Do you ever read the instructions on batting? I only do when I’m working with a new-to-me batting and sometimes I learn a new thing. In this case I learned that the manufacturer recommends washing the cotton/poly batting before using, or after quilting.
Since I wasn’t sure I’d want to wash after quilting I decided to do it beforehand. I put in the tub with a little bit of Soak. You don’t have to rinse Soak out, making it a good choice. The wet batting reminded me of oatmeal.
I let it soak 15 minutes as per instructions, and then I let the water out. As I squeezed the batting I realized that the water was not clear. It wasn’t bad, but I can understand why washing is recommended.
It didn’t take long for it to dry on my rack out in the sunshine.
Some batting instructions suggest washing, others do not. Either way, following instructions is important. And you know what? Washing batting in the tub is a lot easier than I had imagined it would be.
Piece O Cake Blog 
When I use Warm and Natural I always wash first. When I say “wash” I don’t mean with soap or agitation! I cut what I need off the roll, put it into the laundry tub (clothes washer) and let soak making sure it is all submerged in the warm … not hot…water for about an hour. I spin dry , rearrange it in the washing machine tub and spin some more to make sure that I have taken out as much moisture as possible. I then put it into the dryer. Comes out lovely and soft.
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These instructions said not to use a washer or dryer. I suspect Warm and Natural is punched more and can handle the spinning without stretching out of shape.
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I don’t think I could handle the wet batting. Isn’t it heavy and hard to squeeze out?
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This 80% cotton/20% poly batting was easy to squeeze out. If it hadn’t been, I would have let it sit and drain longer in the tub. Once the water was mostly out it wasn’t heavy and was easy to handle.
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I always use my top loading washing machine as the tub. I fill it up and get the batting or fabric or whatever wet and soaked and then I gently spin it out. I do not agitate them. I can’t imagine putting it in a bathtub and then trying to lift it out of there without stretching. The spinning never seems to stretch anything. I would never wash a quilt in a bathtub. And that’s why I keep my top loading washing machine instead of going for the for the front loader or the high efficiency ones.
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Helpful hints.
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Thanks for the advice!
I have never washed batting for any of my quilt projects.
Will try to remember to follow the directions on the package
the next time.
Frances Dolph
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You didn’t lay it flat to dry. Did that affect anything? I can’t imagine where I would find a space to do that.
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I put it on top of my drying rack (the photo is in the blog) as flat as I could. I rearranged it every now and then.
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Never read that before!
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Thanks for this Becky! I thought I was pretty good at reading directions, but never noticed this, even though I wondered if it should be washed for preshrinking like I do fabric. Appreciate your posting it! Mary Jean in Florida
On Sun, Aug 5, 2018 at 4:38 PM, Piece O Cake Blog wrote:
> Becky Goldsmith posted: “Do you ever read the instructions on batting? I > only do when I’m working with a new-to-me batting and sometimes I learn a > new thing. In this case I learned that the manufacturer recommends washing > the cotton/poly batting before using, or after quilting. ” >
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