Throw-Size Polyester Batting on a Roll: Cut-to-Length Warmth Without Piecing
Some projects do not need a king-size package of batting. They need exactly the piece you are about to make — a lap quilt for the sofa, a soft baby quilt, a table runner, or a tote bag with a little body. Pellon® Polyester Batting in the 60" x 20 yard roll is made for that kind of work. It is a 100% polyester batting supplied on a continuous roll, in what Pellon calls the throw-and-craft width, so you can cut the length you need and keep the rest clean and ready for the next project.
Because it comes off a roll, there is no need to seam packaged pieces together to cover a throw. One 20-yard roll handles roughly ten throw quilts, or dozens of smaller projects.
What This Batting Does in a Quilt
Polyester batting adds loft, body, softness, and definition. This one has a loft of 1/8 inch — low enough to lie flat and sew easily, but enough to let quilting stitches show with gentle dimension rather than a completely flat finish. It keeps its strength and flexibility in use, so a finished lap or baby quilt stays soft to handle and drape, rather than feeling stiff.
Shrinkage is just 0–3%, which matters for size. A throw you cut and quilt to a planned finished size should stay close to that size after washing. That low shrinkage is also why prewashing is not needed: you can take the batting straight from the roll to your quilt sandwich and start layering.
Best Uses — and Its Width Limit
Reach for the 60-inch width for throw quilts, lap quilts, baby quilts, table runners, wall hangings, placemats, bags, and cornice or other craft projects. The width covers those projects comfortably in a single piece, usually with a little overhang to trim after quilting.
Be realistic about bed quilts. Sixty inches is not wide enough for a full-size bed quilt without piecing, and it is not the right choice on its own for queen or king quilts. For those, a wider roll is simpler — 90-inch or 96-inch widths for a queen, and 120-inch for a king — so the batting stays in one piece across the bed.
How to Use It
Start by cutting a piece a few inches larger on all sides than your quilt top, as you would with any batting, to allow for movement during quilting and for final trimming. Lay it smooth between the top and backing, baste or pin as usual, and quilt.
Keep quilting lines no more than 4 inches apart. That maximum stitch distance is the spacing this batting needs to stay even and secure inside the quilt; quilting more widely than that risks shifting and bunching with use and washing. Within that 4-inch limit you have plenty of freedom — straight lines, crosshatching, free-motion, or quilting that follows your piecing will all hold the layers together well.
For smaller crafts, cut the batting to the pattern piece, layer it inside runners, placemats, or bag panels, and stitch as the pattern directs, again respecting closer rather than wider spacing where the project will be handled and washed often.
Tips and Care
Store the roll upright or laid flat away from heavy items that could compress one section, and unroll it on a clean, flat surface so the batting stays clean before it goes into a baby quilt or table linen. If a piece has been folded in storage, let it relax flat for a while before basting so it layers smoothly.
Finished projects are washable by hand or machine, and this batting is also dry cleanable, so care follows the fabrics you paired with it. Follow the gentlest care your top and backing need, and expect only minimal change in size thanks to that 0–3% shrinkage.
If you make throws and smaller quilts regularly, keeping a 60-inch roll on hand removes a common delay: you always have batting the right width, in exactly the length the next project calls for.
Shop the Pellon® Polyester Batting 60" x 20 yards. at Linda's Electric Quilters.
