Well fudge. I was ironing my backing while it was laid out on top of the batting. I did this because I have a teeny tiny ironing board so it's way easier to just lie the quilt onto the floor for ironing, and the batting under it provides a nice surface.
Well, after I was done ironing I realized the batting was suspiciously compact, especially along one line where I was ironing a seam. I double-checked the instructions and sure enough, "do not use hot iron or steam." Shoot! It's Dream Puff, 100% polyester.
What should I do? It is it worth using it? Will it puff back up? And how the heck are you supposed to get out the folds and wrinkles with no ironing? I get that you don't normally iron batting directly, but I always iron my quilts. I could always chop this batting up for other projects and get a new one. Does this always happen with polyester? Aaack!
UPDATE: Yeah, so I totally ruined that batting. Now the question is, do I try polyester again and just don't iron anywhere near it, or should I do something else like wool or cotton? I still don't get how the batting won't melt when you're ironing the finished quilt if I use polyester.
I usually use cotton or cotton/polyester blend.I'm not sure if it will puff back up. I usually open my batting the night before I plan on using it and just let it open up on it's own. I hope you can still use it. Sorry I wasn't more help.
ReplyDeleteHi Heather,
ReplyDeleteI usually use Warm and Natural unbleached 80% cotton and 20% polyester batting. I have used 100% polyester batting a long time ago. You can iron polyester batting but not with a hot iron you have to use a warm iron set for polyester or nylon. I think the reason your polyester batting didn't melt when you were ironing a finished quilt was because the cotton quilt top or backing protected the polyester from melting. You can iron polyester batting with a hot iron if you use a wet cotton muslin in between your iron and the polyester, the water prevents the polyester from getting too hot and melting.
I hope you can save your polyester batting by cutting away the melted part and piecing it back together again for a smaller quilt.
I like using a 80/20 cotton/poly blend, too. Haven't had any problems when ironing the finished quilt. I have used a polyester once, to get a nice loft, but had no need to iron the quilt afterwards. Of course, I haven't washed the quilt either, so time will tell. Sorry for your frustration!
ReplyDeleteI've used Hobbs 80/20 and love it. Even doubled it to make it extra poofy. I also really like Warm N Natural 100% cotton.
ReplyDeleteYou can relax battbng wrinkles in the dryer on the gentle setting too.
If that batting isn't useful anymore, try cutting it into a swiffer dry mop size and you can use it to sweep the floor. I've done that with those extra pieces.
Let us know how your quilting is going. It will be great to see the finished project!