September 6 – 7, 2003
These restored messages come from the Quilt History List, an online forum where quilt historians, collectors, researchers, appraisers, and enthusiasts discussed antique quilts and related textiles. The archive dates from 1996 through approximately 2016 and is being restored gradually. Sign up in the form at the bottom of the page if you want to know when a new page is added. Original spelling, opinions, formatting, and inactive links may remain unchanged.
Primary topics of this QHL Digest:
- Cotton vs. Polyester Batting Debate — An extensive, opinionated thread compares cotton and polyester quilt battings for hand quilting, durability, and appearance, with many members weighing in on longtime brand favorites. (see the article on quilt batting)
- Confederate Quilt Skepticism, continued — The prior file’s caution about an unverified Confederate-era quilt continues, with members reiterating the need for documentation before accepting such provenance claims.
- Blue Dye Fading in Star Quilts — A member references Barbara Brackman’s Clues in the Calico to explain historical blue-dye fading patterns seen in an antique star quilt. (see the article on natural dyes)
- 2004 Quilt Engagement Calendar Availability — Members share where to find and purchase the newly released Laura Fisher and Stella Rubin quilt calendar.
- Literature-Inspired Feedsacks — Members note that many 1930s-40s feedsack prints were inspired by popular literature, tying back into the earlier Gone With the Wind discussion. (see the article on the feedsack story)
Date: Fri, 05 Sep | From: Joan Kiplinger <jkip>
Now on eboard — an unusual redwork quilt c1880s belonging to Ruth Rhoades. http://vintagepictures.eboard.com Select quilt tab.
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 12:28:49 -0400 | From: “Joe MacDonald” <jmacdon6maine.>
I have a question about cotton batting. I have been hand quilting for 10+ years. When I first started, I didn’t know there was anything other than the Mountain Mist polyester batting that I got at JoAnn’s. I was quite happy when I discovered cotton batting (and quilt shops!) and was thrilled to pieces with Quilter’s Dream cotton batting when that became available (that’s pretty much all I use now). I have been teaching hand quilting now for a year and a half and the question of hand quilting polyester vs. cotton always comes up. We use the Quilter’s Dream cotton in the classes that I teach and many of the hand quilters that I know also use this particular cotton batting. However, reference and teaching books continue to say things like “Cotton batting provides less warmth than polyester and is harder to needle” (“Quilter’s Complete Guide” by Fons and Porter). Cotton batting “May be too dense for beginning hand quilters to needle” (“Complete Guide to Quilting” by Better Homes and Garden, 2002). Oddly though, the BH&G guide goes on to say in the very next box on the chart that cotton batting is “Good for experienced quilters’ fine, hand-quilting stitches…” Even the book we use in my classes, “Fine Hand Quilting” 2nd ed. by Leone and Walter, 2000 says “…we recommend you use a thin polyester batting. Polyester is the most common batting used for hand quilting.” So my questions are: How hard was it really to hand quilt through cotton batting before products like Quilter’s Dream? And why do newer books continue to present cotton batting in a less-than-favorable light for hand quilting? Is polyester really still the widely preferred choice for hand quilters? Maybe what seems to me to be a popular use of cotton batting is particular to my area or to the group of quilters I know. And last but not least, does anyone know when exactly Quilter’s Dream cotton became available? Monica MacDonald in Maine (beautiful day – we’re just waiting for the leaves to start to change!)
Date: [date unknown] | From: “Joe MacDonald” <jmacdon6maine.>
My day for questions, I guess. The whole GWTW thread got me wondering about what books have been represented in quilts. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that someone somewhere has made a GWTW quilt. I just read in an article by Kimberly Wulfert in Blanket Statements (Spring 2003) about a “Storybook Quilt” by Eudotia Sturgis Wilcox that has images from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Little Women and Heidi, among others. And I think it was Marion Cheever Whiteside who created many delightful quilt patterns based on storybooks like Cinderella. Does anyone know of any other quilts or patterns that were inspired by works of literature?
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 | From: Laurajbr
I have been teaching hand applique classes for years and have always recommended cotton batts for appliqued quilts. I’ve tried Quilters’ Dream but I really prefer Hobbs Heirloom Cotton batt, which is 20 percent poly. It definitely gives extra dimension to each appliqued piece, almost making them look stuffed. I didn’t get that result with Quilters Dream, as I found it to be too thin for my taste. I also didn’t find it any easier to needle than the Hobbs.
As far as starting your students on on an easier-to-needle poly batt, I go back to my very first quilting class. Our wonderful instructor started us out using #12 betweens for our hand quilting. Over time, my quilting stitch got better and better. I never knew till later that they made bigger quilting needles. My point being that you might as well start out with the best batt and best needle for your project. With practice, it all gets easier.
Along those lines, for my being applique class I teach the whig rose block. By the time my students finish all those points, curves, circles and v’s, they are no longer beginning appliquers. And they are much more confident about tackling more difficult applique patterns.
Laura in SUNNY Tampa, with no sign of Tropical Storm Henri left
Date: [date unknown] | From: Donald Beld <donbeld>
Regarding the Confederate Quilt mentioned last night, I would suggest you be very skepitcal that is was made during the war. It may very well be a pre-war Southern quilt, but probably was not a “Confederate” quilt from the actual war years.
