# Using comforters as batting for quilts??



## Wildfire_Jewel

Someone (somewhere on the forums) mentioned using comforters for the batting (I think) in quilts. How do you do it? Do you actually take the comforter apart or do you use it "as is" and just sandwich it between the quilt front and back?
Thanks
Melissa
Who is already trying to figure out ways to make presents cheaply for _next _ Christmas!


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## AngieM2

I have some quilts that my grandmother made the top of. Then when Mom got them she put an older blanket between the top and a backing and then they were all just tie quilted.

I have put a quilt top on a piece of polar fleece, with a binding and then tacking it to make a quilt. It's been reported to be very cosy (it was a gift).

And I have some inexpensive blankets here, to use as the interior of a quilt later on.

Angie


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## marvella

i had one given to me, with a blanket for batting. it's unbelievably warm. it's a great idea for quilts meant for everyday use.


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## sapphira

I am so glad this thread came up. I have long been including the old with the new in my quilting. I made placemats - ginger jar - for a niece and her new husband, and the background material was her grandmother's tablecloth. I made a baby quilt for a mother that was too young and used a very old blanket but just the right thickness for the batting. The quilt is nice and warm. I had felt the mother was not dressing the baby warm enough and so probably did not cover her as thoroughly at nite. If the old blanket is partially threadbare but sturdy, then it makes nice batting and won't shrink and is easy to quilt through too. Some of the really old blankets from 30 or so years ago were so well made compared to much of the newfangled stuff. And some new batting I have bought is perfectly awful. I buy old wool blankets at yard sales. And some of them are excellent, just need new binding to use or I incorporate them into table toppers. Nifty stuff. I usually don't tell, as using something old is frowned on by some. S.


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## mamajohnson

I rarely buy batting, except once at a garage sale, I got a huge boxful for $5.
but I do use old blankets in the quilts. And unbelievably warm is the word!
The best one I made, I used old jeans and shirts in a bow tie pattern, with corduroy on the back, and old blanket in between. My kids towed that around until it fell apart! And then they still would fight over it.
It should be considered a quilters "secret" dont ya think?


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## rkintn

My mom has some old quilts made by my greatgrandmother that has old woolen Army/Navy blankets used as batting! Talk about warm and heavy! But they are tied and not actually "quilted". I think it would be nearly impossible to quilt one due to the thickness of the blanket inside.


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## busybee870

i got some blankets that were "seconds" for 2.. each, and thats what ill be using. plus wally world has them every year for 5.00 each.


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## Fae

My MIL used to use electric blankets she got from the blanket factory which is near us that were rejects. They had the wires in them but she would sit and watch tv and remove the wires from a whole pile of them at the same time. She used these as batting in her quilts. She tied her quilts because she had arthritis in her hands and could not longer had quilt. Would it be possible to hand quilt this? I am not crazy about tied quilts myself for the most part. I just love quilted quilts.


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## Delrio

You can quilt the ones made with blankets but the stitches will be larger.


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## Ardie/WI

I remember watching my mother's aunt make quilts using just about any old article of fabric that was handy. Upstairs, I still have a quilt of hers in which she used old drapes as batting.

Years ago, old blankets were used a lot and, wow, were they heavy! In fact, I read somewhere that even straw and dry leaves were used too.

The only problem I woudlsee using old comforters would be if they were covered with slippery fabric and would be hard to handle.

I never saw a quilt in my childhood that wasn't hand tied BTW.


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## Penny-Ontario

Great tips and suggestions everyone.


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## PETSNEGGS

thanks for the info was wondering the same thing...


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## westbrook

most of the time the quilts were tied with embroidery floss so you could remove the quilt top and wash it and then put it back on and redo the ties.

I took one of these covers off to wash one time (family hand-me-down) only to find an old quilt that needed mending inside!

I prefer to use wool for batting. I do love the old Army blankets and when I find them not big enough to do the job, I join two together.

If I want to make a king size quilt and use Army blankets, I piece the blankets together. lay a blanket down on the floor and then lay another blanket down on the other side, overlapping the edges by a couple of inches. I cut the overlapped area by making a scallop or continuous S (wavy) from top to bottom. 
Next I remove the pieces and but the two blankets together and then zigzag the the two blankets together using a larger ZZ stitch.

I do this because I think it makes a stronger joint and no straight line can be felt.


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