Preamble:

I have to admit, I still often purchase batting at the retail establishments. I love Quilter's Dream, but if I had to pay that price for all of the quilts I make, I wouldn't be able to afford the better fabric. So, I take advantage of the great savings provided by some of the chain stores. Well, on one such purchase, I picked up some of the Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% cotton batting. I prefer 100% cotton whenever possible. Sometimes, the "stiffness" of the Warm & White, or Warm & Natural is not what I want for a baby quilt. So, I thought I would try this new-to-me batting on my niece's quilt.

Initial Inspection:

First, I took the batting out of the bag. I prefer to let it "warm-up" to a room for a few days. It seems to help loosen the batting. Well, when I tried to open up this twin size batting, it was very frustrating. The batting seemed to have melt together in between the layers. As a result, what I ended up with was quite an uneven layering of batting. Since it lacks the scrim of some of the cotton-blend batts, the batting seems to shift and tear easily.

The Sandwiching:

Next, I layered the quilt. I could not believe the delicateness of this batt. If I tried to lightly tug the batt into place, it would easily tear, resulting in a very uneven batting. Finally, I started the actual quilting process. I was dismayed, and disheartened, to find that the same type of shifting occurred as you pulled the quilt through your machine.

Bearding:

There was quite a bit of batting migration during the quilting process. In addition, as I was sewing the binding and label down, I noticed so many small fibers on the quilt. I believe they all worked themselves out with my handling, but I was not pleased.

The Final Product:

I will say that since I quilted it very closely, it did seem to hold up to the washing machine well. I would not expect to have the same results if it is not quilted closely. The manner in which the quilt laid and flowed when all was said and done was nice as well.

Would I buy it again?

Emphatically NO! I have since used a crib size that I had left over from the sale in which I bought this and was discouraged to have the same experience.