During the war, the Union blockaded the Southern ports and there was a shortage of finished cotton fabric (which was made primarily in the New England states) with which to make quilt, so pre-war quilts were often sent to the troops. Only a few documented quilts, called “Gunboat” quilts were made during the war.
Gunboat quilts were raffle quilts used to raise funds to purchase gunboats for the Southern ports and Mississippi River for the South to use to try to run the blockades.
Towards the end of the war, Southern women would make homespun cotton cloth for quilts and blankets; and if they were made into quilts, often used newspaper for batting.
If you quilt can be authenticated as being made during the war, you have a national treasure, much like the Sanitary Commission quilts from the North; and it should be given to a knowledgable museum. Good luck! Keep us informed. Don Beld
Date: [date unknown] | From: “Jean Carlton” <jeancarlton>
Regarding the star quilt and the blue fading, I see in Clues in the Calico Barbara Brackman discusses a 19th century dye called logwood – it ” produced a blue that initially resembled indigo but quickly faded to a pinkish or purplish shade.” The term “lone star” was most likely used for this design around the time of the annexation of Texas in the mid 1900’s. The earlier star quilts may have been called Blazing Star or Star of Bethlehem. Often those quilts used smaller stars and lots of applique in the background pieces or even pieced background areas. Later pieces were more likely to have the one large star and plainer backgrounds. (sort of like Grandmother’s Flower Garden being a 20th century name and more specific layout for the very old mosaic designs.) Jean Carlton
Date: Sat, 06 | From: Judi Fibush <judifibush.net>
Lots of feedsacks in the 30’s and 40’s were inspired by literature. I have several GWTW ones, one on Cinderalla and have seen numerous ones relating to other literature on eBay. Just plug in a name and see what comes up. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those creeped into quilts.
Judi
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 | From: aol.com
I remember using a very stiff cotton batt in the late 80s before Warm ‘n Natural came out, and not liking it at all. All that changed with Warm ‘n Naturla and the other bonded cotton batts – they’re much, much easier for me to use.
Karen Evans
Date: Sat, 06 | From: Judi Fibush <judifibush.net>
I still like Mt Mist 100% cotton and Fairfiled 80/20 cotton and poly. I prefer the old fashioned all cotton and don’t find it hard to needle at all. I do a lot of finishing into quilts from old tops/blocks that others want done. It gives an old fashioned look to it and they wash well and don’t wad or bunch up. I have never liked poly as it pills too much for me.
Judi
aol.com wrote:
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 | From: aol.com
HATE polyester. Hate it, hate it, hate it. It doesn’t breathe, it doesn’t drape as well, it beards, and if you tie instead of quilting it, it eventually shreds and has to be replaced even though the manufacturer says otherwise. *shudder*
Cotton is the best. Our ancestors figured that out over a thousand years ago, and they were right….
Karen Evans
Date: [date unknown] | From: “Laura Fisher” <laurafishernetlink1.net>
QUILTS 2004: An Engagement Calendar by Laura Fisher and Stella Rubin, is on the racks and available for sale !!!, at least at the New York City Barnes & Noble Lincoln Square branch at 66th and Broadway.
The special racks in the calendar section contains dozens of subjects in the same spiral bound, translucent plastic cover format, but if I do say so, QUILTS 2004 stands out because of its vivid cover photo of a New York Beauty variation quilt in cheddar, red, green, and white. Do look for it.
According to the publisher, it is ISBN # 0-7607-4037.2. Hopefully they’ll get it listed along with all their other calendars, including (unfortunately) others titled Quilts 2004 also. Oh well…..we’ll keep pressuring them.
Thanks for all your interest.
Laura.
Date: Sat, 6 Sep | From: Feedsackfanatic
I also hate and refuse to use polyester batting. It beards through, especially dark colors, and there’s no way to get rid of it. I love quilting with cotton, and especially the look after a quilt is washed.
Paula
Date: [date unknown] | From: “Judy Kelius (judysue)” <judysue>
I totally agree! Even if the top fabrics are cotton, some polys beard terribly and you end up with little pills all over the fabric. Plus I have seen it actually rub through the fabric since it is stronger than the cotton fabric. Still, the Mennonite & Amish quilters here in Lancaster County persist with using poly batting since they like the puffy look and say it is easier to quilt (and most of them use the cheapest by the yard batting they can find). I can find very little good to say about poly batting other than that it does make good packing material <GR>!
Date: Sat, 6 Sep | From: “Jocelyn” <jocelynmdelphiforums.com>
Might I suggest that in the future, if people are angered by off-topic comments that they can take action by posting alternative topics of conversation? Telling someone else that they’re boring you and they should shut up is neither kind nor polite. But gossiping among yourselves about how awful it is, is VERY unlikely to have positive results. Except in this case, because Becky decided to show her loyalty to the rest of you by forwarding your comments to me. I must admit that I saw names that I thought were my friends. I guess it’s worthwhile to learn the names of the two-faced people on this list. You all know who you are. Please don’t ever email me again pretending to be my friend, as I know exactly how you talk about me when you think I won’t find out.
