Quilt batting for a tablecloth

by Noreen
(Thornhill, Ontario, Canada)

I purchased some fat quarters on a holiday and thought about making a large tablecloth with a medallion in the centre. I would like to use Sharon Pederson's reversible/two at a time technique.

Can anyone recommend what to use as batting? I was considering a flannel sheet.

Reply

The supply list from one of Sharon's workshops for the Reversible/Two at a Time quilts, shows her using batting for a table runner.

In her book, Reversible Quilts: Two at a Time published in 2002, Sharon recommends Hobbs Heirloom cotton (80/20 cotton and polyester) because it has no scrim. Without a scrim, she feels that the quilt doesn't get stiff, even with dense quilting.

What she recommends avoiding is polyester batting for two reasons:

• First, polyester fibers are slippery making it harder to control the quilt sandwich with her no-pin quilting.


• Second, it's easier to see through the polyester batt to the fabric on the other side. She doesn't (and I wouldn't either!) want the fabrics to shadow through the batting.

You can take a quick look at her book here on Amazon.

I have not used this technique in a project, however...

...I think your choice of flannel is right on the nose. If I was to make a quilted tablecloth, I would use flannel instead of batting.

Because flannel seems to shrink more than regular quilting cottons, I strongly suggest that you prewash all your fabric to get the shrinkage out before piecing the project. (Remember that prewashing doesn't guarantee your fabrics won't bleed.)

Cotton flannel will 'stick' to the cotton fabrics in your quilt top and back, making your project easier to quilt. Because this flannel 'batting' is woven it'll be very stable and you won't need to put lots of quilting in it.

To our readers, I'd love to have your opinion on choice of batting, especially if you made a tablecloth in this manner. How well did it wear with repeated washing, what you used for the batting, etc. Just use the 'Comments' link below to share your experiences. Thank you!

Noreen, thank you for your question. I hope my reply is useful to you.

Piecefully,

Julie Baird
Editor

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