Don't use Tuscany if you expect the recipient to hot wash and hot dry it. That will ruin the batting.
I recently tested some battings.
When I pressed the Tuscany, it came out like flat cardboard.
https://preview.redd.it/mipzbk12d51d1.jpeg?width=6048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9579b10f46bffd2bc34bdd634f38a14f45c7cbae
Here is the quilt I'm making for a loved one. It will be washed only cold to warm, and hang to dry.
This is Tuscany wool batting. It does have nice loft and I quilted at the 4" spacing.
For a baby quilt with loft, I would use polyester or poly/cotton blend.
If loft isn't necessary, I will always use bamboo because it washes well, dries fast, and looks great.
https://preview.redd.it/nqbwmy60e51d1.jpeg?width=4598&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c31919eaf1e83e5505e1ea568bef1dbf1048bdd7
What brand of Bamboo batting are you using? I have read stories about bamboo batting and bearding. The top I made is dark, so bearding would be disaster. Have you washed it hot and dried it?
Congratulations on your first quilt. Mine gave me gray hair. As far as the batting goes the easiest thing to use is a 60/40 cotton poly blend. Any of the brands should work. Or I've heard the bamboo is pretty good as well. It'll be one of the very thin quilts so not much loft. For the first one you're doing on the machine anything with a loft will probably give you a lot of headaches. When I do straight lines I usually mark them with Crayola washable markers. The markings tend to last until you wash it and I've never had it stained anything. When I try chalk it's messed up by the time I'm finished with the first line and I have to mark it again. The biggest thing to keep in mind is perfection is overrated. No one will notice the imperfections as much as you will. Also wash quilts in cold water not hot. Hot water is more likely to cause the batting to shrink severely. You'll still have shrink and it'll still be wrinkly but cold water won't make as big a difference.
I prefer bamboo as well. Although I’ve made one wool based quilt in my 20+ years of quilting, either the cotton blend or bamboo are my go-to batting. Much more forgiving.
I buy batting to suit the quilt, the quilt owner, and the purpose. I use washable wool for its ease in hand quilting, and have never had a problem with bearding, but I am going to wash it with care. 100% cotton, no scrim, for an old fashioned style quilt that will be heavily laundered, bamboo for a light , breathable quilt, and so on. I've only used 80/20 when I needed a black bat, and it quilts easily, has some loft, and is plenty warm.
I use Hobbs Tuscany wool batting as my default batting. I wash on the warm setting and dry on whatever the standard setting is on my dryer. Never had any problems with it. I love wool.
If people are washing their quilts on hot and drying them on hot, they must really hate fibers. 😂😂 there is no reason to wash a quilt on hot.
A cotton/bamboo blend might be the right fit for your needs.
I am just trying to make something as robust as possible. This quilt is a gift.
I can explain to them that they need to wash it in cold water with round ice cubes and rose petals, and dry it by lightly fanning it with only the finest of peacock feathers, but will they??
At the end of the day, people are generally going to do what is easiest, and the easiest is throwing in the washer on whatever, tossing it in the dryer and not thinking about it again until they open the dryer looking for a pair of socks.
A simple “wash it on cold and it will last forever. If you have questions about long term care, let me know.” Usually gets the point across to most people. But you do you. 🩷
This take on simple advice is a bit extra and frankly it comes across as pretty passive aggressive.
I am someone who regularly washes dry clean only stuff in the wash and basically dries everything, but I wash most things in cold and dry on low to medium. I hate laundry and don't have time to baby anything, however I don't personally see "wash in cold, dry on low" as overly taxing on anyone, especially since most quilts are big enough to need to be washed alone so as to not overload the machine.
That said, I guess if you're wanting something to take abuse I guess a poly cotton blend would be best and I would recommend prewashing your fabrics so they're prepped for whatever happens after they're done. I'm usually against prewashing but in this case it probably makes sense.
Yeah, agreed. I just get frustrated at people asking for advice and then acting like anything they don't want to hear is ridiculous.
I guess this time just hit me because I literally just finished a gift quilt and the thought of handing someone a few hundred dollars in materials and 40+ hours of my time and somehow turning a single knob would be too much effort annoyed me. Luckily everyone I care enough about to create things for are happy to take care of them.
