annesthreads

I've just begun Leah Day's Quilt Along project, and am really enjoying myself - but it's obvious that I'm going to get through a lot of quilt sandwiches this year and batting is expensive. Are there cheaper alternatives that I could use as batting for practice pieces? eg is a flannelette sheet thick enough? Any ideas would be welcome.

alleyoop1

How about checking a second had store for old blankets you can cut up. Or watch your local fabric store for sales on batting, fleece or flannel. They might be trying to get rid of fleece and flannel to make room for warm weather fabrics.

rufree4t

How about taking scraps from your other quilted projects, stitch them together by hand without overlapping. That way you can use something you otherwise would throw away and can make them any size you want for practice.

katier825

It would be a great way to use up batting scraps, strips, etc. Piece them together and practice away!

thimblebug6000

I think you would want to use something similar to the batting that you will eventually be quilting on so you can get the proper feel of the FMQ.

annesthreads

Thanks for the ideas. My scraps and small pieces of batting are already going down fast! But I've had another thought - some time ago I bought some batting that proved to be quite wrong for quilting -it's too stiff and thick, and is probably for upholstery. Someone who'd done the same thing posted on the board a while back and one of the replies suggested seeing if she could peel it apart into 2 thinner layers. So I've tried this, and yes, I can get at least one lot of batting out of it that will do for practice quilts. And I think I've got about 2.5 yards to go at- it's very wide too. I'd intended to offer it on Freecycle - glad now that I didn't get around to it!

jgriinke

Be careful with that stiff batting. It may shread your thread! Even if you use one layer of it. It sure would be worth a try, though.

lalaland

I buy the prequilted fabric for fmq practicing in the remnant bins. I can usually find a solid color or two that I can use a contrasting thread on for practice so I can easily see my hits and misses. If you need it thicker, just put 2 pieces together.

annesthreads

My first attempt, made very cautiously, worked pretty well - certainly well enough for practice pieces though I wouldn't use it for a proper quilt.

Tartan

I am working on the easy casserole carrier posted by Gail B. I used 2 layers of Hobbs 80/20 fusible for the batt because I wanted it to retain heat well. You are probably wondering, "what the heck has that got to do with my batting question?"Well here it is, I zig zagged my scraps together until I got 2 pieces about 20 inches. It goes together really well and you can use up every little scrap. I thought while I was quilting my square, "these would make great FMQ exercises." They are just a nice size and when you are done you can make the casserole carrier. So instead of scrimping on batt, think of what you are going to use your practice pieces on later.