Up until now I've been pretty consistently using polyester batting for my quilts. I felt that I was making a "safe" choice (I want my quilts to be washable). I almost - ALMOST - bought wool batting, but my friend Dianne told me about a quilt that she made with wool batting that was completely ruined when her daughter threw it into the washing machine - and then the dryer.
She showed me a photo and, well, heartbreaking.
So I've steered away from wool.
Looking at the other choices available in the shop where I've been buying my batting ("Spotlight"), it seemed it's pretty much wool, cotton, or polyester. Polyester is the cheapest of the 3, so there you go.
I went this afternoon to pick up batting for Quilt 10 (a Japanese print quilt kit). I decided to stop in at the quilting shop in Tecoma ("Foothills Fabric and Threads") and see what they offer. The woman who waited on me - Sandra - is a brilliant quilter, and very experienced. Talking to her I found there's yet a 4th choice: Batting that is a blend of cotton and bamboo.
You read that right... bamboo batting.
Weird. Really weird.
I wasn't sure at all about it, but Sandra showed me a quilt she's working on now - and I love how the batting sits between the layers. She said that she's finding this batting is just fabulous for hand quilting - the needle just slides through effortlessly.
OK. I'm sold.
It wasn't the cheapest - $22 a meter - but if it's easier to work, then it's worth it for that alone. And, again, looking at her quilt I was amazed at how light and lovely the feel was.
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