Hi Bestie! Wool is the batting quilters ask about most and buy least, usually because they aren't sure how to wash it. Stephanie Hackney from Hobbs Bonded Fibers clears that up in six minutes. She walks through all three Hobbs wool battings, shows why Tuscany and Heirloom come out of the bag looking different even though the wool inside is identical, and gives the exact wash-and-dry instructions. The takeaways and every batting she handles are below.
Key Takeaways
- Hobbs makes three wool battings: Tuscany Cotton Wool (80% cotton, 20% wool), Heirloom Wool (100% superwash wool, machine-finished and rolled) and Tuscany Wool (the same 100% wool, hand-cut, hand-folded and bagged with air).
- Heirloom Wool and Tuscany Wool contain the exact same wool. Tuscany comes out of the bag lofty and wrinkle-free; Heirloom is compressed for rolling and needs a few minutes to loft out. You're paying for the finish, not a different fiber.
- Wool breathes and wicks moisture, so a wool quilt is comfortable year-round, even in Texas. It has no crease memory, which is why it's the top layer of a show quilt.
- The show-quilt double bat: Tuscany Wool against the quilt top for loft and definition, Tuscany Cotton Wool against the backing for weight, drape and stitch definition on the back.
- Quilt both wool products up to 4" apart. Wash only after the quilt is finished (never pre-wash batting), gentle cycle, cool water, minimal spin. Air-fluff in the dryer 5–10 minutes, then air dry; never fully machine dry.
- Not for baby quilts or charity quilts unless the recipient knows how to care for wool. Always label a gifted quilt with the batting type and care instructions.
In This Video
Three Wool Battings, Two Finishes
Hobbs sells wool in two product lines, and the difference between them is finishing, not fiber. Tuscany battings are cut, folded and bagged by hand with air left in the bag, so they come out lofty and wrinkle-free. Heirloom battings are finished by machine, lightly compressed and rolled, so they open with some wrinkles that loft out easily.
The three wools:
- Tuscany Cotton Wool: 80% cotton, 20% wool. A little more loft than 80/20 cotton-poly, noticeably softer, with a traditional quilt look. Stephanie calls it the answer for quilters who want mostly cotton but some of wool's definition. It's also become the go-to bottom layer for double batting.
- Heirloom Wool: 100% superwash wool, machine-finished and rolled.
- Tuscany Wool: the exact same 100% superwash wool, hand-finished.
Storage tip from the video: if you're not using a lofty batting right away, take it out of the bag and store it in fabric or a pillowcase so it stays lofted. Keep the bag's sticker and UPC in case you ever need an exchange.
Why Wool Earns Its Place
Stephanie lists the benefits in order. It's a natural fiber that breathes and wicks moisture, so a wool quilt isn't hot; the Hobbs education team in Texas uses it year-round. It has no memory for creases. A quilt that's been folded for months of judging lofts flat within minutes of hanging, which is why wool is the top layer of a show quilt. It's light, delicate and drapes beautifully, and it's one of the two best Hobbs battings for hand quilting.
The show-quilt sandwich she lays out: backing, then Tuscany Cotton Wool, then Tuscany Wool, then the quilt top. The wool against the top gives tremendous loft and definition to piecing and stitching on the front. The cotton-wool against the back adds the weight that makes a quilt hang straight, and because it contains wool, it gives the back stitch definition too, which judges check. You could use two layers of wool or wool alone, but wool alone is so light the quilt won't drape the way winning quilts do.
How to Wash a Quilt With Wool Batting
This is the part people get wrong, so here are Stephanie's instructions exactly:
- Quilt up to 4 inches apart with either wool product.
- Never pre-wash the batting. Wash it only once it's inside a finished quilt; washing loose wool batting will ruin it.
- Machine wash on a gentle or delicate cycle, cool water, no heavy agitation. Top loader or front loader, avoid a hard spin.
- Dryer: 5 to 10 minutes only, air fluff or delicate, to relax it. Do not fully dry the quilt in the dryer. Finish by air drying.
