Best High-Loft Batt to MQ?

Lately I've enjoyed using Mountain Mist Gold which is half cotton, half poly. It is sort of poofy but probably not as much as you have in mind. I like the feel of the finished quilt and it is so easy-going to roll and fold when MQing. The problem that I remember with a lot of batting loft was the tendency of the backing to shift and pleat. To prevent that, I expect you'll need to do lots more pinning than usual. . . and take frequent breaks. Polly

"dogmom" First--my computer has gone on streaks of not letting me download all you

Thanks, Polly---I'll look into it. And I'm sure the breaks are more effective if accompanied by adequate amounts of chocolate, yes?

Dogmom

To add to Polly's excellent advice- have you considered how on earth to get that huge fat bundle of quilt sandwich under your sewing machine arm to quilt the middle area??? That's a big quilt to stuff under there even if you used a low loft batting. Just a thought...

Another idea- what if you machine quilted the quilt top only to a low loft batting (I've done this with Warm and Natural with no backing and it goes thru the machine just fine) then added a second layer of fat batting behind the low loft and then machine tacked that and the backing to the quilted top with the low loft? Gee, did that make ANY sense at all??? LOL

Best of luck with this... better you than me! ;-)

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

That is really great advice!! I like that!

Quick question; what is machine tacking???

I have used the Quilter's dream deluxe. I made a quilt as you go k> To add to Polly's excellent advice- have you considered how on earth to g= et

Machine tacking is similar to a tied quilt but using the sewing machine. The most common is to use a narrow zig-zag with the stitch length set at near zero- make about 6-8 stitches in place. You move from one tack to the next the length of an entire row without cutting the threads (unless your machine has the automatic thread cutter option) and then remove the quilt from the sewing machine, clip all the threads and then tack the next row. If you don't have a lock stitch to use when finishing each tack then a teensy dot of some kind of permanent glue or Fray Check is good for keeping the tacks from possibly unraveling.

The prettier option is to use a decorative stitch. My sweet Janome 6600 has a stitch that is a line of hearts- I use the automatic lock stitch, stitch just one heart and then the lock stitch again and then the auto thread cutter- then on to the next tacked heart. That's a fave for baby quilts. Another idea is to tack a piece of narrow ribbon to each spot and tie the ribbon in a bow. You need to find the shortest length of ribbon you can comfortably tie and then trim the ends short after making the bow. I put a dab of permanent fabric glue over the tack before I tie the bow- so the bows don't come untied- and then a dab of Fray Check on the ends of the ribbon to prevent raveling. That's a fave for baby girl's quilts.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Quick question; what is machine tacking???

I have used the Quilter's dream deluxe. I made a quilt as you go k> To add to Polly's excellent advice- have you considered how on earth to > get

Just thought I'd throw this in -- I am sure you're a more skilled machine quilter than I, but wanted to tell you the problem I had with the 1" poly batting. When it was done, it was more than "puffy". It looked downright puckered. It was way too heavy and bulky. It reminded me more of a comforter than a quilt. Disclaimer: This experience was likely due to the operator of the machine, and not the batting itself.

Sherry

As you haven't 'sandwiched' it yet, perhaps you'd like to think about quilting it in three (or so?) sections? Say, three:

Divide the quilt in three - notionally. Cut the batting in thirds, too, and sandwich the centre piece. Quilt it, but leave about at inch? at the edges which are going to butt up to the outer thirds. Then but one out third to the centre - perhaps do some whip stitching to catch the edges of the batting together (large and not fancy). Quilt that, and then do the same with the last piece. As long as you take care when sandwiching the outer thirds, the backing should show no difference at all.

I'm sorry if this isn't the best/clearest description of this method, as I haven't actually done it myself - yet! I'm just summarising what I have read in preparation for trying it myself.

BUT, when all is said and done, tying quilts is such a traditional method of joining the three layers, I don't know why you wouldn't consider that a perfectly good substitute. I love the look of the individual fancy stitch - placed in a 'pattern', not randomly, they will also give a sort of quilted appearance. . In message , dogmom writes

No idea which is best, because IMO if you want to machine quilt, you should save your sanity and stick with the W&N. Or Hobbs Heirloom in my case. Slithery thick poly batting by machine? Aack! And looking at the dimensions of this one, Double Aack! You'd be better off making him 2 quilts so he can layer them!

Machine tacking is fastening the sandwich together, sort of like tying but with a machine stitch. Can be a decorative stitch or not.

Happy quilting,

Lenore

Quick question; what is machine tacking???

I have used the Quilter's dream deluxe. I made a quilt as you go k> To add to Polly's excellent advice- have you considered how on earth to > get

To answer your question, NONE!

joan

Have you considered using a wool batt? It isn't real "thick" but shows off the quilting very well and looks "poofy". Practically, it often isn't possible to machine quilt a large quilt with high loft batting. It just doesn't fit in the machine arm, and may not look as good as a 'thinner' batting. :( Currently I am working on a small hand quilting practice piece with the Hobbs Tuscany Wool and it is wonderful to hand quilt. Not real heavy, but looks wonderfully "poofy". It would also work well under the machine, because it compresses well, but then poofs back out.

The really high loft batt> First--my computer has gone on streaks of not letting me download all you

I found this method of quilt tying while browsing - something else to consider? Before machine quilting any high loft batting - I'd suggest making up a sample thickness using several scraps layered to the thickness that you are thinking you would like - then practice quilting it. Measure the piece before doing any stitches (say 8"square) and then measure it again after completely filling it with your proposed quilting idea. I think that you will find that none of the pieces end up with the same amount of shrinkage and the batt will have grown to burst out the sides. The length of stitch that you would have to use to do quilting on this thickness would surely have to be at least a '5' or more and even then it would probably end up looking like a '1.5' or smaller. Tension setting is another matter entirely to consider. jennellh

Invisible Tying : taken from a response on QuiltinaDay forum:

Prepare quilt sandwich as you would for quilting or tying. Pin or baste as you prefer.

Invisible tying is done with a long doll needle, Five inches or longer and bedspread (crochet) cotton or thread of a similiar size.

Before you begin, decide what spacing you will use for your ties. I usually use a 4" OR 5" grid. Check your quilt top pattern to see what patten and size grid it will accomodate.You can use any size grid.

With threaded needle enter quilt sandwich from side going into the batting and working between the top and backing. At the location of first tie bring needle up through quilt top, go back down through backing, back up to top and back into batting and over to the nest tie location.Repeat this process at each tie location.

///Continue to work in rows or squares whichever is most convenient for you. Finish with binding.