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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

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!!!

11 comments :

  1. Wow. I work in a quilt shop and and didnt know this. Working tomorrow so I will be telling everyone. Thanks

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  2. Thanks so much for passing that on! I never knew that. I am going to pass this on to every other quilter I know.

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  3. That's news to me. I now don't buy batting with any seeds or particles. I have a quilt that was ruined by the oils and now it's got brown spots all over it. I don't know what brand it was, but it all scares me now. I usually get warm and white but can't find it affordably locally. But have tried Hobbs heirloom blend (80/20) and it works well too.

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  4. Well shut my mouth! Who knew?? I'll have to start checking for this! I'll also watch to be sure I put my pieces together properly when I piece my batts. That might explain why sometimes they ripple when I piece them, and sometimes they don't! I'll have to test that theory.....

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  5. I've noticed that at least on the Warm battings, but didn't know it mattered which side was up so I never paid attention! It has probably been random as to which way faced up, but I've never had any problems other than my own.I'll pay more attention in the future and see if I find a difference

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  6. Who knew??? Thanks for the information.

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  7. Wow, I had no idea. I'm quilting a pillow tonight so I will check it out. Thanks for the tip.

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  8. Ok, so once again (and type slowly for me!)...
    You are supposed to put the rougher side facing the top and the smooth side facing the back?

    I had no idea- thanks for the info!

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  9. Thanks for this, it was news to me!
    Hey--are you still thinking about a Dreden Plate quilt along starting soon?

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  10. Thanks for the tip. I learned something new today!

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  11. I'm glad that we shared the same opinion being the right side of the batting makes it easier to quilt.

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Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I really love hearing from you!! :)

Happy Quilting!

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