Batting University (Part 1) Dream Cotton and Dream Poly Batting

One of the biggest advantages to choosing Quilters Dream Batting is that we make so many types of quilt batting (nine and counting. 9!) that there is always a perfect Dream Batting for whatever quilt you want to make. We are thrilled to be able to offer you so many great options in various lofts!  However, the more choices available, the harder it can be to choose the perfect batting for your quilt!

Not every batting is perfect for every quilt, and your choice the foundation of your quilt will affect not only the warmth, but how the finished quilt will look, wash, hang, drape and feel. Not everyone has the same goal in making a quilt. A quilt that will be traveling to the quilt shows will need different specifications from a quilt that will be snuggled by a pizza eating toddler!

I am often asked which type of quilt batting is best, and I answer with a lot of questions, such as:

• Will you be hand-quilting, machine quilting (longarm or shortarm), or will your quilt be tied?
• How will your quilt be used?  
• Do you want to emphasize your quilting?  Do you want a more traditional look or a modern look?
• Do you need the quilt to keep you very warm? Keep you cool?
• Be easy to wash and dry? 
• How important is flame retardancy? 

To help you find the perfect batting for your quilt,, Quilters Dream Batting will be hosting a month long, four installment "Batting University”.


Batting University is about choices, and helping to make sure your finished quilt is perfect for whatever goal you have in mind because every quilt (even that pizza stained one on the back of my couch) is a treasure!   So here we go....

QUILTERS DREAM COTTON 

The original Quilters Dream batting that put us on the quilting map!   We introduced Quilters Dream Batting at Charlotte Quilt Spring Market in the mid 1990's -- a new type of high quality 100% cotton batting unlike any other.... and the response from shop owners, professional quilters, and teachers was incredible!   When we arrived at Charlotte the name of our batting was "Quilters Cotton" - but thanks to a well known teacher and hand quilter swooning "this just Quilts like a Dream".... the name Quilters Dream Batting and our tag line "Quilts Like a Dream" were born!    Listening and learning from our quilters is what we do... and the variety of having four lofts of Quilters Dream Cotton Batting (along with our other great battings) are the results of your requests!

Quilters Dream Cotton Request Loft (Aqua Label): 
Request Loft is the very lightest weight batting.  

Quilters Dream Cotton Select Loft (Pink Label)
 The Dream Cotton Select loft is our most popular midloft.

Quilters Dream Cotton Deluxe Loft (Purple Label)
The Deluxe Loft is exceptionally warm while being exceptionally soft. 

Quilters Dream Cotton Supreme Loft - 100% USA Cotton
The weightiest of ALL cotton battings - for machine quilting only.   
 

Click here for more Loft information:   Unique Features of Each Loft 

 

Quilters Dream Cotton Batting:

Advantages:
Some shrinkage (1-3%) upon washing/drying for the slightly puckered look.
100% natural cotton a renewable fiber, grown by USA farmers.  There are no scrim, glue, resins or binders in Quilters Dream Cotton - so it is truly 100% natural.
Dream Cotton is Available in 4 lofts from very lightest cotton batting (Request loft) to the very heaviest cotton batting on the market (Supreme loft).
Beautiful drape – the Request and Select lofts are especially huggable
Very warm – cotton has a high thermal value, so it is a great insulator.  The Deluxe and Supreme lofts are extra-extra warm.
One of the many natural advantages of 100% cotton is that the fibers naturally absorbs moisture to help keep you comfy.
We use one of the longest and highest grade USA staple cotton fiber available.  Using high quality long fibers and state of the art needlepunch manufacturing allows us to produce the ultimate in cotton batting.  This enables you to  stitch up to 8" apart (giving you great design freedom) or you can stitch very close together and keep an exceptional soft
lovely drape – excellent for stippling.
Curly natural soft cotton fibers are cohesive and  resist poking through and bearding. Disadvantages: Natural color of cotton can give beige undertones to white fabric (recommend using bleached Dream Cotton or Dream Poly for white fabrics). Cost compared to man-made fibers. Shrinkage/puckering effect may not be desirable for your quilt style. Can impart a crease/fold line that needs ironed or steamed out. Not recommended for utilitarian tied quilts. Does not dry as quickly as polyester battings. ________________________________________

QUILTERS DREAM POLY:   

Definitely NOT Polyester as Usual!   With the invention of fine denier microfibers (one of the biggest breakthroughs in polyester) came new advantages to using polyester fibers.   In Dream Poly there are over 60 million soft silky microfibers per pound (standard polyester batts uses about 5 million fibers per pound).   Our exclusive blend and needlepunch processing of these revolutionary microfibers gives Dream Poly exceptional hand, beautiful drape, warmth, better breathability and comfort, surpassing all other polyester batts! 
You wont believe it is polyester!

