I'm in the fortunate position of being a spinner with a sheep-owning friend. I have used washed, carded sheep's fleece as batting which drapes beautifully and is very warm. Tying and hand stitching work well, but its not a speedy process! Zero cost though and very "eco". Love all your ideas, keep up the good work.
I had two quilts quilted with no batting. One was with flannellette and was for someone who had a lot of night sweats due to illness. The second was using wool yardage for someone who had circulatory problems. I have Frrankenbatted, too!
Great ideas ! ! ! ! I have found by accident to use old electric blankets that I have taken out the electric wiring and I discovered that the electric blanket is actually 2 pretty light weight blankets sewn together ! I did have to spend some time cutting the seams apart that housed the electrical wires. But very worth it for me. Repurposed materials as well that would have gone to the landfill. 😊
First, Love your channel & the personal experiences you share from your quilting journey! Well done, Thank You! Second, I appreciate your like mind to upcycle, repurpose existing materials. Third, Many Thanks for encouraging others to share their experiences & opinions to help each other on our sewing journeys. Fourth, & last... I have used well worn older summer quilts as batting, giving my new projects much needed batting. Depending on thickness needed, sometimes sewing on an extra layer of cotton flannel in my quilt sandwich. I baste stitch the flannel to the old quilt & save that worn, but still structurally sound cotton into a new life. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts & sewing experience girlfriend! I truly appreciate your no nonsense approach. Have a wonderful Fall 2024!
Ok, you are seriously BRILLIANT I’ve been wanting to make some charity quilts for my local hospital. The stumbling block is the batting. I need something that will stand up to industrial washing and something I can afford. You’ve given me an idea. I can buy king sized Minky blankets at Costco for cheap. They might work perfectly as batting. I was planning to tie them anyway instead of machine quilting. I just needed a nudge to think outside the box. THANK YOU!!! Another inspiring video 🙋♀️🇨🇦
Thanks for the inspiration. One of my grandsons wants minky added to the back of his personal quilt. It’s larger than a throw size. Costco to the rescue.
I like to use those very cheap Ikea Fleece blankets(Thorgun) as batting.I sew two of them together for a bigger quilt. It makes a very soft and light quilt and doesn't cost a fortune.
I once bought a bolt of Joann snuggle flannel to use as batting, but haven't used it quite yet. I was hoping it would give me a nice thin floppy quilt. Sure appreciate you!
I loved this video! Ive been quilting for almost 40 years and learned new things today. I’ve used old blankets but never used flannel sheets or towels, what great ideas! God Bless
All great ideas. I’ve used many of them. Old kitchen towels are good for potholders and placemats. I use denim and sew strips with the sewn edges all one side (backside or inside). Then I sew strips like quilt as you go from the back side and the seams all facing the inside create a ‘batting’ thickness. And the quilting is completed.
Estate sales of quilters. Family was happy to offer me her stash of stuffings for free. They packed my van. There is stuffing forever now. I remember her everytime I'm in the sewing room.
I'm glad to know about the towel idea. I love your thrifty tips! When I use fleece as a backing, even a thin cotton fabric in place of a batting makes a big difference compared to batting .
A quilt my Grandmother made in 1920 was so threadbare there was almost nothing left of the outer layer but it was still warm and loved. The inside was heavy and seemed like wool. So for my first quilt in 1980 I used her entire quilt for the inside. One of my daughters who is 40 still uses it to this day. She calls it the OG weighted blanket.
I have done the same thing for one of my quilts. My adult daughter loves the thickness of her quilt (inside i used her great grandmother's quilt which was well loved and practically worn out). This a great story for her when others compliment her quit!
I have used blankets...that is the only thing other than batting. I have pieced batting scraps for smaller projects, but not full sized quilts. I can remember my mom layering old pants(not jeans but like work pants).. that were cut apart...someone had given them to her. She was resourceful.
My grandmother's quilt have old curtains, bedsheets and other old quilts on the inside. We love them. I have recovered old quilts that are well used and have used fire blankets inside quilts instead of batting. I try not to buy fabric or batting until I am sure I will use it. Thanks for the great ideas.
Appreciate these ideas, the charity quilts I make need to be all new fabric so I use batting with flannel sheets (on the back).❤ I have also used old store bought quilts for batting refreshing with my new top and backing.
Thank u for ur video. I agree I recycle all my old stuff and quilt them. Hope that style takes off otherwise we as quilters are being flooding the world with stuff. Let's try to work it out so we become user friendly. ❤
I use 2nd hand fleece blankets with flannel in between. The flannel helps the fleece to stay in place while quilting. I have children with sensory issues and they love fleece blankets against their skin. They also love the drape of this combination. Traditional battings just don’t drape enough for them. I also mostly quilt with old clothing from op shops (charity or thrift store). I also bought a moxie just so I didn’t have to face judgement at the long arm quilters. I have been considering towels but I hadn’t met anyone who had done it. Glad to know it works. Thanks for the tips. Next I want to try piecing with fabric other than cotton. A lot of pretty summer shirts and dresses seem to be made of a cotton viscose blend. I think it starches okay so I am keen to give it a go. Just need to come up with a pattern. Thanks for being an alternative voice on RU-vid.
