Hi Bestie! Polyester batting gets a bad rap from quilters who remember the stiff, scratchy stuff of thirty years ago. Stephanie Hackney from Hobbs Bonded Fibers walks through the four Hobbs polyesters in six minutes, and they couldn't be more different from each other: one is a sixteenth of an inch thick, one puffs up like wool. The quilting distances, the shrink facts, and the one real downside are below.
Key Takeaways
- Hobbs makes four polyester battings: Thermore (ultra-thin, 1/16"), Poly-Down (light, lofty, low cost), Cloudloft (very high loft, a favorite of Hawaiian quilters) and Tuscany Polyester (Poly-Down's fiber, hand-finished).
- Thermore: 100% poly, no shrink, quilt 8–10" apart. The pick for T-shirt quilts, minky quilts and art quilts where you want flatness and crisp definition on small piecing.
- Poly-Down: 100% poly, no shrink, quilt 4" apart. Soft, drapey, nearly wool-level loft at a fraction of the price; it's the backbone of the Hobbs charity batting program.
- Cloudloft: the highest loft Hobbs makes; quilt 4" apart. Choose it for trapunto or anywhere you want serious puff.
- Tuscany Polyester is made the same way from the same inputs as Poly-Down; it's hand-cut, hand-folded and bagged with air, so it opens lofty and uncreased, for a little more money.
- The one con: polyester doesn't breathe like cotton, wool or silk. It traps body heat, which is a feature in a Minnesota winter and a drawback in a Texas summer.
In This Video
Thermore: The Thin One
Thermore is a sixteenth of an inch thick, 100% polyester, sold as a queen package, a craft bolt and a 45" x 25-yard roll. Stephanie's use cases are specific: T-shirt quilts, minky quilts and art quilts, plus anything where you want the quilt to stay flat or want definition on very small piecing and stitching.
The T-shirt quilt argument is the strongest. Shirts are heavy, stabilizer adds more, thread adds more; Thermore adds almost nothing. It can be quilted 8 to 10 inches apart, so you quilt around the shirt designs instead of through them. It doesn't shrink, so pre-shrunk shirts stay flat. And it's one of the least expensive battings Hobbs makes. Machine wash, light dry on delicate.
Poly-Down: Loft on a Budget
Poly-Down is the polyester most quilters already know, partly because it anchors the Hobbs charity batting program. 100% polyester, no shrinkage, quilt 4 inches apart or closer. Stephanie's point is that this is not the old stiff polyester: it's soft, light and drapes beautifully. You get close to the loft of wool for a lot less money, which makes it the answer when the budget is tight but you still want the quilting to show.
Cloudloft: Maximum Puff
Cloudloft is the one most people haven't seen. It's a very high-loft polyester, a favorite among Hawaiian quilters for the dimension it gives their appliqué, and Stephanie's pick for trapunto work or any design where you want real puff. Same rules as Poly-Down: 100% polyester, no shrink, quilt 4 inches apart. It's less widely stocked than the others, so if you see it, grab it.
Tuscany Polyester, and the Heirloom vs. Tuscany Difference
Tuscany Polyester is made exactly the same way from the same inputs as Poly-Down. The difference is finishing: Heirloom-line products are machine-finished and rolled, so they open slightly compressed and wrinkled; Tuscany-line products are hand-folded and hand-packaged with air left in the bag, so they come out lofty and smooth. Tuscany costs a little more, not a lot.
For hand quilting, Thermore, Tuscany Poly and Poly-Down all needle well, though Hobbs rates its wool and silk higher for that job.
When Polyester Is the Right Call, and When It Isn't
Pros: inexpensive, available in anything from a dead-flat finish to a very lofty one, lightweight, and it does not shrink. If you pre-wash your fabric and want a quilt that stays perfectly flat with no crinkle, polyester delivers that.
The con: polyester doesn't breathe the way cotton, wool and silk do. The quilt is soft and cuddly, but once your body warms up under it, it holds the heat in. Stephanie's framing: not ideal for a Texas summer, wonderful for a Minnesota winter. Match the fiber to the climate and the sleeper.
Products Featured in This Video
- Hobbs Thermore Polyester Batting Package — the 1/16" ultra-thin for T-shirt, minky and art quilts; quilt up to 10" apart
- Hobbs Polydown Batting Package — soft, lofty, budget-friendly; quilt 4" apart
- Hobbs Polydown 108" Wide Roll — Poly-Down by the roll for longarmers
- Hobbs Polydown 120" Wide Roll — king-width Poly-Down roll
- Hobbs Cloudloft Polyester Batting Package — the high-loft one for trapunto and puff
- Hobbs Polyester 6oz 96" Roll — light-loft bonded polyester by the roll
- Hobbs Polyester 9oz 96" Roll — mid-loft bonded polyester by the roll
- Hobbs Poly 12oz 96" Batting — high-loft polyester for puffy comforters and tied quilts
- Hobbs Batting Sample Pack — feel Thermore, Poly-Down and Cloudloft side by side
Keep Learning
- How to Choose the Right Quilt Batting: Hobbs' 5 Questions (video)
- Hobbs Wool Batting Explained (video)
- The Quilt Batting Buyer's Guide
- The 80/20 Batting Showdown
- So You Want to Make a T-Shirt Quilt
Our rule of thumb: Thermore when you want the quilt to disappear into flatness, Poly-Down when you want loft without the wool price, Cloudloft when you want to show off. And if the quilt is for a hot sleeper, go natural fiber instead.
Happy Quilting! From Corey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Hobbs Thermore and Poly-Down?
