Hey Quilters.....Soy batting? Pre-shrink batting?
By coffeebreak
@coffeebreak (17797)
United States
March 27, 2011 7:01pm CST
Okay, so I started my T-shirt quilt for my granddaughters...well so far, just bought all the stuff and will work on one first. Anyway...I chose a thin flannel for the front,a print and a solid...the solid is the square that will have the t-shirt appliqued on it, the print is the borders between the squares. I got a light weight plush pile for the back.
Now, I figure with the flannel and the pile, I wouldn't want to use a thick batting and make the quilt really thick and bulky...so I chose a thinner batting. The three together make it the perfect thickness.
Questions:
1. I got a nice thin batting with a tiny bit of pile...very soft. HOwever, I looked at the content and it is 50%SOY and 50% cotton. Soy? Have you ever heard or used a batting containing soy? It is softer than the cotton/polyester or cotton/cotton, but how does soy fiber hold up? Longevity? Wash and wear? Any comments or thoughts?
2. Do you have to pre-shrink batting? Been a long while (25 years!) since I did quilts and I always bought that kind in the bag (didn't have this kind on the bolts back then!) and I didn't pre-shrink that, but things change...this kind on the bolt (the above mentioned soy/cotton)...does that kind need to be pre-shrunk?
Thanks for the comments. I am looking forward to getting these t-shirt quilts done. Been talking about doing them for 2 years! Finally collected enough t-shirts from both of my GD's and hope to have them both done for christmas gifts!
1 person likes this
1 response
@JoyfulOne (6231)
• United States
30 Mar 11
Sounds like it will be a nice quilt, and one that she will absolutely love! I have never heard of soy batting, but since it's plant based, like cotton, I think it would be ok to use. I don't know if soy shrinks when wet (like cotton does), but I would pre-shrink it just in case. It would be disappointing to get all the way done and have it possibly shrink the first time it gets cleaned. I believe in pre-shrinking all my material, as well as the batting. I did get batting once that said it was pre-shrunk, but I don't know whether it's necessary with today's materials. Generally, I'd say if it has any cotton in it at all, then the tendency to possibly shrink is there. Good luck! I hope we get to see a picture when you're done!!
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
30 Mar 11
Wow. I hadn't thought of it like that. I always preshrink all my fabrics but never the batting. But then again, I do buy that kind with polyester more than cotton, or use a thin blanket as batting (back in the old days when money was quite more tight and I couldn't afford the batting!)
But with 50% cotton, if that'd been a blouse or something, I wouldn't have bought it as I know cotton shrinks alot and very wrinkleley.(?) I'll see what other comments I get and then, go from there. I have a feeling it should be preshrunk tho. I asked the cutter at the store, but she admitted she knew nothing about fabric. I wanted to complain to the manager...but figured it wouldn't do any good. They should employe people that at least have some fabric experience. And then the next day I went back and asked another cutter who said she does quilts all the time...but of course, she had never heard of the soy batting either!
Thanks for your help.
