How to Join Batting Scraps with Heat Press Batting Together Tape in Black: Tips for Quilters
Every quilter ends up with a bin of batting offcuts — pieces too good to throw away, but too small for the next quilt on their own. Heat Press Batting Together Tape in Black gives those leftovers a second life. It is a fusible cloth tape, 1-1/2 inches wide on a 10-yard roll, made in the USA, that fuses batting pieces together so you can build exactly the size you need, enlarge a piece that falls a little short, or reinforce a weak spot — with no pinning and no stitching the pieces together first.
What This Tape Is
Heat Press Batting Together is a soft, thin cloth tape developed to fuse batting fabric together. Because it stays soft and thin, the joined area does not create a hard ridge inside your quilt, and the manufacturer describes it as needle easy for both hand and machine quilting. This black version is the sensible match for dark batting and dark quilt projects, where a white tape could show through or look out of place during construction. One roll gives you 10 yards of tape, which goes a long way when you are joining straight edges a quilt-width at a time.
Why Quilters Use It
The simplest reason is waste. Batting is not cheap, and offcuts from trimming one quilt are often nearly the right size for a smaller project — if only they were joined. This tape lets you use up those leftover pieces instead of opening a new package. It also solves the "almost big enough" problem: when a batting piece is a few inches short on one side, you can fuse on a strip to enlarge it rather than cutting into a fresh batt. And because the fuse replaces the old pin-and-stitch method of piecing batting, the join is flatter and faster to make.
How to Use It, Step by Step
- Trim straight edges. Cut the edges you plan to join so they butt together cleanly with no overlap and no gap. Overlapping creates a lump; a gap creates a weak spot.
- Lay the pieces flat. Place the batting pieces edge to edge on your ironing surface, right where the finished batt will sit.
- Position the tape. Center the tape over the seam so it covers both pieces evenly, and cut it to length.
- Test your iron first. Iron settings are the most important part of applying this tape. Always test your iron on a scrap of tape and batting before working on the real piece.
- Fuse with the right heat. Irons with Teflon plates can use a low cotton setting to fuse the tape. For 100% polyester batting, use a low setting (high synthetic), pressing with an up-and-down motion until the glue is set; a low shot of steam, holding the iron above the tape, can finish the fusible process. For synthetic mixed battings, test first — a wool setting usually works well.
- Let it cool. The batting may look flat right after application, but when it cools the batting is fluffy again. Give the join a gentle tug to confirm it is holding before you layer your quilt.
Practical Tips
Work on a firm, flat surface so the edges stay butted together while you press, and keep the tape centered — a join that is mostly on one piece will peel under handling. Make long joins in sections, pressing one stretch at a time rather than sliding the iron, which can shift the pieces. Join batting on a day when you can let the finished batt rest flat and cool completely before folding or rolling it for your quilt sandwich.
Care and Storage
Store the roll in your batting area, away from heat and direct sun, so the fusible stays in good condition until you need it. Keep leftover joined batting flat or loosely rolled, and label pieced batts with their finished size so a future project can start without re-measuring.
Project Ideas
Piece together offcuts for baby quilts, table runners, placemats, wall hangings, and tote bags — projects whose batting rarely matches a standard package size. It is also handy for practice sandwiches for free-motion quilting, where using up scraps keeps your good batting for finished quilts.
Shop the Heat Press Batting Together Tape (Black) at Linda's Electric Quilters.
