Flying_V_Goddess

I've been getting in shirts for my t-shirt quilt so I've been thinking about the other materials I'll need. And today I've been hitting the batting. But its actually been a couple years since I've completed a quilt so I realized I forgot a some of what I know about batting since I haven't worked with it for a while.

I found out most of what I forgot through Internet sites and YouTube videos, but I'm having trouble finding a couple things. I remember that you should have your batting be bigger than your quilt top and backing, espessily if you're sending out your quilt to a long arm quilter. But I can't remember how much bigger your batting should be. Or even if you really need extra batting all around or if you do should your backing be the same size as your batting.

And I'm thinking about cotton batting, but a lot of sources say it shrinks a little and I'm a little worried what the shrinkage would do on a t-shirt quilt that has a few hard to find shirts. Could the batting be shrunk before being put into the quilt (spend a little time int eh dryer maybe?)?

Also thinking of getting black batting as all the t-shirts are black and the quilt will have grey sashing and borders, but the only black battings I've been able to find (so far) are polyester. Are there any sites that offer black batting in cotton or maybe even a cotton blend?

quiltwoman

Try connectingthreads.com for black batting. I waited until it went on sale and got it then.
Good luck with your new quilt.

craftybear

Black batting on sale here


http://www.connectingthreads.com/too...g__D20826.html

Candace

That's the black batting I've used in the past and it shrinks less than Warm and Natural. It would be fine to use with a t-shirt quilt. Especially a quilt with dark material. YOu don't need to pre-shrink it and it may even get damaged if you try to do that in the dryer.

amandasgramma

You asked what size batting and backing. You might contact your quilter before you buy/cut it and ask. I've heard (and use) 4-5" more on ALL sides for the backing and I cut my backing just slightly smaller than the backing.

Flying_V_Goddess

On her site she says 4" all around for the backing, but it doesn't say anything about the batting. But let's assume that would apply to the batting as well.

I'm not sure if I will go to her. The quilt is going to be huge so there would be the advantage of going to long arm quilter instead of trying to quilt this huge thing on my little Singer. But then again, its going to be huge and bigger quilts cost more to quilt...definatly over $100 just for the quilting. She does good work so it'd be definatly worth it, but I don't think I can afford it (the quilt's expensive enough as it is! lol). Plus, with it being holiday season and people are sending in their quilts to get done before Christmas I might not even be able to get a spot in anyways.

So what I'm wondering is would I still need to add the four inches all around to the batting and back if I'm quilting it myself on my sewing machine?

purplemem

When I quilt it myself, I just add 2 inches. That seems to be plenty.

Jan in VA

It's possible she doesn't mention the batting size because she uses batting from a roll on her LA machine for most of the quilts she works on. Many long-armers do this. Some also will take your batting; it's always best to check with them personally first. Some charge for the cost of the batting they already have, some figure it into the cost of the quilting total.

On your own machine you'll want both the batting and the backing to be at least 4" larger than the top ON ALL SIDES. Your quilting WILL shift these layers, you'll need all that extra

Just a heads up: I once quilted madly all week to finish a bedsized quilt for a shoe on Friday, too cheap, too late to get it to a LA quilter. I spent that 'savings' by spending the next 6 weeks at the chiropractor's to repair the damage I did to my back and shoulder! I'll never quilt a large quilt at home again on my machine!!!

Jan in VA

Flying_V_Goddess

She does use a huge roll of batting from her machine, but she also sells batting by the roll. I think you can bring in your own batting and not be charged extra since she doesn't have to use batting from her own shop.

Thanks for the warning. Might have to take my chances, though. I did a 60X80 denim quilt in the heat of May with no air conditioning in 2007 on the Singer. It was HOT more than anything else, but it did kill my back a little (luckily my sewing machine has to be set up right next to the bed so if I needed a back break I could just climb out of the chair and into bed). This quilt should be a little bit bigger than that one (80x80). Maybe not freaking denim, but it is in mostly black and black is not the best candiate for keeping off heat. So maybe this one won't be any worse than the denim one.

Anyone know what kind of loft that black batting is? The website didn't say. Kind of looking for a lower loft. My boyfriend is getting the quilt and he lives in Alabama (for now). Everytime he calls he usually mentions the hot weather. So I doubt a quilt that's almost all black and is a gift for someone who lives in typically warm weather needs the extra loft.

littlehud

I would love to see a pic of the quilt. It sounds cool.