Date: [date unknown] | From: “Maurice Northen” <3forkshighstream.net>
I wonder about this every day, as I look at my just completed Cinderella quilt, ready for our guild’s quilt show. In Brackman’s Applique index are: Peter Rabbit, Cinderella, Old Woman in the Shoe Little Chanticleer, Little Brown Koko, Bo Peep, Little Boy Blue, Adam & Eve, Aunt Jemima In Yvonne Khin Dictionary: Ben Hur Chariot, Pandora’s Box, Cleopatra’s Box, David & Goliath, Solomon’s Puzzle, Job’s Tears, Flying Dutchman, Garden of Eden, House that Jack Built, King David’s Crown, Lady of the Lake, Mother Goose, Puss-in-boots, Solomon’s Temple, Solomon’s Puzzle, Star of the Magi, Sunbonnet Girls —– Original Message —– <jmacdon6maine.> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2003 11:46 AM Quilts
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 19:10:11 EDT | From: aol.com
In other news, a (very) short article on medieval quilting is up at <A HREF=”http://www.historyofquilts.com/precolonial.html”> http://www.historyofquilts.com/precolonial.html</A>. It’s edited down from my class notes for the Deerfield symposium this weekend. There are links to my full notes and to a 16th century portrait of a man wearing a trapunto doublet.
If anyone has questions, please feel free to e-mail me privately. I hope everyone on the list is well.
Karen Evans Easthampton, MA
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 19:17:35 -0400 | From: Debby Kratovil <kratovil>
I received this email today (don’t know this lady) and thot perhaps someone on this list might have some info for her. Please Rsvp to her directly. many thanks
From:<ksilverthornnettally.com>
Hi – I have come into possession of a quilt made approximately 1920. It has tremendous sun damage and I’m trying to find an expert restorative quilter. I have tried local quilters with no luck. Any suggestions?
Karin Silverthorn 850-878-0708 — Debby (with a “y” and not “ie”) Kratovil http://www.quilterbydesign.com
Date: Sat, 6 Sep | From: “Cinda Cawley” <lrcawleydmv.com>
I bought the Laura Fisher/Stella Rubin calendar at Barnes and Noble for $12.95. I am thrilled to have it. I was desolated by the demise of the original Quilt Engagement Calendar. This one has only half as many color plates as the original, but maybe next year Laura and Stella can persuade B&N that more is better. That’s my only quibble. The calendar is beautiful. It has a tranparent cover of clear, hard plastic which gives it considerable heft and the feel of a real book. The choice of quilts focuses on the unusual: a unique Stars and Stripes, 100 Years of American History (from the Century of Progress contest), an Improved 9-Patch embellished with appliqed hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades, the ultimate Eagle, a wacky quilt from the 1950s with appliqued owls. Go buy your own! I bought three. Cinda on the Eastern Shore
Date: [date unknown] | From: NStewart504
Hi Judy, Sorry to learn of the passing of your Mother-in-law. At 97 she had a good run!
I plan to be at the Study group on Sept. 16. We are off to Fla. on Mon. the 8th of Sept. We will be back in time for the study group. If you need any thing for the lunch break, let me know.
Nancy
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 21:57:16 -0700 (PDT) | From: Joe Cunningham <joejoethequilter.com>
When I first started quilting in 1979 I hated the idea of using polyester, and so ended up trying the Mountain Mist cotton batting. I am a tall man, with large hands, and I assumed I could quilt through just about anything. That batting, however, was impossible to get a needle through. I could not push the needle through with my foot. And I tried. Well, every couple of years I would try again, and by the mid 1980’s, I could actually get the needle to go through the batting, but it never became easy. Right about then I switched to the new Fairfield Cotton Classic, the 80/20 batt. It worked very well, but it still had that pesky 20% polyester.
In the last ten years, I have found that most of the new cotton battings needle just fine. Quilter’s Dream is fine.(I do nolt know when it was introduced.) I really like the Hobbs Heirloom Organic Cotton, which is 100% cotton and pretty easy to work with. But my favorite is the Fairfield Natural Cotton. It is extremely easy to quilt. Just today I taught a hand quilting workshop and had a room full of various batts. I do not believe you can say any longer that polyester needles easier than cotton. It is no longer true.
As I travel around to guilds to speak and teach, I usually take a poll to find out how many hand quilters are left.Very few, it turns out. But most of the ones I talk to here in the West use cotton batting. Joe Cunningham in San Francisco
Date: Sat, 6 Sep | From: Donald Beld <donbeld>
As a hand piecer and hand quilter, I would like to weight in on the batting issue. I use Heirloom/heritage 100% WOOL batting. It is by and far the easiest and fastest to quilt with. It feels like polyester and is preshrunk so you do not have the shrinkage problem wool sheeting has. It is also light weight, but very warm. I recently did a quilt in the lighest 100% cotton I could find and it was three times harder and slower than the wool.
Most quilting stores can order it for you–some even carry it in bulk. It is more expensive, but is worth it. Both for ease and because it is a natural fiber. Don Beld
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 13:00:58 -0400 | From: “judygrow” <judygrow>
There is a one-of-a-kind GWTW quilt. It was done in redwork and was sold on E-bay a couple of years ago to one of our list members.
