Batting Techniques for Using Scrapes
Crown Jewel! Batting techniques that shows you how to use scrapes in resourceful ways. This batting tip can return free batting for your next quilt... save all your larger size left-over batting pieces until you have enough for another quilt. Once you have enough pieces accumulated, square up the cut edges and join the pieces by hand with a simple slipstitch, cross-stitch, or herringbone stitch. But, wait a minute; we don't have to sew the batting edges together anymore... we can fuse it. Try using Heat Press Batting a unique product that is relatively new and it's soft, it's thin, it's needle ready for hand or machine quilting and it stretches just like the quilt batting does. This HEAT PRESS BATTING technique will join the straight edges of batting together with a piece of special coated tape to which heat has been applied. An alternate method for joining leftover batting pieces is to lay two pieces of batting on the cutting table overlapping the edges about 2 to 3-inches. With an old rotary cutter blade, (remember batting dulls a blade) make a series of gentle S-shapes or a gentle curve or wave design, avoiding any sharp angles. Press hard enough to cut through both layers to assure that you will have matching edges. This batting technique for falloff batting pieces takes a bit more effort but the seam is less noticeable in the finished quilt than a butted straight edge. Here we show you how to join pieces of Quilt Batting that would otherwise be throw-out. Once the pieces are joined you now have a whole piece of batting for a baby quilt or a twin size quilt. Sort and store like pieces of leftover batting together. What is important about this batting technique is that you match the same thickness when you use falloff pieces in another quilt. You will be surprised how quickly the pieces will accumulate and it’s like FREE batting for your next quilting project. How's this for a batting tip?
Here is a good quilting idea; use a milliner's needle and white or cream color thread to join the pieces. The milliner's needle is longer and makes it easier to get a good bite of both sides of the batting. Pull the thread just tight enough to keep the pieces aligned, but not so tight that a wrinkle forms. When using this batting technique I stitch by hand so the seam line is NOT squashed together and the edges all balled up! Another great quilting idea; cut the edges of the batting with a rotary cutter and quilting ruler for a straight line. You do this by overlapping the two edges of the batting about 1” then place your quilting ruler straight down the middle of the overlapped section and cut with an old rotary cutter blade. This batting technique requires you to be careful when you remove the falloff, as it is very important to keep the straight edges aligned for joining.
Save your old (or dull) rotary blades and use them to cut batting, especially polyester. The batting tends to dull your blade more quickly.
Any size piece of batting not large enough to work into your next quilt, cut into fairly uniform sizes and shapes and use to dust your sewing room, wipe up oil spills, soda pop spills and even clean your machines. Who would have ever thought to use this batting technique to wipe up oil spills after you oil your machine? When you are ready to baste your quilt, place a 2-inch square of batting on top of your quilt in a 3-inch grid pattern and shoot a basting tack through the batting square using a basting gun. The batting square helps fill up the shaft of the tack and using a basting gun is fast, easy and each tack only makes one hole instead of two, like a safety pin does. Sometimes the shaft of a tack is too long and gets tangled up in the quilt. By adding a batting square it will help to fill up the shaft! Plus, basting tacks don't get hung up on the presser foot like a safety pin does. This technique also eliminates the use of a plastic grid which can be cumbersome to pull out from under the gun. Take a look at the way we save time when basting quilts by using our hand made Quilt Frames.
Pre-washing your quilt is a personal and deliberate choice. Why? Because pre-washing will influence the way your quilt will look after it is completed. If you decide that the effect you are looking for is an antique look wash the quilt after it is quilted; if you do not want a puckery look wash the batting only, before quilting. The timing as to when you wash the batting is the key in this batting technique. Learn more about when to pre-wash the batting or fabrics by reading our page on Quilting Instructions.
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