It's cozy season! What better time to snuggle up with a homesewn quilt? Here are my best tips to up the cozy factor in your quilting.
1. Back with flannel
Looking for a natural alternative to a poly minky? Use cotton flannel! I especially love Kaufman Mammoth flannel. The patterns are beautiful and they never pill. Alternatively, you can use massage flannel sheets! They don't pill, and are less expensive than other flannel.
2. Back with minky
Sometimes you just can't beat the feel of minky! I especially love minky with the raised dot pattern, it just feels good to run your hands over. When quilting with minky, remember that it has a good amount of stretch. THis is a time to use batting spray, so that you don't end up with wrinkles stitched into your quilting.
3. Wool batting
Nothing brings the fluff like wool batting. Sure, you could use a higher loft poly batting, but wool has more of a weight to it, and a substantial squish. Hot tip: Make sure you're using fabrics with a tight weave (not double gauze) as wool batting can sometimes "beard", where the fibers slip through the weave and matt themselves on the outer fabric of the quilt. I love to use Hobb's brand of wool batting. I used wool batting on this Looper quilt for my son, and now it is the snuggliest quilt for the winter.
4. Hand quilting
Hand quilted quilts just crinkle better, it's scientific fact! Hand quilting adds dimension and a homemade feel to a quilt. Plus, you get to snuggle under your quilt WHILE you work on it. Win-win!
5. Loose quilting
Dense machine quilting leads to a stiffer quilt. Space your quilting lines out so your quilt has room to drape. Just pay attention to the suggested quilting distance on your batting packaging.
6. Hand-tie
There's something about a hand tied quilt that just screams cozy! When I hand-tie, I use wool yarn, so that the ties felt up into little pom poms in the wash. So cute!
7. And now, my final and best tip: Use the dang quilt! The cosiest quilts are worn, used, and loved. They get that crinkly, faded patina only with constant wear and use. So sit on the quilt, eat on the quilt, let your dogs lie on the quilt. The best quilts have memories attached to them.
