/dryer

4.  Dream Blend:  70% cotton and 30% poly;  needle punched with scrim.  This batting is nice because it will not stretch, pucker or bunch; minimal shrinkage

5.  Dream Puff:  Offers a loft of 1/3 inch or more; It will not shrink in the washer/dryer

6.  Dream Wool:  Made with a blend of domestic and fine merino wool; No shrinkage and can go in the washer/dryer; Offers a loft of 1/3 inch or more.

7.  Dream Green:  Polyester fibers made from 100% recycled plastic bottles;  Each pound of Dream Green equals 10 bottles saved from landfills; minimal shrinkage

8.  Dream Orient:  Blend of bamboo, silk and botanic tencil; no resins or scrim, minimal shrinkage


Warm and Natural also makes cotton batting but it is not as "clean" as Dream and will shrink more.  However, they have just come out with Warm and Plush which contains 50% more cotton and is a lot cleaner.  I have ordered some and will see how it compares to Dream Cotton. 

There are other manufacturers of batting but I have not found any that come close to Dream but I am always happy to order from another manufacturer if you so choose.

Here are my feelings on batting.  Regardless of brand - battings are getting thinner and thinner.  I can hold most battings up and see right through them.  My family feels like quilts are "anemic" and are not comfy - feeling more like cardboard.  I have not been able to figure out how to get my quilts to feel like my Grandma's quilts.    I now use 2 layers of batting in all of my quilts.  Depending on what I want to do, it may be two layers of cotton, 2 layers of wool or a combination of battings.  Honestly, if I could get 3 layers of wool batting on my frame - my family would be very, very happy.

Sorry again to digress, but based on what type of batting or combination of battings you choose will have a big impact on the fabric choice you make for your back.  Stay tuned.

Ok - now to the fun part - pictures!  This first one was made by Susan who owns Gathering Fabric in Woodinville.  We used a design allover called Falling Leaves with gold thread and Dream cotton batting.  Love the fabric combo!




This next one is by Jenna. We used a design allover called  Wild Mouse with a layer of cotton batting.  Look at all of those fun fabrics!



And finally, a quilt by Sandy.  We used a design called Spools of thread in the middle with a light brown thread.  I echoed the ric rack  in the border.  Sandy brought her own Warm and Natural Batting.  Love the spools!







Have a great day!  Richla

2 comments:

  1. hi there...i love the wild mouse design...where can i find that please ? xo thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Pam! Check www.annebright.com.

    ReplyDelete

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