JANPIERSONS

Could I allover quilt a baby quilt with polyester batting and then fuse an applique on it?
I'm a "quilt as you go", "block by block" quilter. This is how Lea Day shows how to do her blocks in the quilt alongs, so you'll know what I mean.
I'm disabled, and can free motion quilt pretty well on smaller pieces, like a 36" x 45" baby quilt, but not a bigger quilt. Those I do one block at a time.

I want to do the free motion quilting on a baby quilt top before I add a few large applique pieces, but I'm afraid I'll melt the polyester. The purpose of this is to finish baby quilts, and then add the name to the quilt after it's done.
I'm trying to keep ahead of all of my

I live in a warmer climate, and I've tried cotton, but it seems too warm. Cotton also needs to be prewashed it avoid the "bumpies".
I have to use the washer/dryer in the apartment complex, so many of the batting tips aren't feasible for me.

Prism99

I wouldn’t do it that way. I would apply the applique first, then quilt as planned going right over the fused appliqués. No risk of melting the batting plus the appliqués will be secured by the stitches. Just be sure to use a fusible that is designed to be sewn through.

Monika

I use mostly cotton batting and never pre-wash. What do you mean by "bumpies"?

pocoellie

I would do the applique first, then sandwich, baste, and quilt. Most of my quilts are donated, so although I prefer cotton batting, I use poly, I have yet to pre-wash my cotton batting and have never had a problem by "bumpies", which actually I think is more prevalent in poly batting. Although you say you think cotton batting is "too warm", I consider it just the opposite, cotton batting "breathes" since it's a natural product, whereas poly batting does not.

Tartan

I would fuse the applique before sandwiching as a hot iron can melt polyester batting.

Jeanne S

I think the hot iron would melt the batting. I had this problem when I used poly batting and after sewing on the binding I usually iron out flat out before turning it to the other side to get a smooth fold line and where I move the iron over the edge of the quilt it flattened it out and melted it. Learned a lesson on that one!!

Jeanette Frantz

I've done a few appliqued quilts, and I agree with all of the previous posters. The applique I've done, I've used fusible, only to secure (temporarily) the applique in place, until I could stitch it down using the buttonhole stitch around the perimeters of the applique pieces. In that instance, the applique pieces are all small enough to be contained within one block in the quilt -- that is, each block has applique in the block. Perhaps, you could embroider (by hand) the name of the person getting each quilt? Just a thought! But using polyester batting, and then using fusible to secure the applique is risky, and it's likely you would have "melted" batting.

Jingle

I use polyester batting most of the time. BUT, I never press or iron it. It is my favorite batting.

Onebyone

One con of polyester batting is that it does melt. In a fire polyester will melt and cling as cotton will burn and turn to ash. Just one little layer of safety in case of the worse situation.

EmiliasNana

If you want to apply the names/pictures on a stock pile of previously made quilts (which I think is what you are wanting), I would use a washable glue stick or Elmers School Glue to adhere and then do a buttonhole stitch around each, through the applique, top, batting and backing. As long as your batting isn't super puffy, you should be able to accomplish on a DM. The stitches will show on the backing, but you could use a bobbin that matches your backing to make it less obvious.

As previous posters have mentioned, I would NOT iron the polyester batting at any stage of the process. Good luck.