Wadding and Batting

Batting is the filling placed between two pieces of fabric to form the quilt. Barnyarns stocks three different types of batting, manufactured from Cotton, Polyester and wool. The Batts are commonly processed using one of two different techniques, bonding or needle punch and in some cases both.

Bonded batts usually use an acrylic based resin which is sprayed on during manufacture to bond the fibres together to stabilize and prevent bearding. Bearding is when the fibres work their way through to the surface of quilt and is more of a problem with polyester and wool batts. Cotton batts tend not to beard according to the manufacturer.

Needle punched batts literally use hundreds of needles to stabilize the batt by combining the fibres together to form a strong bond. This technique tends to bond the fibres exceedingly well inside the batt but leaves the outer fibre looser and more prone to bearding. The needle punched batts tend to be denser and have little loft compared to the bonded batts. The type of batting you choose is really down to you, cotton will shrink slightly (which may be the desired effect) and polyester will not, making it better suited towards frequent washing.