Quilting Cuddle
- Debra Howard
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
January 20, 2026
As we head into a new year I'm excited to think about all the fun, new projects to look forward to in the upcoming year! One of the things I'm most excited about is trying out the new fabric that Moda is now offering. It's a "quilting cuddle" fabric that has evolved from a collaboration with Moda and Shannon Fabrics. Many of you are familiar with the traditional "cuddle" that has been around for years and makes an excellent cuddly backing for quilts. But this new type of fabric has been developed with the purpose of being able to use it as the main fabric for your quilt top as well as backing.
It feels and looks very different than the traditional cuddle. Since Moda announced this new fabric, each new catalogue release has featured a designer line that also has some of the prints (usually around 10) offered in the new fabric. Some of these lines include: Nantucket Summer by Camille Roskelley, Effie's Woods and Northwoods Lodge by Deb Strain, Christmas Eve by Lella Boutique, and Birch & Willow by Sherri & Chelsea. As well as 53 solid Bella color options.
Here is some information about this new fabric:
-it comes in regular 45 inch WOF
-it doesn't have near as much stretch as the original cuddle, making it easy to work with for piecing your quilt top
-it doesn't fray or shred like traditional Cuddle
-it has a low pile but is soooooo soft. The low pile allows for flat quilt blocks without too much bulk in the seams
-it can be used for traditional piecing with 1/4 inch seams, is suitable for machine embroidery, and applique
-works wonderful for cuddly throw quilts, baby quilts, even stuffy animals for children!
-it is only printed on one side of the fabric
-it does come in yardage as well as some precuts such as layer cakes, fat quarter bundles and meter bundles
-Moda recommends using a 90/14 stretch needle on your machine
-they also recommend a polyester or polyester blend batting be used
-can be machine washed in cool water and tumble dried in a no-heat dryer for a few minutes before hanging to finish drying
Here is a cuddly throw quilt that Sherri McConnell recently featured on her blog made from their upcoming line of Birch and Willow which is coming out in Aug/Sept 2026. I'm in love with this line!
Sherri shared a couple of hints that she discovered while working with this fabric:
-she recommended not cutting too many layers at once with your rotary cutter as it is a little slippery and can shift if too many layers
-although she bound this quilt with the quilting cuddle, she did find it a little bulky when mitering the corners. Regular quilting cotton can be used to bind a quilt made with quilting cuddle.
-she found it helpful to use a pressing cloth between her iron and the fabric when she pressed her seams open.
Moda even did panels with some of these quilting cuddle lines, imagine how cute and soft a baby quilt would be in this fabric!
And some of the coordinating prints to go along with the panel:
I'm impressed that Moda has a good selection ranging from florals to children's prints to Christmas prints.
And even a Deb Strain line coming out in July/Aug that I think would be amazing for a masculine quilt project:
So as the New Year begins and I think of all the projects I want to tackle, working with this new fabric is definitely on my list. And since I like brighter, cheerful fabric, I'm thinking a bundle of the Birch and Willow line would make an awesome throw quilt.
What quilty things do you have planned for the new year?
Twila
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