New Products

For the third time...the Batting Buds review new products.

BATTING BUDS BAILIWICK:
Testing New Industry Products!

Batting Buds isn’t a softball team. It’s nine women who each participated in Stitchin’ Mission beginner quiltmaking classes in West Des Moines, IA. After several months of get-togethers, they now meet at least monthly.

The Batting Buds’ name reflects their values. It’s what’s inside that counts. Their friendship is as necessary to them as quilt batting is to a quilt. Similarly, as buddies (“buds” for short) they value the “inside” of each other, and appreciate how each helps shape the others’ lives.

Batting Buds tested Hobbs Bonded Fibers Tuscany Wool batting and Tuscany Silk batting. Details of the product are to the right. Here’s what the Batting Buds had to say ...

“Both Tuscany Wool batting and Tuscany Silk batting quilted very nicely on my longarm quilting machine. Compared to cotton, the wool feels softer, more like “a blanket.” Once quilted, it has a nice hand, a nice flexibility. The silk is very lightweight. I’d use it for a wall hanging.”
--Abigail Livingood

“I tested the Tuscany Wool using my regular sewing machine foot, and the quilt design didn’t pucker, pull or distort. Free-motion quilting was only slightly difficult due to the softness of the wool pile. With the Tuscany Silk, it was a breeze to stitch-in-the-ditch, easily traveling through layers, over seams and intersections. And free-motion quilting was like quilting through butter. I would recommend silk over cotton any day!”
--Michelle Tepley

“The Tuscany Wool batting is surprisingly soft and easy to hand-quilt. Since it’s washable, doesn’t shrink, and has the warmth of wool, it is a smart batting choice.”
--Julie Miller

“The Tuscany Wool pin-basted very easily, but because it’s ‘poofier,’ domestic machine quilting was slightly more challenging, at least for a novice free-motion quilter like me. Using the same thread, the Tuscany Silk machine-quilted better for me. I especially like the silk because very little fuzz collected around my needle/presser foot.”
--Mary Nichols

“The Batting Buds agree that Hobbs Tuscany Wool and Tuscany Silk are worth the slightly higher price for the resulting feel -- softness and drapability. These battings have a different ‘hand’ than cotton. Note: Tuscany battings can be purchased only in quilt shops (not fabric or craft store chains).
--Linda Hungerford

Reprinted from SQE Professional, October 2007