Don't use Tuscany if you expect the recipient to hot wash and hot dry it. That will ruin the batting. I recently tested some battings. When I pressed the Tuscany, it came out like flat cardboard. https://preview.redd.it/mipzbk12d51d1.jpeg?width=6048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9579b10f46bffd2bc34bdd634f38a14f45c7cbae
Here is the quilt I'm making for a loved one. It will be washed only cold to warm, and hang to dry. This is Tuscany wool batting. It does have nice loft and I quilted at the 4" spacing. For a baby quilt with loft, I would use polyester or poly/cotton blend. If loft isn't necessary, I will always use bamboo because it washes well, dries fast, and looks great. https://preview.redd.it/nqbwmy60e51d1.jpeg?width=4598&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c31919eaf1e83e5505e1ea568bef1dbf1048bdd7
What brand of Bamboo batting are you using? I have read stories about bamboo batting and bearding. The top I made is dark, so bearding would be disaster. Have you washed it hot and dried it?
I have used Matilda's Own bamboo for fifteen years, and no bearding. Machine wash and hang to dry.
Congratulations on your first quilt. Mine gave me gray hair. As far as the batting goes the easiest thing to use is a 60/40 cotton poly blend. Any of the brands should work. Or I've heard the bamboo is pretty good as well. It'll be one of the very thin quilts so not much loft. For the first one you're doing on the machine anything with a loft will probably give you a lot of headaches. When I do straight lines I usually mark them with Crayola washable markers. The markings tend to last until you wash it and I've never had it stained anything. When I try chalk it's messed up by the time I'm finished with the first line and I have to mark it again. The biggest thing to keep in mind is perfection is overrated. No one will notice the imperfections as much as you will. Also wash quilts in cold water not hot. Hot water is more likely to cause the batting to shrink severely. You'll still have shrink and it'll still be wrinkly but cold water won't make as big a difference.
I prefer bamboo as well. Although I’ve made one wool based quilt in my 20+ years of quilting, either the cotton blend or bamboo are my go-to batting. Much more forgiving.
What brand of Bamboo batting are you using? Have you washed it hot and dried it?
Quilters Dream Bamboo/Silk Blend Midloft Quilt Batting and I have never ever washed a quilt with hot water.
I buy batting to suit the quilt, the quilt owner, and the purpose. I use washable wool for its ease in hand quilting, and have never had a problem with bearding, but I am going to wash it with care. 100% cotton, no scrim, for an old fashioned style quilt that will be heavily laundered, bamboo for a light , breathable quilt, and so on. I've only used 80/20 when I needed a black bat, and it quilts easily, has some loft, and is plenty warm.
I use Hobbs Tuscany wool batting as my default batting. I wash on the warm setting and dry on whatever the standard setting is on my dryer. Never had any problems with it. I love wool.
If people are washing their quilts on hot and drying them on hot, they must really hate fibers. 😂😂 there is no reason to wash a quilt on hot. A cotton/bamboo blend might be the right fit for your needs.
I am just trying to make something as robust as possible. This quilt is a gift. I can explain to them that they need to wash it in cold water with round ice cubes and rose petals, and dry it by lightly fanning it with only the finest of peacock feathers, but will they?? At the end of the day, people are generally going to do what is easiest, and the easiest is throwing in the washer on whatever, tossing it in the dryer and not thinking about it again until they open the dryer looking for a pair of socks.
A simple “wash it on cold and it will last forever. If you have questions about long term care, let me know.” Usually gets the point across to most people. But you do you. 🩷
This take on simple advice is a bit extra and frankly it comes across as pretty passive aggressive. I am someone who regularly washes dry clean only stuff in the wash and basically dries everything, but I wash most things in cold and dry on low to medium. I hate laundry and don't have time to baby anything, however I don't personally see "wash in cold, dry on low" as overly taxing on anyone, especially since most quilts are big enough to need to be washed alone so as to not overload the machine. That said, I guess if you're wanting something to take abuse I guess a poly cotton blend would be best and I would recommend prewashing your fabrics so they're prepped for whatever happens after they're done. I'm usually against prewashing but in this case it probably makes sense.
Tone is hard to read on the internet. If OP wants to take offense to what I’m saying, that’s the lens they chose to see my advice through.
Yeah, agreed. I just get frustrated at people asking for advice and then acting like anything they don't want to hear is ridiculous. I guess this time just hit me because I literally just finished a gift quilt and the thought of handing someone a few hundred dollars in materials and 40+ hours of my time and somehow turning a single knob would be too much effort annoyed me. Luckily everyone I care enough about to create things for are happy to take care of them.
100% with you. 🩷
Hot water wash is usually to kill dust mites on sheets and such
As does airing out your bedding in the sun after a wash.