If you love the soft, natural feel of cotton batting but want a little extra strength and easier handling, an 80/20 cotton/polyester blend is a practical middle ground. Pellon® 80/20 Cotton/Polyester Batting With Scrim, in a natural color on a 90" x 6 yard bolt, combines that familiar cotton softness with polyester resilience — and a soft scrim that holds everything together while you quilt.
What It Is
This is a needle-punched quilt batting made from an 80/20 cotton/polyester blend. Needle punching mechanically bonds the fibers together, and the batting is needle punched with a soft scrim — a thin, supportive layer that lends strength and stability without bunching or bearding. Bearding is the frustrating problem of batting fibers working their way through the quilt top over time, so a scrim that helps prevent it is especially welcome on quilts that will be used and washed regularly.
The loft is low, at 1/16 of an inch. Low loft means a flatter, more traditional drape rather than a puffy look. Stitching shows up as gentle definition instead of deep relief, and the finished quilt folds and stores easily.
What It's Best For
This batting suits everyday quilts you want to feel soft and natural without being delicate. The 90-inch width covers most throw, twin, and double quilt tops without piecing batting, and the 6-yard bolt format is convenient for quilters who make several quilts, teach classes, or quilt for others — cut what you need and keep the rest rolled and ready.
Low-loft cotton-blend batting is a good choice for:
- Everyday bed and throw quilts that will see regular washing
- Quilts where you want stitch definition without puffiness
- Wall hangings and table runners that should lie flat
- Projects for hand, domestic machine, or longarm quilting
Because the color is natural, it works well under light and medium fabrics. Under very white or sheer tops, test a scrap first, as natural-toned batting can warm the look of pale fabrics slightly.
How to Use It
Expect 3–5% shrinkage. If you like the flat, smooth look of a quilt right off the frame, consider prewashing or at least testing a sample so you know how your fabrics and batting behave together. If you prefer the soft, slightly crinkled texture quilts get after their first wash, skip prewashing and let the shrinkage create that lived-in feel.
Make your quilt sandwich with the backing on the bottom, the batting in the middle, and the top face up, smoothing from the center outward. The scrim adds stability during basting and quilting, helping the layers stay put instead of shifting and bunching.
One of this batting's most forgiving features is the recommended maximum stitch distance: you can quilt up to 10 inches apart. That makes it ideal for large-scale stippling, widely spaced echo quilting, simple straight-line designs, and tied quilts where the ties carry the spacing. Of course, you can quilt much closer for more definition — 10 inches is the maximum, not a target.
Tips and Care
Store the bolt rolled rather than folded to avoid stubborn creases. If wrinkles do appear, let a cut piece rest flat, or relax it in a warm dryer setting or with light steam according to your usual batting practice before layering.
Care is straightforward: the finished quilt is washable by hand or machine and is dry cleanable. Gentle washing and drying will help any cotton-rich batting keep its soft hand over time. Over the life of the quilt, the scrim helps the batting stay even — no bunching in one corner, no thin spots where fibers migrated away.
For a dependable, low-loft batting that blends cotton comfort with added stability, this 80/20 blend with scrim is an easy bolt to keep on hand.
Shop the Pellon® 80/20 Cotton/Polyester Batting With Scrim 90" x 6 yards Bolt. Color: Natural. at Linda's Electric Quilters.
