How to Choose Batting with Stephanie Hackney of Hobbs

In Quiltmania #142, we’re excited to share a new section with you called “Ask the Expert,” in which specialists answer common questions from our community. In this issue, Stephanie Hackney, the director of sales and marketing for Hobbs Bonded Fibers (Hobbs Batting) shares her expertise about how to choose the right batting for your next project. Enjoy a preview below, and pick up a copy of Quiltmania #142 to read more!

A Preview of “Ask the Expert”

For most quilters, patterns and fabrics are their focus. Now, that’s not to say that patterns and fabrics aren’t important, because they are — they’re  generally what entice quilters to create, and anything that inspires a quilter to create is a good thing!

That said, there are other elements of a quilt that are equally important, and these ‘behind the scenes’ elements can make or break a quilt.

Batting is one of these ‘hidden’ and important elements and it’s what we’ll be discussing here.

Batting (or wadding), which can be composed of a variety of fiber types, is a non-woven material that’s centered between a quilt’s top and back and it helps to define how a quilt or quilted project will appear, drape, function and wear.

Choose the right batting and the results are likely to be great; choose the ‘wrong’ batting and all the time (and money) invested in a quilt could be for naught.

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About Our Partner: Hobbs Bonded Fibers

We want to extend a huge thank you to our friends Stephanie Hackney and the whole Hobbs team for helping us make this new section of the magazine a success. Hobbs has been a manufacturer of high-quality quilt batting (wadding) for quilters of all kinds since 1978 — over 40 years!.

The quality batting available from hobbs is the same high-quality products they provide to their own family of quilters (and they come from a long line of quilters)!

With a line of 15 quality products, the team at Hobbs Batting believes that quilts are a gift from the heart – “an expression of love, commitment and caring for a specific recipient” as they share on their website. We love how their batting serves all types of quilters — hobbyist, commercial, art and show quilters.

You can find Hobbs online at hobbsbatting.com or follow them on Instagram @hobbsbatting and sew along with them using the hashtag #JoyofQuilting.