Because of that care routine, Stephanie steers wool away from baby quilts (unless it's your baby and you'll do the washing) and away from charity or giveaway quilts, unless the recipient is a quilter who understands wool. Whenever you give a quilt away, sew in a label with the batting type and care instructions.
Products Featured in This Video
- Hobbs Tuscany Wool Batting Package (King 120" x 120") — hand-finished 100% superwash wool; the show-quilt top layer
- Tuscany 100% Washable Wool, Queen 96" x 108" — same wool, queen size
- Tuscany 100% Washable Wool, Twin 72" x 96" — same wool, twin size
- Tuscany 100% Washable Wool, Throw 60" x 60" — a throw-size way to try wool before committing to a bed quilt
- Hobbs Heirloom Wool Batting Package — the same superwash wool, machine-finished and rolled, usually at a lower price
- Hobbs Heirloom Wool, Queen 90" x 108" — Heirloom Wool in queen
- Hobbs Heirloom Wool 108" Wide Roll — wool by the roll for longarmers
- Tuscany Cotton Wool 80/20, Queen 96" x 108" — the bottom layer of the show-quilt double bat
- Hobbs Tuscany Cotton Wool Blend, Twin 72" x 96" — cotton wool in twin
- Hobbs Tuscany Cotton Wool 96" Roll — cotton wool by the roll
- Hobbs Batting Sample Pack — feel Tuscany Wool, Heirloom Wool and Cotton Wool side by side
Keep Learning
- How to Choose the Right Quilt Batting: Hobbs' 5 Questions (video)
- The Quilt Batting Buyer's Guide
- The 80/20 Batting Showdown
- 100% Cotton Batting Compared
- Selecting Batting for Quilting
If you've been wool-curious but nervous, start with a throw-size Tuscany Wool and wash it exactly the way Stephanie describes. One quilt in, you'll understand why show quilters won't use anything else on top.
Happy Quilting! From Corey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Hobbs Heirloom Wool and Tuscany Wool?
The wool is identical: 100% superwash wool. Heirloom Wool is finished by machine, lightly compressed and rolled, so it opens with some wrinkles that loft out in a few minutes. Tuscany Wool is cut, folded and bagged by hand with air in the bag, so it comes out lofty and wrinkle-free. Choose Tuscany for convenience and presentation, Heirloom for value.
Can you machine wash a quilt with wool batting?
Yes, once the batting is inside a finished quilt. Use a gentle or delicate cycle with cool water and minimal spin, then tumble on air fluff or delicate for only 5 to 10 minutes and finish by air drying. Never fully machine dry a wool-batted quilt, and never pre-wash wool batting on its own; it will be ruined.
Is wool batting too hot for summer?
No. Wool is a natural fiber that breathes and wicks moisture away, so a wool-batted quilt regulates temperature rather than trapping heat. Hobbs' own team in Texas uses it in quilts year-round.
Why do show quilters put wool batting on top and cotton wool underneath?
Wool has no crease memory and gives piecing and stitching dramatic loft and definition, so it goes directly under the quilt top. On its own it is so light the quilt won't hang straight, so a second layer of Tuscany Cotton Wool (80/20) goes against the backing to add weight and drape; because it also contains wool, the back of the quilt shows stitch definition too, which judges look for.
Is wool batting a good choice for baby quilts or charity quilts?
Hobbs recommends against it unless the person washing the quilt understands wool care, because a hot wash or full dryer cycle will damage it. For baby, charity and giveaway quilts, use Heirloom 80/20 instead, and always add a label listing the batting type and care instructions when you gift a quilt.
