The type of quilt batting you choose can make or break your next quilting project.

Whether you've just spent months meticulously cutting, piecing and stitching your most intricate design so far, or you spent a quick weekend tossing together the simplest nine-patch, it's vital to match your batting to your quilt top.

Otherwise, you'll be left with a finished quilt or coverlet that's not quite what you pictured.

The bad news? When it comes to quilt batting, there are many points to consider, including loft.

Here’s the good news: we’ll tell you everything you need to know.

Know your form and function

Quilt batting varies widely based on construction, intended purpose and desired function. Some types need closer quilting to perform best; others are manufactured to provide greater warmth. Familiarize yourself with the properties of each type of batting if you want to select the best one for the project you're currently considering. 

• Recommended Quilting Interval — The recommended quilting interval refers to the minimum recommended distance at which you should place lines of quilting.
  If you ignore the recommended quilting interval and place your lines of quilting too far apart, the batting could separate or bunch, ruining the overall appearance of your quilt. Place lines of quilting too close, and you waste precious time and thread.
  
  For best results every time, read the recommendations on the quilt batting before you invest. Batting made from cotton tends to offer the largest quilting intervals — up to 10 inches / 25cm, in some instances. This means less work for you while still maintaining your quilt's integrity.

• Possibility for Bearding — Bearding is the annoying tendency some battings have of poking through your fabric along with your needle and thread. It leaves little tufts of batting showing on the top and bottom of your quilt as you quilt it.
  
  Don't let this happen to you or to that project you just spent months creating. Choose a quilt batting that's been bonded to decrease the chances for bearding. Bonded batting is available in several types of batting, including cotton and polyester.

• Loft — Loft refers to the thickness of your batting. Hi-loft batting typically works great for bed quilts and comforters. Low-loft batting is the go-to choice for table runners and placemats. The thicker the batting, the more pronounced definition between quilted and non-quilted areas.
  
  Hi-loft batting also makes for a warmer quilt. So if you're working on a lightweight, summer coverlet, you'd want to choose a batting that offers a lower loft.

• Non-Allergenic Properties — If you suffer from allergies, you'll want to use a hypoallergenic batting. This means that the batting does not contain known allergens, such as chemicals.
  
  Natural fibers such as organic cotton and bamboo may be hypoallergenic. Polyester battings may be as well. For best results, read the packaging to ensure that the batting you're buying is allergy-recommended.

• Tendency to Shrink — Some battings are more prone to shrinkage than others. If you like the crinkled, vintage look, choose a batting with a known shrinkage factor and don't prewash it. For a sleek, modern-looking quilt, opt for a batting that boasts zero shrinkage, or pre-wash and dry your batting before incorporating it into your quilt.

Cut and size properly

Once you've chosen the perfect batting for your project, you'll need to cut it to the proper size.

What's the proper size, you might ask? It all depends upon the project, but typically, you'll want a few inches of extra batting that sticks out past the border of your quilt top. If you're quilting something small, such as a table runner or pillow top, 1 to 2 inches / 2.5 to 5cm is plenty.

For a full-size quilt, however, allow at least 3 to 4 inches / 7.5 to 10cm of overlap. This will help offset any drawing up that might occur during the quilting process, and it also gives you a little extra leeway when squaring your quilt at the end.

Above all, choose wisely

When crafting your quilt, it's important to pay just as much attention to the type of  quilt batting you buy as you did to your fabric choices. The wrong batting can not only be difficult to work with, it can affect both the finished appearance of your quilt and its.

Research your  quilt batting before you buy to get the best end result.

Ready to get started?Runaway Quilting has everything you need

Need  quilt batting ? You’re in the right place.

Quilt kits can be a lot like rainy days—either you love that quiet opportunity to take it easy, or you hate that hemmed in feeling.

Rarely is there a middle ground. If you're the creative sort, you might find working from a kit to be a limiting experience.

After all, with a quilt kits there’s no opportunity to choose your own fabrics or to arrange the patches in your own design. Then again, if you're looking for a fast fix—a quilt top that's going to go together quick and easy with minimal sweat and tears on your part—then quilt kits could be just the thing. The trick is in knowing what kind of quilter you are.

If you're considering purchasing your first kit, but you're still on the fence regarding the pros and cons, ask yourself these four revealing questions.

1. Do I already own an abundance of fabrics?

If you're anything at all like your mother, your grandmother or your crafty Aunt Kay, the answer to this question is probably a deafening 'yes.' Quilters who've been in the game for a while tend to build up backlogs of gorgeous fabrics. Clearance sales, fat-quarter bargain bins and even those late-summer estate sales are all perfect opportunities to pick up material for a song.

If you have plenty, or even too much, then a quilt kit that comes complete with all the pieces pre-cut could just be a waste of money. If you've taken the time—and spent the cash—to collect a nice assortment of fabrics, it only makes sense to use them up.

2. Am I pressed for time?

If you're short on the minutes and hours, but want your next project to look like you spent all the time in the world choosing a design and picking out fabrics, quilt kits will get you there.

Without having to do all the tedious cutting of squares, triangles, sashing and borders, you can trim your piecing time in half. Your finished quilt top will still look handmade, and only you will be any the wiser.

3. Will I enjoy putting together someone else's creation?

This is a tricky question for any die-hard quilter, and one that most tend to answer in the negative. But if you think about it, nearly every quilt patch was initially the brain child of a woman who lived long ago. Every time you piece a Log Cabin or an Attic Window, you're building on the ideas of someone else's great-great grandmother.

So if you’re asking yourself “What's the harm in taking things a step farther?”, then you're going to love the ease and convenience of working from a kit.

If that thought horrifies you and keeps you awake at night, however, you might want to avoid quilt kits the next time you go shopping.

4. Do I hate cutting fabrics into the necessary shapes and sizes?

How do you feel about the cutting chores that come with quilting? Are you the quilter who owns the largest self-healing board on the market and an impressive array of rotary blades and cutters? If so, you've probably narrowed the cutting chores down to an art. Possibly, you even strip-piece your quilts - sewing bits and pieces together before pressing and cutting them back apart.

But if you're still that quilter who meticulously cuts out each square and triangle with your coveted sewing scissors, you should probably give quilt kits a try. No cutting means less time getting to the main attraction.

If you are looking for a quilt kit, Runaway Quilting has everything you need

Regardless of which type of quilter you turn out to be, it's worth giving quilt kits a go. For the time and money they can save you, they're well worth the small concession you'll make in creativity, and the kits themselves are gorgeous.

Shop our quilt kits here.