I want to use fleece in the place of batting (sandwiched between a top and bottom layer of fabric.Is this wise?

Question

I love the feel of fleece and want to use it in my lap quilts.  Will this cause breakage of needles on my Brother CE 4000?

Answer 1

I'm sure you would not be the first to use fleece.  But it is more expensive than traditional batting. I'm a bit surprised you're not planning to use it as the backing itself.  Here are some thoughts that might help you.

On the "pro" side:    

1. Fleece will last forever!   Probably longer than the top and backing.                    

2. It comes in colors. ( sometimes quilters like to place a thin white cotton over brightly colored fleece creating a colored shadow effect which can be quite pretty.) 

3. You may have scraps laying around.  If you "piece" it be sure all the pieces are going the same way.                                                                                                

4. It is warm.                                                                                                              

5. It does feel nice - "cushiony" -  similar to the foam blankets. In fact I've seen people put scraps of those inside quilts.  But they can be very "sweaty" as they do not breathe.

On the "con" side:                                                                                                       

1. It is more expensive than batting.                                                                            

2. It is knit and you mustn't stretch it too much during construction or it can pull the quilt askew.  Just carefully lay it between the front and back and don't pin and stretch it if you're using a long-arm.                                                                              

3. If you're "tying" it it might be hard to pull the needle through.  Be sure to use a big, pointed needle to open up the hole for the yarn, or etc.                                            

4. It is not absorbent.  There is a new "micro-fiber" that is very absorbent, but I don't believe it is available as Fleece.  It is used for some minkee.

I hope this will help you in your decision.  If it were me, Well, I probably wouldn't use it unless I wanted the shadow effect, and That's something I've been excited to try.

Best of Luck, Judy Lyon

Answer 2

I've used fleece on lap quilts in place of batting AND backing.  It feels lovely, it's true, but remember it doesn't breathe.  So if you use it as batting (which might be kind of expensive, I might add) it will make a very warm quilt under which a person might get sweaty.  I've sewn on fleece and cotton lap quilts on an old Singer and a Bernina Activa and had no problem with a needle breaking.  The only thing you need to be careful about sewing with fleece is not to stretch it.  It has memory and so will "snap back" eventually, so just smoothe it out with your fingers - don't pull on it at all.

I'm just curious: why do you want to put the fleece in the middle of the quilt sandwich?  I've heard of some people using colorful fleece under thin white cotton fabric for its subtle coloring effect (shadowing).  Is this what you're doing?  Otherwise, it seems to me that you'll pay more and not get the soft lovely feeling of the fleece..

Comments

Well, as I think more about it, I suppose you live in a cold climate (I don't) and want a really warm quilt.  There would be a trade-off: you won't get the lovely softness of the fleece (as you would if you used fleece in place of both batting and backing) but you *will* get a super-warm quilt!