Judy in Ringoes, NJ judygrow
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 12:18:22 +0100 | From: “Audrey Cameron” <audreycamerononetel.net.uk>
Hi Everyone, The new engagement calendar is available on www.calendars.com. Just enter quilt in the search. It is 12.98 but a surcharge of 3.98 if ordered for postage. What is wrong with Barnes & Noble? They can’t find it at all.
Audrey Cameron in Lincolnshire, England audreycamerononetel.net.uk
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 07:22:12 EDT | From: aol.com
I *love* organic cotton batts. They’re wonderfully soft and quilt like a dream, plus they wash nicely. Great stuff. *pleased little sigh*
Karen Evans
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 07:23:27 | From: aol.com
Question: have they solved the bearding problem with wool? I tried wool once and needed to shave the finished piece (still do – it’s been almost a decade and the thing still beards a bit). It was very nice to quilt, but the bearding drove me absolutely wild.
Karen Evans
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 06:34:44 -0500 | From: “Maurice Northen” <3forkshighstream.net>
As a conservator, I insist that a cotton batt be used. I love Warm and Natural, but I just completed a conservation on a wool batt, 4 large holes. I had some wool batt samples from my class sample. Oh, was I proud, I could get those 12 spi with ease, just like the original. The original batt is so very thin, really can not see it in the white/white fabric. My repairs do show on the back as not so thin. get away polyester!!!! JOAN OF THE SOUTH, in Texas we usually don’t need heavy quilts,anytime.
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 07:59:37 -0500 | From: “Barbara Vlack” <cptvdeoinil.com>
Have you ever heard Harriet Hargrave’s lecture on batting? I have listened to it at least three times with fascination. Her book, From Fiber to Fabric, is the ultimate reference for the various batts that were available at the time of its printing. It’s still pretty current, though it is a few years old.
I have to giggle at the comment about our foremothers choosing to use cotton instead of poly for their batting. Like they had any choice 100 years ago!
When I first started hand quilting, I used Fairfield Traditional, a thin polyester batting. I could get fine stitches with that batting. But alas, after 25 years, some of my dark quilts, hand quilted, have passed puberty and are sporting beards.
I loved that Fairfield poly batting, but it did not machine quilt well without distorting. So I switched over to cotton batting, or, rather, the 80-20 cotton/poly, which does machine quilt extremely well. I use the Hobbs Heirloom batting for almost all my machine quilted quilts. The large quilts are very heavy, but they are straight and flat. I can get great texture with contrasts in areas with a large amount or a lesser amount of stitching.
My guild did an opportunity quilt a few years ago, when members who submitted blocks had to hand quilt those suckers once the whole quilt was put together. Warm and Natural was the batting chosen, and I thought I would go nuts trying to hand quilt through that! My hands ached and my stitches were not as fine as I would have liked. I was out of practice hand quilting, but I was distraught that I just couldn’t improve with practice and get the ease into my quilting that I had had before. I blamed the cotton batting and then I learned that I should blame the “Warm and Natural” cotton batting. It works fine for machine quilting, but it is not kind to me as a hand quilter. I learned from Harriet that W&N has a grain. It stretches in one direction. You need to know that, especially if you intend to use that batting in a wall hanging.
Then someone steered me to Quilter’s Dream cotton and I found it to be, indeed, a dream to hand quilt. My stitches returned to the small even ones I like to present, and I got the hand quilting texture I wanted both before and after washing.
I got a recommendation from the honcho at Hobbs (I can never remember if he’s JD or HD or HG or JR or whatever) to use Thermore as a light polyester batting for fine hand quilting. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m willing to do that. It isn’t supposed to beard. Fingers are crossed and the jury is out.
I have a wool batt that I look forward to using for some hand quilting. Hand stitching with a wool batt is even dreamier than stitching with Quilter’s Dream. You can get the loft you like without going to polyester. It works well for hand or machine quilting. In fact, some who have been doing machine trapunto with puffy poly batting are finding that close stitching with a wool batt around a figure that should puff out will give great results without the extra steps when they use the poly batting. I have an antique quilt top that I would like to quilt with this batting. It’s a top I purchased and then used as step one of a two-step “round robin”. I figure that if the original maker didn’t finish it, and she’s long gone by now, then I can embellish it any way I like. It’s a red, green, white, and orange 1880-1890s Bear’s Paw set on point with sashing. All the edges of the quilt were on the bias, so they had to be stabilized, first of all. A natural first border was an outlining strip. Then I hand appliquéd a vining border around it. The whole thing was hand stitched, so I think that hand quilting is the favored way to go. I need to use a batting that is user friendly for hand quilting.
Historically, wool was used for batting in areas where sheep were raised. Makes a lot of sense. If you don’t have cotton available, but you have all this wool that can be carded to be puffy, it’s a natural choice.
