2 Ways to Join Quilt Batting (and use up small pieces)

Have you ever had almost enough cotton batting to finish a quilt? Or wondered if left over pieces of quilt batting could somehow be used? Of course you can use them… just join them together.

In this blog post I’m going to show you 2 different ways to join quilt batting and use it for your next quilt,  table runner, or set of potholders! I use both of these methods regularly. They both work equally well with cotton or cotton/poly batting. I’ve never tried this with high-loft polyester batting (the fluffy kind), but if you have, let us know how it works.

You can join quilt batting as much as you want because no one will know if your quilt has Franken-batting on the inside (sorry, Halloween is coming). 

For either method to work, cut the batting edges to be joined as straight as possible. Use a rotary cutter and long ruler if you have them available.

Method #1 – Zig Zag Sew the Pieces Together

This method only requires thread!

Set your sewing machine to the widest zig zag stitch possible and medium stitch length.

Butt the straight edges up together and sew, zig-zagging down and catching both pieces. Try not to let the pieces overlap, but if they do a little bit it won’t matter. 

Backstitch at the start and end, just to help you keep the batting together long enough to get the quilt basted and quilted.

Method #2 – Fuse the Pieces Together

This method requires a product called Heat Press Batting Together (Pellon makes a similar product called Easy Knit Tape, but I’ve never tried it).

It is essentially a long strip of interfacing on a roll. This brand is 1 1/2” wide.

Put the two straight edges together, lay a strip of the interfacing over the join, and press to fuse. A little steam helps too. I usually cut strips of Heat Press that are about 18” long. Trying to fuse a really large piece of batting with only one strip could be tricky.

You only need to fuse the batting together on one side, so this method is fast and easy too.

And now you have no excuse… go finish a quilt top!

xoxo,