sandy l

I don't pre-wash any of my batting. If it's really wrinkled, I either toss in the dryer on low or no heat for a little bit, or drape it over my frame overnight.

ckcowl

I made my first quilt way back in 1976...have made literally hundreds of quilts- I have not yet ever pre-washed a batting of any kind, for any reason- there are so many factors that actually dictate how much a *finished* quilt will shrink- including the amount/type of quilting on the quilt, the fabrics, the batting...and so many great battings on the market- if a person is truly worried about their batting shrinking it is quite easy to just buy one that does not shrink- I simply can not imagine even considering pre-washing a batting. if i'm using a pre-packaged batting I simply remove it from the package- unfold it, give it a couple good shakes, & drape it over a table for a bit while I load the quilt- or if quilting on the domestic machine- creating a sandwich- I may lay it out for a few hours to relax the creases before beginning- that's about all the 'extra' I've ever done with a batting. I love hobbs batts and use them a lot.

Sheri.a

I have only made a few quilts. I have a lot of allergies so I always prewash my fabric. I really am not fond of the crinkle look when the batting shrinks, so I tried wool on the last quilt. I washed the quilt in cold water and still got some shrinkage.

I am curious how to prewash wool batting. I really like how light weight it is. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Prism99

Wool batting will shrink about the same as cotton batting -- around 3%. That's the nature of the batting. For absolutely no shrinkage in the quilt you need to either preshrink the wool batting or consider using polyester (which does not shrink at all).

If you Google the batting online, you can usually find information about shrinkage somewhere on the manufacturer's website.

Geri B

I have never presoaked any batting....yes it is wrinkled from being rolled tightly, but I just unroll it and lay it over the rollers of my longarm overnite and it relaxes enough to work with....lay it on an unused bed or over a table or sofa or whatever for 24 hrs would do the same.......I would think