Barb Vlack cptvdeoinil.com
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 09:18:55 -0400 | From: “Nancy Roberts” <aquilteralltel.net>
Interesting comments on batting. I never “bought” the concept that cotton battting was harder to needle and have used it for most of my quilts. I remember others asking what batting I used in hand-quilted projects and also asking if it was hard to needle. We must have all read the same books on the subject. Maybe cotton is “harder as compared to…..” in a relative way of speaking? I never tried the suggestion of making small quilt sandwiches using a variety of batting types, and then quilting them to compare. That might prove something, but it never seemed worth the effort as I’m already happy with cotton. Nancy Roberts
Date: Sun, 07 Sep 2003 10:09:33 -0400 | From: “Judy Kelius (judysue)” <judysue>
I find the thread on batting quite interesting. One thing that has always fascinated me about antique quilts is that Southern quilts usually have heavier batting whereas here in PA and other northern states the batting is usually very thin. I think for warmth around here 100-150 years ago people were more likely to use coverlets, feather ticks, or tied comforters, few of which have survived (and are largely unappreciated by collectors). Or they layered several quilts on those really cold nights.
The quilt museum where I work is affiliated with a country store museum which acquired inventory of an old Lancaster County store, dating from the mid 19th to the mid 20th centuries. They still had several unopened cases of Niagara quilt batting stored away – probably late 19th century, not bonded. Although it is rolled up, you would have to do a lot of smoothing to get it even before starting to quilt. We have plenty so the museum asked me to sell one batt on eBay (the auction closes tonight). I find myself feeling very protective of this old batting! My thought about this is that is a collectible and a study piece, and it should kept just as it is since it is so rare to find unused batting this old still in its original wrapper. But several people asked me about using it to finish an old top. I have suggested to them that they use new cotton batting instead – I think the older batting will be harder to quilt, more expensive, and will not really add anything to the finished quilt since you don’t see the batting once the quilt is finished <GR>. Also, another interesting fact is that the batting came in 3 by 6′ rolls, which means you would need two batts side by side in a full-sized quilt. I think that was the only size available. (And I’m not sure the museum is going to part with more.)
Or will it be harder to quilt? It might be interesting to try one to see (but I’m not going to be the one to do the experimenting unless I find one that somehow lost its wrapper). What do the rest of you think? Would you use this piece of quilting history in order to finish an antique top?
Date: Sun, 07 Sep 2003 07:47:35 -0700 | From: Judi Fibush <judifibush.net>
In response to your comments, the really nice thing about emails and lists, etc, is if you don’t like the subject matter, every computer comes with a DELETE key. It’s really easy; just push it and one doesn’t have to read anything one doesn’t like! It is not kind nor nice to make rude comments about something particularily when it isn’t hurting anyone. Just ignore it and no one will be hurt or offended nor the wiser of someones ugly thoughts.
Judi in CA
Patricia L. Cummings wrote:
> Dear QHL members: > > Here are a few thoughts on this Sunday morning. > There is a large link between the written word and visual images. The > Bible is a classic example of words that have inspired many quilt > blocks and quilts. Recently, this has been a very large study topic > for me and I have shared some of my findings through articles I’ve > written for The Quilter magazine. > > Words are meaningful. They can encourage, just as they can hurt. > Apparently, some people on this list are currently feeling offended by > the remarks of one individual. > > Personally, I have rather enjoyed the links to English literature and > books that have been presented here, not just recently, but on an > ongoing basis by such scholars as Gail Ingram, J. G. Row, and others. > As far as I can see, this list was not intended for strict discussion > of just quilts. How could it be when quilts are intricately linked to > other parts of history (which includes literature)?. > > I get a little bit irked at anyone who attempts to censor free speech > when it is hurting no one. I am not making that remark as directed > toward any specific person, but just as a general observation. If > anyone wants to share information…….hey, isn’t that what it’s all > about? Or should be? > >
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 16:27:49 +0100 | From: “Audrey Cameron” <audreycamerononetel.net.uk>
Hi Again, As a PS to my last note – if you order the Quilt Engagement Calendar 2004 from www.calendars.com & add the coupon EARLY4 you will get a 20% discount. Sorry if any one ordered before I told you this, but I only just found out.
Audrey Cameron in Lincolnshire, England audreycamerononetel.net.uk
Date: Sun, 7 | From: “Joe MacDonald” <jmacdon6maine.>
Thank you for all the informative responses. I was a little surprised – since so many of the books I have read pooh-pooh cotton, I figured I would hear more people chiming in for polyester. As Joe also noted, out of the many quilters I know, there aren’t an overwhelming number of hand quilters to poll so I thought cotton might just be more of a local preference or response to what is available at our local shops. I was also interested to note the number of recommendations for 80/20 blends and especially for wool. I may have to make a trip to the LQS and get some wool batting to try. I think From Fiber to Fabric is a great book and always recommend it to my students. Harriet’s advice to choose the product that helps you to achieve the effect you desire is so right. Not to mention it is a good excuse to buy a little of everything at the quilt shop. Harriet notes in From Fiber to Fabric that “We lost touch with cotton as a quilt batting during the 1970’s and early 1980’s…” If Joe couldn’t push a needle through the then-available cotton batts with his foot, 🙂 I guess I can see where and why cotton started getting a bad reputation. Now I wonder how long it will take for quilting books to catch on to the new wave of cotton batts available. And Judy, it would be very interesting to know how those old battings needle! Monica MacDonald
Date: [date unknown] | From: “Lloyd E. Miller” <lemillernycap.>
I have to agree that I think cotton batting is the best. I just went to recheck my impressions of quilts I used poly on years ago. They seem to mat, giving the quilting less definition than cotton over time. I have especially noted that the poly in baby quilts over time and many washings leaves the quilts looking limp and worn, while the cotton holds up better. Somewhere on this list not too very long ago someone also reported that the poly used in the ’50’s and ’60’s or ’70’s was acting like a scouring pad from the inside. As far as bearding goes, even with the new technology, some poly will still beard some of the time. A friend of mine doing a queen sized quilt with Quilter’s Dream Poly had it beard so badly after she’d quilted the middle third, she actually unbasted the rest and replaced the rest of the poly bat with cotton.
