Upholstery Batting, also know as Dacron, is mostly used to soften the edges of furniture cushions and help give furniture a crowned look. Batting is also used to prevent slippage and help make things appear smoother, it can also be used in between fabrics as a layer of insulation, as padding for cornice boxes, and added wherever extra padding is needed. When wrapping foam cushions, determining the best batting for your project is critical. The batting could be either polyester batting which can be used as an alternative for many and has four different kinds of tear strengths or cotton batting which was originally used to wrap cushions but has no tear strength.
Polyester Batting
Polyester batting is easier to work with than cotton batting because polyester batting has different kinds of "tear strength" that range from Bonded being the most durable and the one with the highest resistance to stretching, then Superloft, Stitched, and Quatraloft/plain being the thinnest of the four and least stretchable. Polyester batting is also more affordable than cotton and ships at a lower freight. Polyester batting is not a natural product it is petroleum based.
Cotton Batting
Cotton Batting usually comes in a bale and it tends to be have a higher price because it is a natural product and because it has more weight, body, and padding. Cotton also tends to hold its shape better in the long run so it doesn't mat down like polyester eventually will. It is mostly used on antique furniture and truck seats. Unfortunately there is little to no tear strength with cotton batting.
Other Uses
Batting can also be used as fake snow and used to decorate areas. Along with being used as fake snow batting can be used for stage production and in set designs.