black batting?

[SallyO'Sews]

Hello, quilty friends! Have you ever used black batting? I'm working on a quilt that has dark/bright colors and a black border, and I'm wondering whether a black batting would be a good idea. What are your thoughts? Thanks!

[Momofmonsters5]

I've seen it but never used it. I usually buy a roll. I have made dark quilts and used the cream colored warm and natural and I can't tell I didn't use black. Not sure if using black would bring out the darker colors?

[SuzyQue]

I haven’t used it myself, but I have seen quilts that were sewn with black batting and I do believe the black was blacker and colors popped more. I have seen samples of each side by side, at a Long Arm meeting, and I think in a mostly dark and or black quilt it matters.

[GuitarGramma]

I used black Quilter's Dream batting in my first Superman apron. If you can find my album—I managed to do so once, but now can't find it again—you can see a photo. The blue, red and yellow were definitely intense. On the other hand, I remember there were a lot of little black fibers that I had to clean off the apron before gifting it. The apron became a wall hanging so it didn't get laundered, and I therefore have no information on how well the batting held up with relatively wide gaps between quilting lines.

I later made the same Superman apron for my husband and used Warm and White for the batting. The colors are just as intense as the original apron I'd made, and I didn't have all those little fibers to clean up. We've washed DH's apron regularly, and it has held up really well.

Both Superman aprons were made with Kona cotton.

[Vonnie]

The only way I think it would matter is if you don't have the batting facing the right way and your needle punches little dots of batting to the back side of the quilt. But if you have a busy print on the back it won't matter.

I have used two different types of black batting. One I bought from a local quilt store that they had on a roll underneath their longarm and sold it to me by the yard. I think it was an 80/20 blend. Had no trouble with it. Another time I bought a package from Nancy Notions and I'm not sure what the brand was but I did not like the way it quilted. That time I was quilting on a Babylock Espire which had a 7"throat. My quilt turned out really wonky.

I think if I had to do it again, I would not bother with black batting and do like was suggested above and use regular Warm and Natural 80/20. Use white only when there is a lot of white in the top or backing. If you don't use white batting, the white seam allowance really shows up. Even when pressing to the dark side, sometimes you wind up have two white pieces seamed together.

[JCY]

I have never used black batting, but I wished I had used it on the Rail Fence Star quilt. I had some bearding on the back. I went around & touched up all those areas with a Sharpie. The fabric was Electric Feather, one of the very first JRs I ever bought from M*.
Rail Fence Star Quilt - June, 2017 001.JPG

[Vonnie]

I have never used black batting, but I wished I had used it on the Rail Fence Star quilt. I had some bearding on the back. I went around & touched up all those areas with a Sharpie. The fabric was Electric Feather, one of the very first JRs I ever bought from M*.
Rail Fence Star Quilt - June, 2017 001.JPG

Oh Joy, I love that quilt. Especially the ruler work you did when you quilted it. Did you quilt it after the class you took with Angela Walters?

When I first got into quilting, my DMIL gave me a set of Pigma Micron Pens to cover up mistakes. I got a lot of use out of them!

[JCY]

I had to do some research in order to answer your question. The first 2 quilts on which I did ruler work were this one & the Baby Blocks Star quilt in June, 2017. This was prior to taking Angela Walters' class when she spoke/taught at our guild in July, 2017. I had taken 2 classes on Craftsy from Amy Johnson, which is how I got started with ruler work. I have taken Angela's classes on FMQ on Craftsy, & I get her tutorials whenever she has a series of FMQ videos. I get them in my e-m, but they're also posted on YT. I have a 3-ring binder notebook of her designs that I have printed off. I also have at least 3 of her FMQ books. I've used many of her designs. Ruler work is labor intensive, takes pre-planning, takes a lot more time & is more tiring on my wrists & hands. I usually go for over all designs that fill the space quickly & cause less discomfort in my hands now that I'm bothered by arthritis. This getting older isn't much fun at times.

[SuzanneOrleansOntario]

I have used black batting, but the entire quilt was predominantly dark colours. Now I used a natural batting for the back as it was a white with gray and the black would have shown through. This is the first time that I used 2 layers of batting, and it turned out nice. One of my favorite quilts.
21056126_1445475042185956_4308368668027697531_o.jpg21055135_1445475885519205_5770660343227725572_o.jpg21056318_1445475882185872_7642084644381089237_o.jpg

[JCY]

I think Angela Walters uses 2 layers of batting much of the time. I really shows up the FMQ.

[jjkaiser]

I am always cold but two layers of batting! Wouldn't that make the quilt really hot plus harder to wash? Plus it would make for a really expensive project!

[Peggi]

Most of the time when quilters use 2 layers of batting, they're really trying to show off the quilting. You see double batts a lot in quilts for judging and exhibitions, not so much in quilts that are meant for actual use. And show quilts don't get washed much.

[giig21]

I have used on quilt that had black as the background color. I got hooked, will always use is black is the main color.

[SallyO'Sews]

Thanks, Everyone! Joy and Suzanne, your quilts are so gorgeous! Thanks for sharing, and for the inspiration!