fleece as batting?

Time to put me to bed, Anita, but I'll give you a quick answer. You can but the darn stuff is wiggly, wobbly and stretchy. Maybe a light coat of the spray that is supposed to substitute for real basting would control it. I guess you could if you had to or thought it was an interesting challenge. Running a length of masking tape on the sides that want to go stretchy would help. Don't stitch through the tape, just use it to control until you get things together. Best wishes and let us know what you decide and how it goes. Polly

Hi Anita I have a couple of books that actually suggest using fleece as batting for certain projects such as, coasters, place mats and table runners. I've not tried it on anything bigger though.

Patti in Seattle

We use polar fleece and track suiting to back quilts all the time. It's great for quilts that are going to take a lot of wear and need frequent washing. I have "curtains" in my sewing room that are fleece backed quilts and I wash them on a normal cycle and rehang them (on a hot day) to dry in place.

Also great for kids/teens quilts that are not heirlooms to be passed on, but to be used and dragged around. And you can quilt a top onto fleece and back with a sheet (sewn into binding on three sides) and have a summer weight quilt that doubles as a doona/duvet cover in winter.

Fleece also makes great lining for gift/bottle bags, in place mats, and to give a quilted appearance to bags.

We make quite a few Project Linus blankets using flannel on one side, polar fleece on the other side. Makes very nice quickly made snuggly, cuddly blankets! Cut the polar fleece big enough to wrap to the front, sew it down, you have your quilt bound with very little work. Stitch across the blanket a couple times to keep from having a big balloon instead of a flat blanket when it comes out of the dryer!

Just don't do what one of our volunteers did one time - she made a blanket with polar fleece on both sides and a pretty heavy batting. You couldn't even fold the darned thing - it was so thick it just flopped back open every time you tried to fold it. We took it apart - so we had two fleece blankets and batting for another quilt.

I have done this, but I need to use up fleece quicker. ;)

-- Anita --

I've done this, too. But, I want to use up as much fabric and fleece as possible, so I want to back with cotton and use fleece as batting. That should work, right?

Thanks, Anita

I've done this for some small charity quilts. It seemed to work very nicely.

I use fleece on the back of baby quilts, washing it first. I have no problems sewing/quilting it with my walking foot. You can use it as batting as long as you pin well.

Thanks. I would be doing this for 36" square charity quilts. This sounds good.

-- Anita --

I think it will be an "interesting challenge"! ;)

-- Anita --

It'll be a breeze on a 36" square - I just had kingsize on the brain. I'm making a great big quilt and stretching fleece would be hard to deal with. Polly

Anita wrote > Thanks. I would be doing this for 36" square

I have used fleece as batting in a king quilt before and if it is sandwiched properly and basted well there is really not much problem with stretching, at least in my experience. I have found that when using a single layer of fleece as a batting and backing that it does stretch though.

And to add the king quilt was for my in laws who say it is the warmest blanket they have ever slept with ;)

Tammy in ontario.

I have used Fleece heaps of times on all sized quilts. As I use a quilt frame I make sure the fleece isnt pulling as it is waiting to be rolled up etc but as Tammy says, it sure makes warm quilts. Charlie

Whoa!!! Slow down here!!! Define 'fleece', please. Are we discussing a woven/ knitted fabric?

I use fleece as batting. Fleece I shear off of my sheep.

Vandy, I'll take on the 'define fleece' challenge. What we're talking about is sort of like felt. I don't think it's woven and have no idea how they go about creating it - but it definitely is not the fleece you shear off sheep. I'd guess the fleece for blankets, quilts and clothing has been around for about 10 years. Some of it is very light weight and appropriate for newborn baby jackets; some of it is double-faced and quite heavy. I'll be glad to send you a scrap so you can see what the discussion is all about. Email me if you'd like one. Polly

It's a polyester knit fabric with a soft pile. The best brand AFAIK is Polartec, and they have a number of high-tech varieties designed for outerwear as well as garden variety clothing. Lots of it on the market, but maybe not so much in hot countries :-) Roberta in D

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Thanks folks!! I use this fabric you call fleece (puff knit) to make capes and robes.

Any good reas>It's a polyester knit fabric with a soft pile. The best brand AFAIK is

Haven't used wool batting yet, but those who have love it! Commercial wool batts seem to be machine washable though, so I'm not sure how you would proceed if you want to make a washable quilt with wool right off the sheep. Roberta in D

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I cheat. I run the raw wool through the washing machine on the same setting I use for denim jeans. I bag the wool to keep it from clogging the machine. Once washed I toss it in the bags in the dryer. This pretty much shrinks the wool as far as it will go. When using it for batting I pull the clumps apart just as I would before combing it to spin. So far I have only used it for batting pillows so it was stuffed firmly to give real support. Pillows have washable covers that unzip. Batting is in a ripstock nylon or cheese cloth bag, depends on intended use of pillow.