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 you probably know us better as Hobbs batting we're here today to talk about all of the different batting types we have and fiber types and how they should be used and we're going to talk a little bit about our wool products so the first product that we have is our cotton wool this is in the tuscany product line and what you'll notice about this is that it's flat and it's folded rather than brown and turned like this so the difference is is that the tuscany products are all cut folded and packaged by hand we leave air in the bags and they're going to be a little bit lofty or right out of the package without wrinkles the products that are rolled like all of the heirloom products are going to be finished on machine and they're slightly compressed before they're put into the bags so they will have a little bit more wrinkling when you first open them however it's very easy to loft the wrinkles out and I'll talk a little bit about that first product we're going to talk about is our Tuscany cotton wool it's 80% cotton in 20 percent wool take a quick peek at this one so is this going to have a little bit more loft than our 80/20 cotton poly and it's much softer and cuddlier it's just a really wonderful product really gives a nice traditional quilt look and it's a really great
[1:17] substitute for somebody who really wants to use mostly cotton but also want some of the benefits of wool now what are the benefits of wool the wool will actually provide a little bit more loft in definition and this product is fast becoming a great product that's used with double batting so if you're thinking about doing double batting especially for a show quilt this is a great option to put on the back of your quilt now if you're really interested in a hundred percent wool we've got two choices for you the first one let me just move our cotton wool the first one is the heirloom wool this is a hundred percent super washed wool it is the exact same wool that is in our Tuscany wool the primary difference again this is finished on a machine tightly-wound compressed into the bag this one is finished by hand it's cut and folded and packaged by hand we leave air in the bag so this is not going to have wrinkles when you take it this one will one thing we do recommend for these loftier products if you're not going to use them right away we recommend taking them out of the bag maybe store them in some fabric or inside of a pillow case one thing you want to keep in mind though is that we want you to keep the packaging or at least keep this sticker and this UPC code should you need to do an exchange
[2:36] or have an inquiry about a product these are the items that will need you to keep so we want to make sure that you keep that so let's look at the wool so this is what that Loft is going to look like just like this by the way here and give you a chance to see very light very delicate has a very nice drape and this is also wonderful for hand quilting okay so here's the biggest benefits with the wool number one it's a natural fiber and it breathes it will wick away moisture naturally so it's not going to be hot even here in Texas a lot of our quilters and our education team usable in their quilts because this is a really good choice it will keep you warm but it's great for a quilt that you can use all year round ok it doesn't hold creases doesn't have a memory for creases so it's a great top layer for a show quilt so remember I was talking about the cotton wool and the wool being paired this is the wool that you would put on top and then this is the cotton wool that you would put on the bottom so this is how you would make your batting sandwich and then you put your top on and your back on the back what this is going to do is it's going to give you tremendous loft and definition to your
[3:53] piecing and your stitching on the front and then on the back because this also has wool in it you're going to get some nice definition there where judges also want to take a look at the quilt and do some judging so this is a really good pairing now you might say why do you need two bats well you could use two layers of wool or you could use the wool just by itself however this is extremely lightweight and for a show quilt you really want it to hang and drape really nicely so having a second batting either the cotton wool or an all cotton or a cotton polyblend provides some extra weight and heft and really helps the quilt to hang nice and straight and really look pretty now again the benefit to using the cotton wool is that you're going to get it get some of the benefits from the wool that's in here and those are really help to emphasize your piecing and your stitching on the back of your quilt you're going to be doing this four inches apart for both of these products they are both machine washable gentle cycle cool water no heavy agitation or spin so if you have a top loader you don't want it too heavily spin it if you have a front loader again you don't want it to have a least spin it so you use a delicate cycle or whatever cycle on your machine will delicately treat this type of batting and again you're washing this once it's in the quilt please do not pre wash any of our battings you will ruin them especially on a product like this
[5:11] it's a little bit delicate you can toss this into the dryer for about 5-10 minutes on an air fluff or delicate cycle however we do not recommend fully drying your quilt with this batting inside so again great for hand quilting great for show quilts we do not recommend using this in baby quilts unless it's your baby and you're going to take care of the washing and also not for charity quilts or quilts that are going to be given away unless it's going to another quilter who really understands the care for it we do also recommend that anytime you're giving a quilt away it's a really good idea to put a label on there with what kind of batting is inside and the care instructions so that the person that's receiving the quilt will take good care of it and that's it for her wool thank you very much for joining us today and if you have any questions or need any more information you can contact Linda's Electric Quilters or you can reach out to us directly at wwlp.com thank you [Music]
