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Thursday, January 29, 2015

3 Things

After sharing last week about my experience with wool batting bearding, I thought I'd report back. Fact is, there was quite a convo on Instagram about it, and I don't think I was the only one who learned something. Like the fact that some battings (not all) have a right and wrong side. Of course I don't know which side of my batt was up, and even so, I wouldn't want bearding on the wrong side any more than the front. But according to Melissa/ weshallsew, '[some] batting is "needle-punched", and one side has texture, the other does not. Find the side with texture and that should be the side that goes up, behind the quilt top. The non-textured side should go to the backing. That should cut down on your bearding.' Also, Krista/poppyprint pointed out that seams pressed open 'maximizes bearding due to all the holes between stitches.' Hmm.

I did also notify the manufacturer, and was told the following:
"Our goods are not resin (chemically) bonded, but thermally (heat) bonded, which can allow a small amount of bearding to occur.   However, bearding to the extent you described would be quite unusual.  My best deduction is that the goods used in this quilt must have had an area that may not have been bonded properly. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing exactly why this occurred.  In addition,  darker fabrics could be making the bearding appear even worse.   The Wool Batting does not have a right or wrong side.   We have made up some samples with yardage in our warehouse and washed and dried them and could not re-create this issue. Please keep in mind for the future that if you use thermal bonded wool again be sure to wash on a gentle cycle, using only cool water and a cool dryer. This should help prevent bearding." 
For the record, I was offered a 'replacement' wool batting but I graciously declined. I think I'll stick to what I know for a while. And while I'm not glad I had this experience, I definitely am coming away with new information, which is almost always a good thing.

On to another issue . . . that ole CAPTCHA word verification ordeal that appeared out of nowhere in many of our blogger comment sections a while back. I wasn't able to figure out how to remove it until Kathy/Kwilty Pleasures showed me the way. Check out her post if the "I'm not a robot" routine has gotten old for you too.

And last but certainly not least, it's time for the 2015 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Marsala! Adrianne/On The Windy Side and Anne/Play Crafts are co-hosting the challenge this year (read their posts here and here). This will be my 4th year participating, and you probably noticed that Marsala and I are getting along just fine. Whether you love it or have kept it at arm's length, I encourage you to explore the deets in Adrianne and Anne's posts and consider joining in. I predict we'll all be impressed when it's all said and done.

10 comments:

  1. I am still so very sorry about the bearding on that quilt!! Not any real solutions, it seems... I checked my wool quilts out, and they are all made with Kona cottons... do you think that the heaviness may be the reason that mine don't/havent bearded yet? Hmmm. Mine do get washed on whatever temp the fam is using, so they get pretty brutal washing and drying. I wish I could make your problem disappear!
    On to Marsala! I, personally, dont think it's that bad, and should make a great accent fabric. Although I like your method of showcasing it! You know how bacon is near and dear to my heart! XX!

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  2. Good to know there is a fix for the comment stuff, it means that I have less time for commenting generally. Thanks for the batting update too.

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  3. I used Quilter's Dream Wool batting on my heavily used, much favored couch quilt. It has been washed a couple times and is about 1 year old. I don't see any bearding yet. The quilt top is a scrappy mix of lights, darks & mediums and I think I pressed most of the seams open. The back is a cream & black Denyse Schmidt fabric from Chicopee I think.

    The only negative was the FMQ stippling on my machine was more difficult for me since the batting was more poufy than the flatter cotton batting I'm used to. I plan to use Dream Wool again because it is so much softer and drapes around you so nicely. I love my cotton batted quilts but they tend to 'peak' more if you know what I mean!

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  4. Is it the bearding that bad? I cannot make out from the picture. But the information you posted here is definitely a good to know.

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  5. I am a longarm quilter and I use Quilters Dream wool exclusively for show quilts. I have never had any gearing, and I quilt very densely on a show quilt. The problem you describe may be due to a burr on your needle pulling a bit of the wool through when stitching. I use a mid size, sharp needle for quilting.(Groz beckert 18) For a domestic needle, I would use an 80. I hope you'll try wool again. It doesn't crease with multiple folding and un folding, has a nice loft, and is drapey and warm. I love it!

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  6. As far as bearding goes, the whole seams pressed open doesn't really make a difference, nor does the right side - wrong side issue. Some battings just beard. Period. And it's more noticeable on black or dark fabrics. That is all :-)

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  7. Amen to what Christa said. I've also heard some bamboo batts beard badly

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  8. Very interesting about the wool batting...I've never tried it. Lately I've been using Pellon batting and like it very much...it has more substance to it than what I was using before (which I can't remember the name of.)

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  9. I just looked at the Pellon batting I have and it's cotton. So I hope I'm ok! I had no idea batting had a right and wrong side, but I don't really know what good that knowledge would do for anyone anyway. You don't want it to happen on either side of a quilt! That's such a bummer though for your quilt. And, I was excited to see the new comment form!

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