To try to to get the look of the old quilts, the thinner the better, and I wish they would make it even thinner than they do. Warm and Natural is easy to use, but makes a very heavy quilt–it feels almost felted. I liked Hobbs Heirloom and the look that results in the quilting patterns, but found that it holds fold lines if you fold and store your quilt for any period of time. My current favorite is the Quilter’s Dream Cotton Select (the thinnest they make). Kay England strongly recommends Fairfield’s soft touch (100% cotton) for getting that antique look so I am about to try that just to see if I can get my stitches any closer together.
I would suspect that anything one started with would seem hard at first and gets easier as one gains skill. More important than initial ease, I would think, especially if doing a full sized quilt is to choose something like cotton with a proven track record over time. Otherwise the risk is a huge investment of time and effort looking really sad a few years out. I quilt my quilts very heavily and it has never entered my mind that it was harder using cotton although I have had the experience of poly in the past.
And now that it’s cooler, I can think of quilting again…
Linda Miller in upstate NY
Date: [date unknown] | From: “Joe MacDonald” <jmacdon6maine.>
I figured there must be a GWTW quilt somewhere! And GWTW and Cinderella feedsacks, too. It also occurred to me last night when I was reading some of the other responses that there are those late-14th century quilted panels in Europe based on the legend of Tristan and Isolde. I would love to see the Emily Dickinson quilt. I know I saw a beautiful quilt some time ago that was inspired by Anne of Green Gables. Children’s literature seems to be an especially popular theme. Thanks again for all the responses, everyone. There is so much knowledge on this list that it is sometimes a little intimidating to speak up and ask what might well be a really stupid question. I don’t usually have much to add but I really appreciate reading all the posts on this list – they always broaden my horizons and get me thinking, wondering and looking at my quilts and through my books. Monica MacDonald
> There is a one-of-a-kind GWTW quilt. It was done in redwork and was sold on > E-bay a couple of years ago to one of our list members. > > Judy in Ringoes, NJ > judygrow
Date: Sun, 07 | From: Judi Fibush <judifibush.net>
Monica,
No question asked to gain knowledge of something is stupid. Don’t ever think that. You have given us all new insight into something by the question and questions you ask. Ask away, it makes this a fun place to visit.
Judi in CA
> >
Date: Sun, 07 | From: Gail Ingram <gingramtcainternet.com>
> Judy Kelius > I find the thread on batting quite interesting. One thing that has always > fascinated me about antique quilts is that Southern quilts usually have > heavier batting whereas here in PA and other northern states the batting is > usually very thin. I think for warmth around here 100-150 years ago people > were more likely to use coverlets, feather ticks, or tied comforters, few > of which have survived (and are largely unappreciated by collectors). Or > they layered several quilts on those really cold nights.
Growing up in mid-20th century, I never saw a feather tick or comforter, not even the commercial down comforters that now are so common. The first one I saw belonged to a German war bride and was hanging on her clothes line to air in the sun.
Yet I suspect every Southerner of a certain age remembers cold nights of climbing into a bed piled high with quilts that weighed heavy on a child. It took a while to “warm up” one’s place in the bed, and then wisdom resided in lying still in that place. Even after my father was selling electric blankets in his store, my mother refused to use them, observing that quilts were more “healthful”!?
When one runs across a thin batting in a southern quilt, I suspect the quilt was made to dress the bed or to hand down as a family heirloom. A clear distinction was made between “utility” quilts and “nice” quilts, though pains were taken to make pretty tops for utility quilts.
Farm families in the Deep South grew cotton both as a cash crop and as a source of batting for quilts. This practice extended into the thirties in some regions and perhaps longer in others. Children were taught early how to card cotton. As a very young child, I badgered an elderly great-aunt to teach me this out-of-style skill, for I had picked up from the conversations of women around me that the soft, fluffy home-carded cottonwas what one used in a “nice” quilt, and I certainly intended to make one when I grew to adulthood. My mother could have taught me, of course, but hers had been a generation of children that had to pick the cotton every fall, and she wanted nothing to do with the production and processing of cotton.
The spinning wheel on which her grandmother had spun wool for weaving coverlets stood in my grandmother’s large old bedroom, and like many women her age, my grandmother slept on a feather mattress until her death at 93 years of age. But cotton went into quilt batting.
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 13:26:13 -0400 | From: Lesters <jeanlesterntown.net>
I remember when the new cotton batts came out that Jinny Beyer said she really liked it because it slowed her down enough to get more precise stitches. I don’t know that I ever needed slowing down! 😉
As for wearability–I have repaired 3 quilts that were just abraded from the poly batt. One of them was sewn with cotton thread (where did she find that in those days??) and the thread was worn off in the seams. That was easy to fix but I have seen one quilt where the cotton top was almost completely gone–rubbed away by that wonderful, bullet-proof polyester.