Quilters Dream Poly Request  (Bright Teal Label/Yellow Daisies)
The lightest poly batting

Quilters Dream Poly Select  (Bright Pink Label/Yellow Daisies)
Ideal Mid-loft Poly Batting

Quilters Dream Poly Deluxe  (Bright Purple Label/Yellow Daisies)
Weightiest of the Polyester Battings

Quilters Dream Poly Batting:

Advantages:
Needlepunched poly microfibers mimic cotton fibers, so you get the look and feel of cotton
Available in 3 lofts from very light weight to heavy weight - choices for both hand and machine quilters.
No shrinkage, so quilting will look the same after washing, maintain just quilted look.   Excellent choice for modern quilters and modern quilting.
Will not hold a crease, even if it is folded up for months
Does not absorb moisture, so it dries very quickly and will not hold a stain
Less expensive
Breathable – there are no scrims or other barriers that would inhibit airflow
Very long fine denier fibers – no lint on the machine or in the air!
Fine denier microfibers bend when in contact with fabric, so they resist bearding Available in bright white or true midnight Black. Excellent for tied quilts. Disadvantages: Not a natural fiber (man made) Does not impart a puckered, antiqued look.

Check back soon for Part 2 of Dream Batting University where we will cover Dream Green and Dream Orient batting. 

 Can't Wait to learn more?   For extra credit and more information Click Here:  Additional Quilters Dream Batting product information
 

Colorado Quilts of Valor- BIG BLOWOUT BLOCK DRIVE

When Alycia Quilts approached us to be a sponsor for the Quilts of Valor (QOV) Big Blowout Block Drive, owner of Quilters Dream Batting, Kathy Thompson couldn't resist. Having a personal story of her own about the special meaning of receiving the gift of a quilt:

At just 32 years old, my beautiful son, Josh was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)...(a)cruel, fatal untreatable disease...Josh's life completely depends on life-support. To help raise awareness of ALS, we started the annual Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS... the generosity of quilters donating quilts for the benefit of ALS patients has been truly amazing.

...one day, about two years ago, UPS delivered a small package to Josh's home... Inside this package was a small brown and green lap quilt... The quilt is tied, it is not pieced. The quilt front is a single piece of fabric with imprinted verses of religious hymns. Attached to the quilt was this handwritten note: "Dear Josh, I am 88 years old and I wanted so much for you to have this quilt. This quilt comes (with) prayers of love, courage and hope... and I want you to know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. I will think of you every day".
When Josh read the note--he cried.

Head over to Alycia Quilts to participate in the QOV block drive.

There is still time to participate in the Quilts of Valor Big Blowout Block Drive!
Remember for every 5 blocks sent in, you get 1 chance to win a variety of prizes. Quilters Dream is offering 2 different prizes. the first is 3 twin size batts, and the second in 2 twin size batts. You will love them all - I promise!!

Quilting in High Cotton

I will never understand why people keep looking for alternative natural fibers for quilting - you can’t get much more environmentally friendly than cotton.  Cotton is a renewable resource that has stood the test of time – cotton fabrics have been found in ancient tombs that are thousands of years old.  Not only is cotton an eco-friendly fiber, but the cotton used in Dream Cotton is grown and processed in the U.S.A.!

Did you know:

·       Colonists wore “homespun cotton” as a symbol of American independence.

·       George Washington indicated that homespun cotton was the only clothing “fashionable for a gentleman to appear in.”

·       In the late 1700’s, British law prohibited emigration of persons familiar with textile machinery into the United States.

·       Cotton helped speed communications by providing insulation for the telegraph invented by Samuel Morse.

·       Thomas Edison used charred cotton for the filament in the first electric light.

·       The Wright Brothers used cotton muslin to cover the wings on their first plane.

·       In WWI, cotton linter (cottonseed residue) was used to make smokeless gun powder.

·       Cotton provided biological isolation suits for astronauts on their return from the moon.

·       Today, more than 300,000 Americans are employed in the cotton industry.

Dream Cotton is light-weight, wonderful for hand and machine quilting, drapes beautifully, and is very consistent.  We use the highest grade fibers in the industry, which means only the longest fibers are used.  This is important because longer fibers mean less shrinkage, less bearding, and virtually no lint on the machine.  The longer the fibers are, the more places the fibers will intersect, making the batting so strong that you can stitch up to 8 inches apart. 

So support our farmers, support our environment, support your local quilt shop, and let Dream Cotton support your quilt!

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team