I wonder how big the dryer was? It may have shredded from rubbing against itself. Did you do just one king sized batting at a time?

I often preshrink Hobbs 80/20 batting by putting it in hot water in my clotheswasher and letting it set about 30 minutes. DO NOT Agitate. Spin out the water and place in clothesdryer, prema press clycle to dry. I have never had any problems with it. Comes out so nice, fluffy and soft. Since it gave you problems you might want to contact Hobbs.

i use warm n natural 80/20. and i preshrink my fabric. after the quilt is done and washed, there is very little puckering. so i would never think of trying to preshrink my batting. so sorry this happened to you

I have never pre washed any batting either. I have done business directly with Hobbs before. Give them a call: 1-800-433-3357.

Well, I called them and they asked me to photograph the damage and they indicated that they would send me new packages. They were very nice! Thanks for suggesting that I contact them. This list never ceases to amaze me.

Outstanding....great to hear when a company stands behind their products...will now make a note to buy Hobbs.....

Hobbs is am amazing company. If you think you have defective batting just send a 6" squarish piece of the batting to Hobbs at 200 S. Commerce ,Waco, Texas 76710. Make it to the attention of Bill Neal. As with any manufacturing process, sometimes there is a glitch. If there is a defect, they will gladly replace your batting.
Preshrinking batting is a tricky business. Most batting states that it must be quilted every so many inches. This is because it needs to be stabilized with stitching this close to preserve the integrity of the batting. So... a very gently soaking and a gently air fluff or air dry is the safest- never agitate an unquilted batt. Even if the batting stays in tact you will loose some of the fiber in the dryer just like when drying clothes. It seems a waste to pull fibers out of your batt before it even makes it into the quilt :-) When I don't want any puckering, I don't prewash my fabrics and let the fabric and batt shrink together. I do use a color catcher just in case any of the fabric bleeds a little. I apologize for the length of this reply but I hope it helps someone just a little. If you have any questions please just give me a shout!

This is why I prefer Quilter's Dream products.

WONDERFUL news! and good for Hobbs!
Yes, this board is amazing.

Have never prewashed any batting, been doing this a very long time.
Now I am wondering what the mfgrs of batting say about prewashing.........