Interestingly, I just double-checked Karen McTavish's Whitework Quilting book and she does indeed use acrylic felt from the craft store for her shadow trapunto (where the trapunto is colored and the fabric is white). She uses colored fabric for reverse shadow trapunto (where the trapunto is white and the background is colored). She does all of her marking with the blue pens and uses water-soluable thread, so I wonder why she doesn't have problems with shrinkage and colors running. I'll definitely test my felt before trying these techniques!

Thanks!

Nancy

i havn't used felt for quilts - inside or out
however i have used it for crafts and would never again try it on anything that needs proper washing - mainly because of the shrinkage
i'm especially not keen on "wool" felt as moths really really really love the stuff !
of course they will also love wool batting - which is why i won't use it - living in central europe quite a few of us live in old houses (centuries old - the house i grew up in was built in 987 - yes it is supposed to be only 3 digits - the house my cousin grew up in was built in 1568... the one she lives in now is only 150 years old - but lots of wood and old stonework) and things like moths have a habit of hanging out in our closets... and they also move into the newer houses and apartment buildings... (especially if you have the great opportunity to inherit antique furniture).

Nancy...I don't think I've had it recommended for shadow trapunto...the only one I made a few years ago had me
use fabric and reg. batting for the fill. "wool" felt is usually 20-30% wool /acrylic and/or rayon. Most is not stable in
my experience. I've used lots in applique work....and use that property to give my things a vintage look. All acrylic
is more stable...not shrinking or running as much...suspect brand has some bearing. Some is stable ..some is not and
how would ya know !? Certainly white would eliminate problems ...with the acrylic..heat has a way of stiffening up things !!
Long story about that one !! All is my humble opinion ....just use carefully......

idaho wrote:
Why? Are you worried about shrinkage or color running? The felt I was going to use is not colored. I'm surprised you say this because colored acrylic felt is commonly used in shadow trapunto in quilts that get at least rinsed if not washed to get out the water-soluable threads. Another method that I haven't tried yet, but is on my list.

Nancy

Boy! Oh, boy! If you try felt...even the fake poly kind...wash and dry well ! For art quilts that NEVER see water...maybe....

A couple of years ago, Leah Day suggested using wool felt as the batting for wall hangings. I got some but haven't tried this yet. Sounded like a good idea to me.

Nancy

I have used Jeffytex with a thin layer of cotton batting on top for small wall hangings. Jeffytex is very stiff and I usually use it for bags and bowls but I found it worked very well for wall hangings. If you want to put a binding on remember to take the added thickness into consideration. It is hard to roll under the harpe of the machine so that is another thing think of but it makes the finished hangings hang very nicely and there is no distortion from the quilting.
Marianne

I used Quilter's Dream Poly for holiday table runners last month and they turned out very nicely; they were also very easy to quilt. Even though I like Warm and Natural, I tend to like Quilter's Dream a little better--just a personal preference.

I like Quilters Dream Poly for wall hangings. It is very stable and hangs nicely. It is a tiny bit puffier than cotton tho. A dense cotton that would also work would be Warm and Natural.

I'd like to know what would be the best batting for small to medium wall quilts. I'd like them to hang with some body to them to hang straight. I don't think that I would want puffy batting. My quilts are not elaborate with a lot of quilting.