Once I got all the quilt sandwiches made, I finally started to quilt each of my batting samples. I decided I would do the first couple of sections on all eight quiltlets, then go back and do a little bit more on all eight, and so on, so I could experience the same stitching on all eight in a relatively short timeframe.

The first batch was stitching down the middle of the vertical sashing, and then freehand stitching a circle in the top right section (the one with the square of backing fabric in it).

I started out using the olive green Americana quilting thread I was hoping to use for the quilt. It’s a brand I really like, but I’m not 100% sold on the color for this quilt. It looks great against the red fabric, but it feels a little lighter and less olive against the backing fabric. I may look around for other options.

But what you’re all interested in is the batting, so here are the results, in the order that I stitched them:

Quilters Dream Wool may not even make it to the end of the trial. It was just so thick. I had trouble getting it into the hoop, and once I did, it was impossible to do anything other than big stitch. Some of the stitches were a quarter inch apart, so I had to loop back and take another stitch in the giant gap between the first and second stitches, and so on.

Next up was Quilters Dream Bamboo. This one was okay, although I felt like it was tough to get through the stitching down the center of the sashing. This may have less to do with the batting and more to do with the fact that the sashing is 1/2″ wide and has a 1/4″ seam allowance pressed towards the middle from each side. So, if you don’t stitch exactly down the middle, you may be adding some extra layers of seam allowance in your stitches. The circle in the middle of the backing fabric went pretty well, where there was no seam allowance getting in the way.

Quilters Dream Cotton Select is the heavier of the two Dream cotton battings that I’m trying out. It was about on a par with the bamboo one, although I got distracted and the stitched circle is a little lopsided. That has less to do with the batting and more to do with me being too lazy to mark the stitching lines. But I wanted to try out some curved stitching to see how they went on each batting, so a circle was the logical choice. And I’m not that much of a glutton for punishment, so I put the circle in the center of the section with no seams.

Quilters Dream Cotton Request, the thinner of the two Dream cotton battings, was the most promising in the first half. It is thin enough that it quilts pretty smoothly. I still had some trouble in the sashing, but I’m starting to think that will be a problem with any batting. The other thing I noticed, possibly because I was getting to take smaller stitches for the first time, is that I was getting snags in the red fabric (where a little white line appears because the threads of the printed fabric get pulled out of whack). I’m hoping this is more a factor of the particular hoop I’m using (one of those plastic no-slip hoops, because it was the only one I have that is small enough to put a 9″ quiltlet in). We will see once I start on the larger quilt with a normal hoop, but it definitely makes me nervous.

The Hobbs Tuscany Wool did indeed quilt like butter, and so far is the closest to the wispy, almost see-through nature of my favorite poly batting. It is thicker than poly, though, so it took some getting used to how far you have to poke your needle down before you go back up again. I was more able to do smaller stitches, but they were still a bit on the uneven side. And because it’s so thick, the fabric REALLY sinks down where you have stitched. It looks like my stitches are in a little canyon. I’ll have to quilt some more before I decide if I like that look.

I haven’t yet decided if the Hobbs Tuscany Cotton Wool blend is the best of both worlds or the worst of both worlds. I started stitching this one after trying out the Tuscany Wool sample, so my initial impression is that it has the density of cotton but with the extra thickness of wool – more of a “worst of both worlds” situation. Had I stitched it right after the Tuscany Cotton one, I might have formed a different impression. I think I need to do another round of stitching on it before I make up my mind.

The Hobbs Tuscany Cotton is actually thicker than either of the thicknesses of Quilters Dream cotton that I’m testing. I didn’t expect there to be so much variety. And it probably doesn’t really matter for machine quilting. I’m finding that it really does matter for hand quilting though. I had so much trouble pulling the needle through, even after only loading two or three stitches on it. I’ve got to find my little grippy circle for helping to pull the needle through, if I’m going to continue on with this batting.

The final batting in this scientific test is Quilters Dream Green. This is a poly batting made from recycled bottles, which I think is supremely cool, but probably not very authentic to the period. But I was itching to try it out and see if I like it for future quilting projects. And sadly, I’m not so sure I do. Instead of the kind of lacy texture I’m used to with Mountain Mist’s poly batting, this Dream Green batting is closer to the cotton battings I’ve tried during this testing. It is a solid sheet and thicker than I expected. While the safety pins went in easily while sandwiching, the batting felt a little too thick and solid to take small stitches.

So, there you have it, the end of the first round of actual quilting in the batting tests. But I’ve decided I’m not quite ready to completely eliminate any of them from contention, so don’t update your brackets just yet.

I’m concerned that a factor here is the 7″ no-slip hoop I’ve been using – it’s the only one small enough to put these 9″ quiltlets in, but I really struggle to have the looser tension I want with the no-slip hoop.

So, I’ve ordered a new quilting hoop (it is billed as a “French embroidery hoop”, but it sure looks like a small quilting hoop to me – 3/4″ thick and with the big blocks that the adjustment bolt goes through). Hopefully, it will give me better tension control and I can do a little bit more hand quilting on all eight quiltlets before making any decisions.

In the meantime, check out my partially-quilted quiltlets – the two in the center are the top two contenders so far: Hobbs Tuscany Wool on top and Quilters Dream Cotton Request on the bottom (note the canyon-like quilted circle on the wool one).