Today I will be reviewing a (clutch the pearls) part polyester batting. I am a cotton snob. I'm going to admit it. I'm from Alabama, y'all...I drove through cotton flats as a child and lived near a gin! I love my cotton batting! After talking to a few long arm quilters who loved their 80/20 blends, I decided I would try this batting out for y'all and report back with my findings.
The window test...they both look very similar when held up to the light.
Warm & White on the left, Hobbs 80/20 on the right.
These actually look VERY similar to me. The difference was in the feel. The Warm & White felt better...less nubby. The Hobbs was much lighter in weight, though. This is neither good nor bad...just different. Some people love sleeping under heavy blankets, some like sleeping under light. The long arm quilter I spoke to claims that Hobbs keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I have never been through a winter with my new Hobbs batting quilt, so I cannot personally attest to this. It seems counter-intuitive since cotton breathes better than polyester.
The stretch test. I stretched these out of square and was surprised to find the Hobbs held up well. I don't think it regained the square shape quite as well as the warm, but it performed admirably.
The price:
Hobbs is only sold by the package at my local store. I hate packaged batts because they have more wrinkles and crinkles and are more of a pain to baste with.
Queen Size 108x90" $19.99
I used a 40 percent coupon to make it $12, but it often goes on sale for 50 percent off.
Warm and White (12.99/yard) 90" wide at 108"= $38.97
I would NEVER buy without a 40% coupon! This comes out to $23.38
$12 vs $23.38. That's almost double the price for the queen size. It's the difference of almost $4/yard
I made a bunch of placemats...some had Warm & White, some had Hobbs. These plates were completely inspired by Lori Holt's Vintage Dishes Pattern. I plan on buying the pattern for myself as Christmas gift to make a huge American Jane Dishes quilt...All I had time for now was plates, though!
Warm on left, Hobbs on right. The hobb's was slightly bigger after washing as you can tell.
This is the Warm batting.
Hobbs Frankebatting (serged together)
Warm & Natural, pieced frankenbatting
Warm and Natural, unpieced (not frankenbatting)
Warm & White, pieced frankenbatting. It has a weird fold...I need to rewash/dry flat.
Warm batting
As you can see, size wise and crinkle wise, these all performed well. I am super impressed with the Hobbs for the price. If I had my druthers, I'd quilt with Warm still. Unfortunately, at double the price, I can make only half as many quilts. Do you know what that means?
We have a new champ! I can't believe it myself, but I'm switching over to Hobbs 80/20. I just quilt too much to be able to afford the Warm and Natural any more knowing there is a good alternative. It will be more challenging basting with the Hobbs, but I will probably save hundreds over the course of a lifetime in quilting.
Have you quilted with Hobbs? Do you have another favorite batting? Is there a batting battle you'd like to suggest? Tell me in the comments!
These actually look VERY similar to me. The difference was in the feel. The Warm & White felt better...less nubby. The Hobbs was much lighter in weight, though. This is neither good nor bad...just different. Some people love sleeping under heavy blankets, some like sleeping under light. The long arm quilter I spoke to claims that Hobbs keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I have never been through a winter with my new Hobbs batting quilt, so I cannot personally attest to this. It seems counter-intuitive since cotton breathes better than polyester.
The price:
Hobbs is only sold by the package at my local store. I hate packaged batts because they have more wrinkles and crinkles and are more of a pain to baste with.
Queen Size 108x90" $19.99
I used a 40 percent coupon to make it $12, but it often goes on sale for 50 percent off.
Warm and White (12.99/yard) 90" wide at 108"= $38.97
I would NEVER buy without a 40% coupon! This comes out to $23.38
$12 vs $23.38. That's almost double the price for the queen size. It's the difference of almost $4/yard
I made a bunch of placemats...some had Warm & White, some had Hobbs. These plates were completely inspired by Lori Holt's Vintage Dishes Pattern. I plan on buying the pattern for myself as Christmas gift to make a huge American Jane Dishes quilt...All I had time for now was plates, though!
As you can see, size wise and crinkle wise, these all performed well. I am super impressed with the Hobbs for the price. If I had my druthers, I'd quilt with Warm still. Unfortunately, at double the price, I can make only half as many quilts. Do you know what that means?
We have a new champ! I can't believe it myself, but I'm switching over to Hobbs 80/20. I just quilt too much to be able to afford the Warm and Natural any more knowing there is a good alternative. It will be more challenging basting with the Hobbs, but I will probably save hundreds over the course of a lifetime in quilting.
Have you quilted with Hobbs? Do you have another favorite batting? Is there a batting battle you'd like to suggest? Tell me in the comments!
Love your comparison process.
ReplyDeleteI've used both....
You can deal with the Krinkles made in packaged batting by sticking it in the dryer for a few minutes. It will get the folds out and really fluff the batting up. This works on 100% poly too (ick).
