cotton or polyester batting?

[Equuskia]

I want to make those little books that you buy by the yard. It says to use 1/4 cotton batting. I wanted to know which was better and would hold up to machine washing, cotton or poly batting? If I were to use the cotton batting, would I sew it together with the cloth so it doesn't bunch, or just stuff it, and it shouldn't bunch? Thanks in advance!

[lightheart]

you could use either cotton or poly or something called poly/cotton a mix of the 2. It is sold in packages or by the yard, would probably have to go to a regular fabric store for them to cut it off the bolt for you, I'm pretty sure hancock fabrics sells it that way. you can find the bagged stuff more places

It is thin or medium or thick and flat like you might think of fabric, coming off the roll.

what you are thinking about stuffing in there is what I call polyfil or fiberfil, probably has a 'real name' it would be used for stuffing pillows or bears or dolls.... you could use it in between for your books but would be harder to work with and would bunch up most likely.

the batting is used in quilting so it is sewn through all over the place, some of the different battings have different lengths between stitchs you can do. if the books are small in size (12x12 inches- my guess) i would think that if you just sewed around the edges that it would hold flat.

you are trying to get loft and fluff to the book so you could also consider using flanel or fleece (i've seen fleece on sale lately and sometimes the ugly patterns are cheaper and since it would be inside for you and noone would see it, could go with any color/pattern... could even use an old towel/washcloth or blanket.

[Equuskia]

Hmmm...Walmart does have dollar clothes, I could probably find a nice stiff one and stuff the book. Cotton batting is $5.87/yd!

[cristeen]

I usually buy a pre-cut piece of cotton batting rather than buying it by the yard. It comes in a bag, and is sized for a quilt... buy whichever size you want, I usually go with crib size for small projects, although it's ultimately cheaper to buy queen or king.

The main differences between cotton and poly batting are that cotton batting will "quilt up" with washing, while poly will compress. Poly is also more likely to "beard" (when fuzzies start coming through the weave of the cloth), which cotton won't do.

You definitely want to sew the batting in place rather than stuffing it. You will never get a completely even layer if you stuff it.

Flannel is a good option, but around here fleece is more expensive than batting... and you're back to the same problems that poly batting has, plus fleece pills.

[KariM]

I've sewn them with poly quilt batting before, but now actually prefer using polar fleece. I buy remants and since it's sewn between the pages the color doesn't matter.

[Equuskia]

Originally Posted by cristeen

The main differences between cotton and poly batting are that cotton batting will "quilt up" with washing, while poly will compress. Poly is also more likely to "beard" (when fuzzies start coming through the weave of the cloth), which cotton won't do.

Ok, cuz the instructions on the book say to use 1/4" cotton batting. The batting they have on the roll looks thin, but if you say it quilts up, it would probably expand to 1/4" or a little more? And should I sew everything first and then wash, or wash the book cloth first and then sew everything or.....?

Also the instructions say to T&T. I wonder if maybe it's easier to sew around the edges rather than trying to T&T with the batting? My machine has an overlock stitch and a 3 step zigzag.

I'm such a newbie! I just wanna sew up some nice books for my dd so she has something to entertain herself with during our car rides, but something she can't rip apart!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Equuskia

Ok, cuz the instructions on the book say to use 1/4" cotton batting. The batting they have on the roll looks thin, but if you say it quilts up, it would probably expand to 1/4" or a little more? And should I sew everything first and then wash, or wash the book cloth first and then sew everything or.....?

Also the instructions say to T&T. I wonder if maybe it's easier to sew around the edges rather than trying to T&T with the batting? My machine has an overlock stitch and a 3 step zigzag.

Wash your book fabric first. You can soak the batting in hot water to get it to shrink a bit, but you don't want to agitate it because it will shred. Wash it again after you've finished the project.

Definitely T&T, it looks nicer and will last longer. Put your pages right sides together, then put the batting on top of one of them. Stitch around the top, bottom and outside edge of the book (batting on top of the stack, your feed dogs will shred the batting). Trim the batting close to the stitch line, then turn it right side out and topstitch the same 3 sides..

Not sure how you're planning on binding them together, or whether you're doing single pages or double pages... each one is a little different technique.

Personally, I think making each page completely and then stitching a binding down one edge is the easiest when you're working with padded pages. In which case you would want to trim the batting short of the open edge before turning, tuck the open edge closed and topstitch it before you go on to the next page. Don't forget to make each page so that you have an allowance along one edge for the binding.

Once all your pages are done, stack them together, and line up the binding edge. I think it's really pretty to run a ribbon under the binding stitch, so you have ribbons coming off the top and bottom of the book. Chances are you'll have to hand-stitch the binding, your machine probably won't like it. Pin it well so it doesn't slip and go for it.

HTH

[Equuskia]

thanks everyone! I can't wait to try this!