Tidbit Tuesday #31

Oh. My. Goodness. 

I love the holidays but boy am I glad it's over. All that hustle and bustle has gotten me completely worn out! 

I hope all of you had a joyous holiday and got all the goodies you wished for!! 

On to tidbit Tuesday once again! Yay! :D 

This is another one of those things that I learned at my Stitch ~n~ Bitch that I had noooooo clue about. 

Do you know that your batting has a right side and a wrong side to it? Uh huh...it sure does! 

Who'd a thunk it? ;)

All battings will be a bit different so you may have to test them (I will tell you how). I always use Warm & White or Warm & Natural off the roll, so just like fabric, the sides that are folded together are the wrong side and the side facing out is the right side. Or if you are using it packaged, the side that is flatter/smoother with the "flakes" in it is the right side. The photo above shows right and wrong. The top corner shows the right side and it is laying on the wrong side so you can see a bit of a difference. It's much easier in person though. :)

Here is one of the FAQs directly from The Warm Company: 

"Is there a top and bottom side to Warm & Natural?
Yes. The side with "flecks" (plant and leaf particles) is the top side. The whiter side is the bottom side. If you iron a quilt or wearable made with Warm & Natural, press with the top side toward the iron and make sure your iron is on a low setting. If you make a white quilt consider quilting with Warm & Natural bottom side up."

This rule (I believe) is only for batting that is needle punched. 

You are probably asking why on Earth it even matters, right? Well I did a bit more research on this too and it's because it is needled from the right side. This pushes fibers all in one direction. This means that if you put your quilt sandwich together and put the wrong side of the batting facing your quilt top, when you quilt it, your needle is punching through the opposite way it was punched, or against the grain, causing more friction than needed on your needle and machine. Now, granted, it doesn't make "that" much of a difference. I know for a fact I've been putting my batting on the wrong way because I lay it out the same way every time ( or used to ) and my quilts have turned out fine. However, it does makes quilting a smoother process. :)

Do you ever use a dark backing and you get little pieces of batting punched through? It's because you put your batting wrong side up. Next time, put it right side facing your quilt top and you shouldn't get those pokies. 

If you are not sure how to tell what side is right or wrong, first feel it. Run your hand over each side. Generally speaking, the smooth side will be the right side and the bumpy side will be the wrong side. If you are still not sure, take a machine needle and push it through on one side, then the other. The side that it pushes through the easiest will be the right side. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts and/or comments on this, or if you have more tips about this! I definitely thought it was interesting as I had never even thought twice about which was the right way to lay my batting. Now we all know! :)

Much Love!!!