Jean
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 10:58:45 -0700 (PDT) | From: Ark Quilts <quiltarkmv>
Hello all! I hope you are enjoying a beautiful fall day as we are here in northern Ohio.
I read all the batting comments on this list with great interest because I have been looking for the easiest batting to hand quilt for years.
Several years ago there was an ultra thin batting put out by Soft Touch & I never found it for sale in any store or mail order source. Samples (6″ square) were sent to our quilting guild, but I never got to try it because it was not widely marketed. This cotton batting was so thin it probably would have finished to less than 1/8″ when quilted and would have been perfect for antique quilt tops.
Using 100% cotton flannel for batting gives an nice antique look, but a loser weave with a lower thread count is easiest to hand quilt. I have seen quilts made by people in the mid to late 1800’s that used 3-4 layers of cotton sheeting for the batting…..the results were stunning. My own grandmother made me a quilt in the 1960’s and used 3 layers of cotton sheeting for the batting…..plus the 2 layers of cotton for the quilt top and the backing. It has an entirely different look from quilts made during that same time with cotton or polyester batts. But it is hard on the fingers to sew through that many layers of cotton sheeting.
2 years ago Mountain Mist sent samples out for their new cotton batting called “White Rose” and “Cream Rose”. I waited for almost a year for the local Hobby Lobby stores to stock it. It was worth the wait. I have had quilting large & small projects with it, machine quilted it, quilted it in a frame & a hoop, and quilted a basted piece in my lap……I was very pleased with the results in all cases.
Recently an Amish quilting friend and I worked together on a quilt top in her frame and we used the Cream Rose cotton batting. My friend quilts almost everything with polyester batts because she claims it is easier on the fingers as the needle glides through the layers more easily. After she quilted on the Cream Rose cotton batt for a while she agreed that it really was great to hand quilt, once you hands got adjusted to it…….there is a big difference between hand quilting on polyester and cottong batts. I found it more difficult to hand quilt this cotton batting with a top in a frame and it was easier to hand needle it via lap quilting.
There are so many factors that influence the ease of hand quilting…..not only the batting fibers, but the fibers in the backing & quilt top fabrics. Although I agree with many of my Amish quilting friends who absolutely swear by polyester/cotton blend fabrics for quilting that it is easier to hand quilt, I do not use poly/cotton blends if I can avoid it. Thread counts and permanent press finishes on cotton also have an effect. One thing I look for in a good cotton or polyester batting is the absence of a scrim or glazing. In the past these have been used to help hold the shape of the batting and can be applied through heat and/or chemicals. I have found battings with scrims and glazings to be difficult to hand quilt and they also bother my respiratory allergies.
Recently I cleaned out my sewing supplies and gave away all the polyester battings I had stored away. I only intend to use them on baby quilts as they launder very well.
ONE TIP: If you mark the lines for quilting with a lotion-free plain soap, it can help your needle glide easier through the layers when quilting….seems more necessary when working with a cotton batt than when using polyester batts.
Happy Quilting–Connie Ark in NE Ohio
Date: [date unknown] | From: Gail Ingram
Pat, we’ve asked you about that Emily Dickinson quilt before and here you are tantalizing us again. Do you have a photograph of it that you could scan to the eBoard? That failing, could you describe it to us? And tell us if it is in a public repository? Such an intriguing item. I would be interested in knowing when it was made, since the first complete edn. of Dickinson’s poems did not appear until 1940, and none of her main work was published until some time after her death. The use of her poems, most of which originated in domestic images, in a quilt probably tells a lot about the women who fueled or benefitted from the quilt revival.
As I’ve read the posts from the last two days regarding GWTW thread, I’ve remembered one of my early postings, soon after 9/11. It was written to support a member whose first posting had, I felt, been unnecessarily harshly attacked. My posting, meant to conciliate and encourage the new member, then received the same kind of response. I shall never forget how I felt, looking at my computer screen that evening. Here was a list from which I had learned so much and which had brought an entirely new dimension in learning into my life, and I was being publicly chastened on it—and for remarks both quilt related and, I had thought, conciliatory. It was a terrible feeling.
Remembering that, I would remind the member(s) who wrote the offending posts that nearly everyone on this list has probably spoken—or written—more abruptly than he or she would have wished, once the post appeared on his or her computer screen. I hope this will not be the member’s (s’) last posting.
And I suspect that if the offended member(s) thought seriously of their own pasts on this list, they might come across one or two things they had posted that would make them a little more charitable in this case.
Personally, I felt we had strayed a little from our focus,the history of quiltmaking (I confess: I had volunteered the name of Scarlett’s first husband). Quilt history is and, I believe, should remain our central topic, though the sidetracks often lead us unexpectedly home to that topic. And while I know we can hit the “delete” button, I have to do that so often with the viagra, sex-kitten, Russian brides, and similar uninvited emails that I personally don’t enjoy doing it for invited postings.
I hope I do not sound condescending by encouraging charity and focus all around. Be assured it is not my intention.