What perfect timing for this video. Yesterday I was looking for alternatives for batting because I’m making quilts for grandsons who live in Florida and I wanted ideas for lightweight and breathable options. Thank you for your ideas.
Thanks for your good advice! I have used flannel blankets and have thought about other blankets as well. It might be a perfect time as I am getting a bit short on batting.
I would never have thought of towels. Great idea. I often use the basic IKEA fleece, as batting, for small quilts and projects. It's recycled cream coloured polyester and costs about £3 in the UK.
I've made denim and flannel raw edged quilts with no batting. Last one I made was for my neighbor and he said he could only use it for winter because it is so warm. Have used all you mentioned. I piece my batting scraps and if too small I piece them for pot holders and bowl cozies. Am currently working on a quilt made from nothing but scraps, to batting and backing.
Just did a quilt as you go quilt with all my batting scraps. Also made a foot stool using all my trim scraps as the padding on a piece of old kitchen cupboard door with some little legs I managed to save from the open fire at a pub.
I had a quilt from Grandma, redwork sun bonnet Sue's, that had flour sacks as the batting. But yeah, kids quilts I use fleece as the batting/backing all one one. I've made one summer quilt with flannel as the batting. Didn't care for the feel of it.
I tend to use curtain batting for quilts that are for me and everyday use. I use my scraps to make ‘Franken-batting’ to use in bags, or table toppers, or for mug rugs and similar. If I am making a quilt for gifting or for charity, I do tend to buy some reasonable 80/20. My first couple I just quilted straight to fleece.
I used a flannel sheet for a quilt that was made from cotton flannel scraps. I was pleased with how it came out. I would use flannel sheets again. I bought a king sized flannel sheet set from Ikea. Definitely recommend that you machine wash and dry the flannel sheets before quilting. A friend makes whole cloth quilts from quilting cotton and minky with no batting. Lovely feel to them.
I find out we are more alike with every one of your videos. I have used all of these things you talked about. Had a friend visit from a couple States away and she brought me huge bags of scrap batting. I'll use most of it by piecing pieces together and the very small pieces I will use in dog/cat beds for the animal shelters
Amazing suggestions!!! I’ve used old duvet covers too, as long as they are cotton, I wash them, then remove all the seams by usually ripping or cutting the edges off and then overlocking. I have hand quilted one quilt (that was enough for me, I’m totally done with hand quilting haha) and that has 2 layers of duvet covers as “battting” and then the top, and also a backing. It’s one of the nicest and heaviest quilts I have ever made. ❤
Brilliant idea. I need my personal quilts to have weight but not bring warmth. Thanks for the tip. I actually have a few duvet covers that I recently thrifted.
I know this is going to sound CRAZY, but I made a quilt using old CASHMERE and LAMBSWOOL SCARVES as my batting. I spent a few months searching for old scarves in thrift stores. Surprisingly there tend to be cheaper in the cooler months here in the states. These had small holes in them (hence why they were in thriftstores, and were in a WILD range of (ugly)outdated patterns and designs but were SUPER thin and OH SO WARM and QUILTED LIKE A DREAM! I just zigzagged them together and they worked like a CHARM. Seems crazy to use cashmere like this, but as I say, they weren't being used anymore due to their holes and it made for a super lightweight yet super warm quilt! I googled to see if anyone else had tried this but hadn't seen anything so thought I'd include it here.
I made a horrible mistake using batting that pilled thru the whole quilt. I had to unsew the whole thing and it had already been quilted!!!!! Be very careful and make a 12 inch square quilt sample and wash it a few times before you use it!!!
I have often used fleece as a backing without adding batting. It works great. And flannel works great too. Have you ever tried using the pre-quilted mattress pads as batting? They are usually poly and seem denser than regular batting I have several that I don't need and have wondered how it might work. I'd be interested in your opinion. Thanks
I love this. i wish my grandmother was still here to ask if they did this back in Indiana. She fueled my passion to finally get to quilting at my age of almost 64. The quilts she made were stunning (like the original all pieces cut with scissors, hand sewn, Cathedral Window/hand quilted.) Thank you :)
I have used sheets for "summer quilts" Our house gets hot in summer up in the bedrooms so I have a summer quilt with a regular sheet as batting, it's a King size quilt and I knew I couldn't fit it in the throat of my domestic machine if I used "real" batting. I really like it. I have used flannel a few times for batting AND backing as well and I liked that. The wool blanket sounds like a really good idea.
Thank you for this comment. I’ve been using flannel sheets for batting, and I am pleased with the results, but have been wondering if I could use just a plain cotton sheet.
The only non traditional batting I have used inside a quilt, are White Flannel Used Sheets from the Thrift Store... no having to join anything as I usually find Queen or King sized ones.
