Dollyo

When I started quilting, I tied them and polyester made a nice fluffy quilt. I personally don't like the shrinkage factor, so polyester was the best choice for me. When I got my short arm, I tried regular polyester. It would catch on the foot. I found Soft N Bright (made by The Warm Company-same company that makes Warm & Natural, etc). Absolutely, love it. It is not made w/resins, it is needle punched. It feels like Warm & Natural, doesn't shrink, and quilts like a dream. I buy 10 yards at a time from JoAnn's with a 50% off coupon. If you are going to use polyester, this is the one. I quilt for several of my SILs and my niece.

CharlottsQuilts

I'm a dream batting fan myself, and love the bamboo, but it is a lot more expensive.

quiltdragon

Don't forget to post a pic!

KimS

I've used the Dream Cotton batting on several quilts and was very happy with the outcome. Ordered some Warm and Natural this time to see how it does. So happy to hear you've found what works best for you and that you're enjoying quilting. Not much fun if you're having to fight with the "ingredients". Happy quilting and Merry Christmas.

jaciqltznok

sadly it is really NOT the fault of the poly batting..but just that you need more experience. TENSION is always different when changing, fabrics, threads, and even battings...with time and practice and NOTES you will find the best combination for which ever batting you decide to use!

Buckeye Rose

agreed 100% ! The problem isn't in the batting itself, it is the tension which needs to be set each time you fmq......I use poly for charity quilts and anything where I want a poofier look....I use 80/20 blend (from walmart) for a thinner and softer quilt....each one requires a different tension, even between straight stitch quilting and fmq.....I have found that setting stitch length to zero, pedal to the metal, and slowing down my hands made a huge difference in the way the thread reacted on the back.....no more loops and birds nests! PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Pretty stitching with consistent stitch length doesn't happen with the first quilt....or the second. Don't give up on poly yet....it has it's place in the quilting world! Try spray basting once.....I will never pin another quilt since I found it. If done correctly (I oversprayed on my first try and needle got gummy) the fabric does not shift. I start out my quilting now by sewing around the outside edges and then do the inside.....no puckers and it washes out!

carslo

I have an unaffiliated review of battings on my blog http://californiaquilting.blogspot.c...1_archive.html I have just finished a boat load of quits and used the opportunity to try a variety of battings. You may find it interesting.

amizjeanne

I am a newer quilter and think this is a great tip. Thank you - Merry Christmas to all!

IAmCatOwned

The 80/20 is perfect. It's worth it to try different battings as your needs differ depending on your use for the quilt and where you live. I prefer higher poly battings because they are warmer (I live in MN).

By the way, using the Big Foot can help a lot when quilting with all poly battings. I used this for 4 or 5 years when I had my Kenmore (gotta get around to listing that in the Trading post as I no longer have a machine that uses that foot).

quiltgal

When I started years ago, did not know much about batting and so all but one of the old ones are poly. For the last several years, I have only used 80/20. I love it! I can get the wrinkles out by ironing and there is just enough static that builds up to hold the fabric to the batting. I rarely have any problems with it when quilting on my home machine.