Thickness and quilting distance. Thermore is a sixteenth of an inch thick, nearly flat, and can be quilted 8 to 10 inches apart, which suits T-shirt, minky and art quilts. Poly-Down is a lofty, soft polyester that must be quilted every 4 inches and gives a puffier, more traditional look at a low price. Neither shrinks.
Does polyester batting shrink when washed?
No. All four Hobbs polyester battings are 100% polyester and do not shrink, so a quilt made with pre-washed fabric and polyester batting stays flat with none of the crinkle you get from cotton. They are machine washable; dry lightly on a delicate cycle.
Which Hobbs batting is best for trapunto or a very puffy quilt?
Cloudloft. It is the highest-loft polyester Hobbs makes, popular with Hawaiian quilters for the dimension it gives appliqué and recommended by Hobbs for trapunto. Quilt it 4 inches apart. If you can't find Cloudloft, Poly-Down or Tuscany Polyester gives close to wool-level loft.
Is polyester batting hot to sleep under?
It can be. Polyester does not breathe the way cotton, wool and silk do, so once your body warms up the quilt holds that heat in. That makes it a good choice for cold climates and a poor one for hot sleepers or warm climates, where a wool, cotton or 80/20 batting will be more comfortable.
What is the cheapest quilt batting that still has good loft?
Hobbs Poly-Down. It is among the least expensive battings Hobbs makes, which is why it anchors their charity batting program, yet it is soft, drapes well and gives nearly the loft of wool. Thermore is similarly inexpensive but flat rather than lofty.
Read the full transcript
[0:00] hi there my name is Stephanie Hackney and I'm the director of sales and marketing for Hobbs Bonded Fibers most of you will know us as Hobbs batting and hopefully you've had a chance to try one of our many batting products the goal today is to share a little bit about each of our product lines and we're going to start with our polyester line the first product we're going to talk about is Thermore so Thermore comes in this type of a package it's a queen size but we also have a craft bolt of this and then it also comes in a roll that is 45 inches by 25 yards and what is Thermore great for well first of all it is a hundred percent polyester product it's a sixteenth of an inch thick and it's great for t-shirt quilts minke quilts for any kind of art quilt anything that you want to remain real flat or where you want a lot of definition to very small piecing and stitching so we're going to start by showing you a piece of the product and giving you a chance to see the the thin loft and then we're going to talk a little bit about how you use the product and the pros and cons so the pros of this product are first of all that it's very thin it's very lightweight so it doesn't add any bulk or weight to your quilt it's also very inexpensive this is one of the least expensive products that we make along
[1:19] with our other polyester products and it's ideal for things like t-shirt quilts because you can stitch 10 inches apart so you don't have to go through the design of your t-shirt it also doesn't shrink so your t-shirts will remain nice and flat and again it's lightweight and doesn't add any bulk to a t-shirt quilt which can be a very heavy quilt all on its own so that's the first product that we'd like to talk about in the polyester line this will not shrink can be machine washed you're going to want to stitch eight to ten inches apart and then you can lightly dry this on a delicate cycle as well the next product we're going to talk about is Poly-Down many of you may be familiar with this product this is part of our charity batting program and this is also a hundred percent poly does not shrink and this one you're going to need to stitch four inches or closer together than that the nice thing about this again it's very low low weight low cost and it provides a beautiful loft so this is the loft on that product and again very light weight has a really really nice drape this is not the old-style polyester that was very stiff and Scratchy this is very soft to the touch
[2:37] and makes a beautiful soft quilt you can get almost the same amount of loft with this that you would get with our wool product but for a lot less money so if budget is a concern for you this may be a really good choice next we're going to talk about Cloudloft now many of you may not have ever seen this product this is actually a product that's a favorite among the Hawaiian quilters and this is a product that they like because of the amount of loft to it let me turn this around and show it to you and what you'll notice there is that this is a very very lofty polyester product perfect for something where you want a lot of loft or a lot of puff to your design if you're doing some trapunto work this might be a good choice for you and this is not as readily available as some of our other products but again a really good choice if you're looking for a polyester with a lot of loft and this is what the packaging looks like on that product you're also going to go four inches apart it doesn't shrink and it's 100% polyester and then our final polyester product is part of our Tuscany line what you'll notice is that there's two different lines here so the heirloom line are rolled like this and the Tuscany line is hand folded in hand packaged and there's always a little bit
[3:56] of air in the bag so even though these polyesters are made in the same exact way with the same input products this product is going to have a little more wrinkling and be a little more compressed than this product this product does cost a little bit more but not a whole lot more let's take a look at that one so you'll notice a nice loft on this one as well and again very lightweight polyester is relatively inexpensive the Tuscany poly is a little bit more than the Poly-Down however could be a good if you're looking to get the same type of loft that you would get with the wool also the Thermore the Tuscany poly and the Poly-Down are great for hand quilting we do have some other products that we recommend over this but this is one that you can use as well so what are the pros and cons to polyester the pros are that it's relatively inexpensive you can get either a very flat finish or a very lofty finish it's it's going to be lightweight it doesn't shrink so if you're somebody who pre washes your fabric and you really want your quilt to stay nice and flat this might be a good choice for you what are the cons the cons are that it does not breathe the same way the natural fibers like cotton wool and silk will breathe so with the polyester batting the nice thing about this is that it's going to provide a
[5:14] really nice soft cuddly quilt however once your body temperature warms up this will hold in the heat so it may not be ideal for places like where we are which is in Texas today but would be wonderful for a Minnesota winter so just an thing to keep in mind and if you have any further questions about any of the polyester batting please reach out to Linda's Electric Quilters or you can reach out to hobbsbatting.com we have lots of information there on our website for you thanks so much [Music]