I find that I like different batting for different projects. My best quilts, I put my favorite batting in....that would be the ones I'm going to sleepl under....shameful I know.
Warm and white feels better to me on smaller projects,like mini's and baby quilts.
Great review and comparison! I will try the Hobbs. Half the price means more $$$ for fabric!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this info.
Great comparison! My go to batting is always cotton. I adore the feel of the cotton. It's just so soft and cuddly. I have also tried the bamboo batting. It is nice too but a little stiffer but, boy, is it warm!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comparison. The only batting I have tried thus far was some synthetic stuff for some mug rugs (and I think a bag project that has long since disappeared, unfinished). I am, however, about to venture up to my local fabric shop to see what exactly their few rolls of batting are made of. And probably pick myself up off the floor at the price. They don't do sales here (barring the odd 10% off on heydays and holidays) and they don't do coupons, so I am bracing myself...
ReplyDeleteMary, thank you so much for sharing the results of your experiment! I have only sewn with W & W, but this gives me the encouragement I needed to give Hobbs a try. I have thought about it while in the fabric store, but been afraid to invest in something I didn't know much about. Thank you for the money I will save in the future!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the full review! I havent tried the Hobbs before, but now if I see it I might be more inclined to try it :-)
ReplyDeleteI can often get W&N/W&W at 50% off, too - but it's still more expensive. It happens a couple time a year, but I buy by the bolt and a bolt lasts me around 2 years.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy batting I can't get on a roll - I find that I have so many more odd-sized batting scraps when I use from a specific sized batt than when I can just keep cutting from the same roll.
Have you tried any of the new bamboo or cotton bamboo battings? I haven't used it before and I have wondered how it works us. I think I am going to try a 50/50 cotton/bamboo for my next project and give it a whirl.
ReplyDeleteLoved the post. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSo I just finished a quilt with Moda's Bamboo batting. It felt SOOO incredibly soft when I took it out of the package, but not much different than anything else when the quilt was washed a dried. I think I'll try some Hobbs, too!
ReplyDeleteMary, my very, very favorite is Quilters' Dream Request--that's because I love, love old antique quilts with thin batting. It does cost more so I use it in special quilts. I also like Mountain Mist Rose (I almost called it Lilly), which also gives the antique look and shows off the quilting.
ReplyDeleteOur prayer-quilting group uses Warm'n'Natural, which was may favorite years ago, but not any more. (I really don't want my quilts to stand up unaided!)
Warm and Natural has been my "go-to" batting. I love the way it quilts up and the slightly crinkled look my quilts take after washing. I've just tried "Thermore" after a friend recommended it and I like that one too, though it is lighter weight. Thanks for your thorough comparison.
ReplyDeleteI am a Warm and Natural lover but a friend just mailed me a large piece of Hobbs. She is a long armer and has extra so she sent me some to try. I haven't quilted with it but it seems usable. The only regret is that I like heavy quilts but I guess I don't need to make it that way for everyone. Especially when mostly I do wall and table decor.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Warm and Natural snob myself, but I've been using it since I was a teenager. I've tried the 80/20 cotton/polyester blends, but didn't care for the feel. However, with that being said, I may have to try the Hobbs on a future project, if for no other reason, the price!
ReplyDeleteLove the experiment - thank you. I too use both but mainly the 80/20.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny - I just went the opposite way! I've always bought the packaged 80/20 because it's mostly cotton and it's often on sale. But when I went to buy for the quilt I'm currently quilting, the by-the-yard battings were on sale. I was buying other stuff so my 40% off coupon got used up on fabric. But the warm & white wound up being slightly less expensive and I agree, not having to deal with packaging wrinkles was nice.
ReplyDeleteBut I'll just go between the two depending on what's on sale!
Sorry, I got Warm & Natural, not Warm & White. Just wanted to clarify.
ReplyDeleteDo you need a big piece for your tests? I might have some scraps of Dream Orient that I could share. It is my new favorite...to sleep under or cuddle with.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you purchase the Hobbs batting? I'm also in Alabama and would like to try this out soon.
ReplyDeleteWe're pretty sunk for quilt batt here in Canada so I generally order online from hancock's whenever they have free shipping. The last time I bought warm & natural locally it was $40 a yard!
ReplyDeleteI too am a fan of Warm products, especially for small projects that I can quilt at home. I had a large quilt that I was going to quilt on a long arm machine (I rented time on one at a local quilt shop), so off I went to a large fabric store, coupon in hand and purchased a packaged batt, alleged to be an 80/20 blend. It did not behave as well as Hobbs. It was not consistent in weight, some areas were so thin you could read a book through it. I was not happy with the result at all. I will go back to Hobbs for large projects especially.
ReplyDelete