A quilt is a fabric sandwich that is made up of three different layers. These three layers are called the quilt top, the filling (also known as the batting or wadding) and the backing.
The top portion of the quilt sandwich is called the quilt top. Quilt tops are usually made of fabric blocks that are pieced together. Some tops may be appliqued or the top could be created using a mixture of both piecing and applique techniques. Some quilt tops may not be pieced together at all and instead may be made from a whole uniform piece of cloth.
The middle layer or filling of a quilt may consist of cotton, silk, polyester, or wool batting. The batting is what makes a quilt truly a quilt. If there is no batting, your creation would actually be known as a coverlet and not a quilt. The batting gives a quilt dimension. It contributes to the warmth the quilt provides.
100 percent cotton batting is the easiest batting to sew through. It is the most common choice of batting in quilts for the quilt purists. Cotton can shrink nearly 5% when washed so make sure that you use closely stitched intervals to prevent the batting from bunching in all the corners, nooks and crannies. When the quilt is washed, the batting shrinkage will give your quilt a wonderful overall antique look.
Cotton/polyester blend batting gives your quilt a traditional look and feel without the hassle of cotton. There is less shrinkage and as a result, you can quilt it at a slightly larger spacing interval. The polyester content helps to keep the fibers from migrating into corners during use and when being laundered.
Polyester batting launders quite well and there is no shrinkage to contend with. Since you can stitch at larger spacing intervals, you can finish your quilt much faster. Polyester batting is the most popular choice among general quilters. Cotton comes in at a close second. Polyester batting come in low loft and high loft. The high loft batting is thick and is good if you want to have your quilt thick like a sleeping bag.
Silk batting is best suited for quilted garments and is not recommended for bed quilts as the silk batting is quite expensive.
Wool batting is very heavy and it is great if you are making a quilt for insulation on a cold night. The fibers have a tendency to migrate through the top and bottom layers (known as bearding). To prevent this from happening, encase your wool batting in extra layers of fabric top and bottom and use short stitching intervals when you sew your sandwich together.
The bottom layer of the sandwich (known as the backing) is a large piece of plain or printed cotton that may or may not be pieced together from smaller pieces to create the proper size. There are backing fabrics out there available by the yard in 90 and 120 inch widths. If you have a hard time finding these fabrics and you don't want to piece your backing, you could go out and buy a cotton bed sheet that is larger than the pieced quilt top that you created.
There are three methods that can be used to sandwich your quilt in preparation for quilting.
The first method is to pin the sandwich pieces together with nickel-plated safety pins. Start pinning in the middle of the quilt and then pin approximately 2 - 3 inches apart. Pin your way to the edges of the quilt making sure that the three layers remains smooth and that there are no bumps or tucks in the layers.
The second method is to hand baste the sandwich layers together in preparation for sewing. The pieces are assembled together in the same way as the pin basting. After assembly, you take a thick quilting cotton thread and using a long running stitch, baste together the three pieces starting from the middle and basting to the edges.
The third method is to secure the sandwich pieces in place by using fabric adhesive prior to quilting. The adhesive will dissolve during the first wash of your quilt so quilting your layers after using a fabric adhesive is a must.
Whatever method you use, a little time and care taken during the sandwiching phase will make the whole quilting process go smooth in the final steps and you will be happy with your finished quilt.
Ramona Dunn is a sewer and quilter with over 35 years of experience behind the sewing machine. She has a diploma with honors in sewing and dressmaking from the Stratford Career Institute and she is the proud owner of her own online quilting web site called Those Cotton Pickin' Fabrics.
Ramona is a professional educator by day and she has authored a book for beginning quilters called "How To Do Quilting In 8 Easy Steps". To learn more about this book, click this link:
http://how-to-do-quilting.com/
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