When you think about quilting, you need to consider the baby quilt batting you are going to use for your quilts.
There are three important considerations to review prior to choosing your baby quilt batting. Each may depend on the materials you have chosen for the top and backing for the quilt, while others will be determined by your location. For example, I live in South Florida and as I start to create a handmade baby quilt for someone who lives in the more northern states, I need to remember not to be influenced by the hot and humid weather that exists outside my front door. Whether you machine or quilt by hand, plus matching the type of fiber used from the quilt top and backing, each will need to be considered before making your final quilt batting choice.
Choosing a batting can be boggling but this step is the heart of your baby quilt and it provides the comfort plus gives the dimension to the quilt. The loft of the batting is the thickness. A high loft is anything above ½ inch and would be most suitable for tying a quilt. This loft thickness is warmer since their loft is left higher. A common batt loft for both machine and hand quilting is the medium loft since it shows considerable dimension. With the batting somewhere between ¼ and ½ the warmth factor will reduce the closer the quilting. A low loft bat, which is under ¼ inch, is easier to hand or machine quilt. These batts may show fewer dimensions and offer a more traditional look.
Next, the fibers that are used in your quilt batting for baby quilts need to have wash-ability. Baby quilts can sometimes take lost of abuse from being a play mat on the floor to the daily baby spills. Today’s cotton is stable, soft and washable. Check the label directions before using cotton battings to be sure that that it has been preshrunk. These types of cottons are harder to hand quilt because of its softness; these batts are good for machine quilters who make baby quilts. As a hand quilter, I prefer polyester batts since they have a higher loft than cotton and a great stability between the fibers. A cotton and Polyester Blend is considered by many quilters to be the best of both worlds because it blends of stability of the polyester and softness of cotton. These are 3 of the most popular choices of fibers used in quilt batting for baby quilts today.
Whether you are a hand quilter or quilt by machine, choosing the baby quilt batting for your quilts is SEW important.