![Quilting Quick Tip - Quilting Density and Batting Choice - Facebook]()
A common quilter question is: How much space should be left between quilting lines when machine quilting or hand quilting or tying a quilt?
Your choice of batting determines how far apart to stitch the quilt sandwich together. Quilt sandwich? A quilt sandwich is what quilters call the three layers of a quilt. The quilt sandwich consists of the quilt top, the middle layer which is the batting and the quilt back.
There are numerous types of batting and a wide range of thicknesses. Choosing batting is a personal preference depending on the project, what effect you want and how the project will be used.
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For a quick tips on how far apart to stitch a quilt or quilt project, watch our video or keep reading this post.
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![Quilting Quick Tip - Quilting Density and Batting Choice - Batting Samples]()
types of batting:
- Cotton
- Wool
- Polyester
- Polyester and Cotton Blend
- Wool with Polyester
- Silk
- Bamboo
how are battings made:
- Needle Punch - tiny needles compress the batting together
- Fibers Bonded Together with Heat and Resin - the fibers are held together with starch or resin
- Scrim - a very lightweight stabilizer is needle-punched into the batting fibers to help hold it together, adding strength and helping to prevent stretching and distortion.
THICKNESS OF BATTING
The batting term used when referring to the thickness of batting is loft. Batting comes in a number of different lofts. Different loft levels will affect the appearance of the finished project.
Standard Packaged batting sizes
- Craft: 36" x 45"
- Crib: 45" x 60"
- Twin: 72" x 90"
- Full: 81" x 96"
- Queen: 90" x 108"
- King: 120" 120"
Let's get back to the question of how far apart should you stitch the quilt.
Here are a few packages from my batting stash. ![Quilting Quick Tip - Quilting Density and Batting Choice - Batting Bags]()
The minimum distance stitches should be from each other depends on the type of batting used. The manufacturer will have a recommendation stated right on the package. So always check the label carefully.
For example:
The Mountain Mist cream rose cotton needled batting recommends for hand or machine quilt up to 6 inches apart.
On the Quilter's 80/20 cotton/polyester batting it says to quilt up to 4" apart.
And on the Mountain Mist quality quilt batting, it states for best result quilt or tie no more than 5" apart.
![Quilting Quick Tip - Quilting Density and Batting Choice - Batting Types]()
So as you can see it is very important to read the batting packages to determine the distance between stitching lines when quilting.
Do you have a lot of leftover batting from projects accumulating in a drawer or container in your sewing room? These small pieces can be used for small projects but the batting scraps can be joined together to use on your next quilt, runner, pillows or wall hanging. Watch our recycling batting scraps tutorial to see how to join them together.
QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about this project, contact us through the YouTube Video
comments or our Contact Us page. We respond to questions in e-mails and YouTube comments regularly.
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