From North Louisiana where an unexpected cool spell has settled in—quilting weather, Gail
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 15:32:51 -0500 | From: “Karan Flanscha” <SadieRosecfu.net>
Here is my 25¢ worth on batting: (This started out as my 2¢ worth, but guess it is long enough to be 2 bits now VBG!) In the March 1986 issue of Quilter’s Newsletter magazine, there was an article by Helen Kelley called “The Inside Story”. A retreat group did a ‘batting sampler’ workshop, stitching a small Amish bars quilt top, and then piecing together 12 different quilt bats to give them a variety of battings to stitch on & evaluate. My state guild, the Iowa Quilters Guild, offered a ‘batting sampler’workshop in March of 1988, based on this article. My quilt from that class (size 24″ square), contained 2 different wool batts, 2 different cottons and 8 various poly batts. It was a really good learning project. I taught the class in Sept. 1994 for my local guild, and by that time there were some new choices in batting.
I have my “sample” of the batting, with the various pieces loosely whipstitched together, and labeled with lovely hot pink post it notes 🙂 Maybe it is time to put together another batting sampler with some of the various batts we have available today. Each time, there was an evaluation sheet you were to fill out as you quilted on the piece… to keep track of your thoughts as to ease of quilting, bearding, thickness or thinness of the batt, appearance after quilting, etc. I taught myself to hand quilt with Mountain Mist poly batting (as that was what I could get at the local fabric store, long before quilt shops). I did one quilt with a cotton batt. That seemed much harder to quilt through than the low loft polys. I tried the Warm & Natural when it first came out, and as others have said, it was hard to quilt as it is much denser than the low loft polys. I don’t recall when Quilters Dream Cotton first came out, but from the first time I used it, that has been my batting of choice (Request weight) for hand quilting. They have a website: http://www.quiltersdreambatting.com and I imagine an e-mail to the company would get the info on when their product first became available. I ordered mine through Pinetree (sniff, sniff, still miss that resource).
I know of several people who have had bad experiences with the “natural” or “organic” cotton batting. In order to use this description of the product, no chemicals can be used in the processing of the cotton… and they do not remove all the “debris” in the cotton, such as bits of leaves, stems or cotton seed shells. These can later make oil marks on fabric they are in contact with, and have ruined several quilts. The company in question said they didn’t think anyone would use that batting in a light colored quilt… although the packaging didn’t say anything about this potential problem. They offered to replace the batting… but what good does that do when the quilt is ruined?? So be cautious of batting with those dark colored bits!! Ady from Pinetree used to have a file which had notes on various batting, they even sold sample sets with 12″ squares of different types of batting. She felt that the bleached “white” cotton batting (Quilters Dream has both a white and an off white version available), was a bit tougher to hand quilt, because of the bleaching. I can’t say that I find much difference between the two. As others have mentioned, cotton doesn’t have the loft or “pouffy” look that poly does…at first…but over time, most of the poly deflates or compresses and can look as if there is no batting in the quilt at all. My experience with cotton batting is it seems to have a consistant appearance. I am allergic to wool, so other than a brief try with the batting sampler, I have not used it. I have heard really nice things about silk batting from others, except for it’s cost. I have a quilt, made in 1976-77, that has Mountain Mist poly batting and was stitched with poly/cotton thread. The patches are coming apart along the seam lines… the poly thread is slicing right through the cotton fibers, and the batting is wearing holes in the middle of the patches… that “brillo pad” effect. Very sad, I certainly would have made different choices, even on my first quilt, if I had known that the materials I used would eventually cause my quilt to self-destruct!! I think Harriet Hargrave’s book “From Fiber to Fabric” is wonderful!! Some of the other books, that recommend poly batting.. may be just old enough to have been printed prior to the new cotton batts coming on the market. I have a software program for listing your book collection, and I chose to make one column for the copyright date & publisher… it is interesting to see the “age” of some of my favorite books!! I also hope that more shows will encourage hand quilting to continue, by having separate categories for hand and machine quilted pieces. I have seen museum quality work of both types… and I have seen poor work both by hand an machine. But, fewer people will choose to take the time for hand quilting if they can just pay someone else to finish their top…and a lot of what we see today falls into that category. Yes, there is a place for these quilts too… but I would like to see hand quilting encouraged rather than overlooked. IMHO, a really stellar machine quilter can “make” a ho-hum top into something special, just as a poor quilting job can spoil a spectacular top. I love the look of a hand quilted quilt, and I love the soothing aspect of sitting & quilting, and watching the definition of the pattern develop as you stitch. OK, have run on long enough… Happy Stitching!! Karan from hot & dry Iowa
Date: Sun, 7 | From: “Phyllis Twigg” <ptwigg>
J. G. Row remembers correctly when she said there is a “one-of-a-kind GWTW quilt”. I have a GWTW quilt that has 22 embroidered scenes (in multicolored thread) from the movie version of Gone With the Wind plus a central image of the main characters along with the movie title. You can tell it is from the movie and not the book because the faces are recognizable as those of the actors. An effort was made to match the thread color to the actual color of the costumes worn in the movie. I would guess my quilt was made in the early 1940’s. I believe the scenes came from a coloring book or “painting book”. I hope to find a copy of the coloring book someday. Phyllis Twigg
