Batting is the layer nobody sees and everybody feels. It's the soft middle that sits between your quilt top and your backing, and it does more than any other part of the quilt to decide how the finished piece looks, drapes, and washes. Walk down the batting aisle, though, and the choices come fast: cotton, poly, wool, 80/20, bamboo, low loft, high loft, with scrim, without. Let's slow it down and go fiber by fiber, so you can choose with confidence instead of grabbing whatever's on the end cap.
100% cotton
The classic. Cotton batting gives you a flat, breathable, soft quilt that feels traditional in the best way. It shrinks a little in the first wash — usually 3 to 5 percent — which is exactly what creates that beloved antique crinkle. If you love the puckered, lived-in look of a well-loved quilt, cotton is how you get it.
- Pros: breathable, soft, drapes well, machine-quilts beautifully, gives the crinkle so many quilters want
- Cons: heavier than poly or wool, shrinks (a feature for some, a surprise for others), can be harder to hand-quilt through
Best for everyday bed quilts, baby quilts, and anyone who wants a flat, classic finish.
Cotton/poly blend (80/20)
If cotton is the traditionalist and polyester is the lightweight, the 80/20 blend is the popular all-rounder that splits the difference. Eighty percent cotton gives you softness and a natural feel; twenty percent polyester adds a touch of loft and cuts the shrinkage down. This is the batting a lot of quilters reach for by default, and for good reason — it's forgiving and it suits almost everything. A good 80/20 cotton batting is a safe first purchase if you're not sure where to start.
- Pros: a little more loft than pure cotton, less shrink, easy to quilt, widely available
- Cons: slightly less of that pure-cotton crinkle; "best at a little of everything" rather than the champion of any one trait
Best for general-purpose quilting when you want one batting that handles most projects.
Polyester
Polyester is the lightweight, lofty option. It's warm without being heavy, resists shrinking almost entirely, and holds its puff over time, which makes it a favorite for tied comforters and puffier quilts.
- Pros: lightweight, warm, lofty, resists shrinking, inexpensive, holds its shape
- Cons: less breathable than natural fibers, can "beard" (fibers working through the fabric) on cheaper batts, doesn't give the natural drape of cotton
Best for cozy, comforter-style quilts and projects where you want loft without weight.
Wool
Wool is the quiet luxury of the batting world. It's warm, springy, and surprisingly lightweight, and it gives the best stitch definition of any fiber — meaning your quilting lines pop and your texture shows. It resists creasing too, so it's a favorite for show quilts that get folded and shipped.
- Pros: warm yet light, excellent stitch definition, springy, resists wrinkling, breathable
- Cons: more expensive, may need to be washed gently, occasionally bearding if low quality
Best for heirloom and show quilts, and for cold climates where you want warmth without weight. A quality wool batting is worth the splurge on a quilt you've poured real hours into.
Bamboo and eco blends
Bamboo battings — usually blended with cotton — are prized for their soft, fluid drape. A bamboo blend hangs beautifully, which makes it lovely for throws and quilts you want to feel relaxed rather than crisp. They lean eco-friendly, which appeals to a lot of quilters, and they sit at a slightly higher price point.
- Pros: exceptional drape, soft, breathable, eco-leaning
- Cons: pricier, can shrink, less widely stocked
Best for drapey throws and projects where softness and flow matter more than structure.
A word about scrim and quilting distance
Two terms worth knowing before you buy. Scrim is a thin needle-punched stabilizer added to some battings (often cotton and 80/20) that holds the fibers together and lets you space your quilting lines farther apart without the batting shifting or bunching. If you like minimal quilting, scrim is your friend.
That spacing limit is called quilting distance — how far apart your stitched lines can be before the batting starts to shift or beard inside the quilt. It's printed right on the package, usually somewhere between 4 and 10 inches. Always check it against your quilting plan: a batting rated for 8-inch spacing won't hold up if you stitch lines a foot apart.
Rule of thumb: heavy quilting suits any batting; sparse quilting needs a batting with scrim or a tight quilting-distance rating. Match the batting to how densely you actually plan to stitch.
The quick version
- Want the classic crinkle: 100% cotton
- Want one batting for everything: 80/20 blend
- Want puffy and warm without weight: polyester
- Want stitch definition and heirloom warmth: wool
- Want soft, flowing drape: bamboo blend
Once you've chosen your fiber, the next question is how much — and that depends on your quilt's measurements plus the overhang your longarmer or machine needs. Drop your top's dimensions into the Batting Size Calculator and it tells you the cut size and which packaged batting to buy. From there, dig into how puff affects the finished look in the batting loft guide, and check the standard batting sizes so you buy a package big enough the first time. And while you're planning the layers, the backing overhang guide makes sure your backing keeps pace with your batting.