Replace interfacing with quilting cotton?

Can I stiffen the waist band on a skirt with a layer of quilting cotton inside like sew in interfacing?

Yes, and I have done it with looser weave fabric too.  It feels a bit softer than the iron on stuff and is a little more work to put in, but it works for me.  You could try a test piece first, to see how it works for you.

I'm going to give it a try.

I'm attaching the fabric to the inside half of the waistband.

1. As you know, cotton comes in different weights and thread counts. Also waistbands may need to be firmer or softer depending on style. So I'd look at your product and choose accordingly.
2. The Japanese do that "hand stitching thing" to attach an inner layer to the outfit - lot's of little stitches oriented in the direction that needs reinforcement - I've seen this, but never done it myself. Modern interfacing is non-woven and often involves glue, so "quilting" the cotton to the inside half on your waistband might imitate interfacing better than just stitching the edges as in your picture above. But only if you feel you need that degree of reinforcement - I'm suggesting a concept here, not deciding if your project requires it. If I was doing heavy work pants which I often clip gloves, hand tools etc to, I would think this a good idea. If I was doing a fancy outfit where the waste band needed to look clean and crisp, I also might do so.
3. I would absolutely make sure that both the outer fabric and the cotton reinforcement have been washed and "pre-shrunk" so that you won't have one layer shrink differently than the other. I had a purchased shirt where that hadn't been done and the collar looked horrible. As a general rule, I always pre-wash fabric for many good reasons, not the least because my sister once sewed a lovely dress and they fabric wasn't properly stabilized and the red dye spread nastily into the white background, ruining the whole dress!

I realize r ranson and G Freden may already know 1, 2 & 3, but not everyone has the same experiences, so I figured it was worth mentioning...

My answer: yes, you can do that.
I even made waist bands without any other material inside. But maybe that isn't the style you like ( a little sloppy).

I did that with a skirt when I was too lazy to go and buy interfacing. It was a wide 2"+ waistband I wanted to be very stiff, so I used two layers of muslin for interfacing.   My solution to preventing wrinkling was to run lines of straight stitching 1/2" apart. It looked like a design element but gave lots of reinforcement. I have been told it is better to use woven fabric on the bias for interfacing but I didn't do that for that skirt. I would definitely top stitch top and bottom and prewash if I was doing a skinnier waistband.

The skirt is in my storage unit with the rest of my office clothing or I'd take a picture.

Howdy!

I use this particular technique, only with self-fabric (using the fabric I use for the outer portion of the waistband) and making it twice as wide as the pattern calls for. This means I get a bit more cushion in the waistband area, and that I can flip the waist band around to get more wear pretty easily.

Clothing worn to cover your legs that start at the waist (i.e. skirts, kilts, pants, shorts, slacks, jeans,  ...) tend to wear out at waistbands and hems first. If you're going to make something you want to last, you might as well start with the idea it's going to last.
Making sure that you have enough waistband material by doubling the amount of it, then "protecting" that extra amount of fabric by putting on the inside is easy, plus gives you options when your waistband finally wears a bit. When your hems get too tattered, you can either trim the damaged cloth and re-hem, just slightly shorter; add a bit of ribbon or another color of fabric or something pretty (or just something new); or try some variation of techniques.

Best thoughts!

Jay Angler wrote:
2. The Japanese do that "hand stitching thing" to attach an inner layer to the outfit - lot's of little stitches oriented in the direction that needs reinforcement - I've seen this, but never done it myself.

That particular style of stitching is called pad stitching for Western/European sewers. It's a tailoring technique that tends to be thought very "fancy" or couture and is used for making certain that layers of fabric and/or padding don't shift around while worn. You'll see a lot of instructions on making jackets and some coat patterns where this is done.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.explicit.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.3FVolpeaJDdtBlGl_NWacQHaD4%26pid%3DApi&f=1

Quilting can give much the same effect, as it's stitching together several layers of fabric and/or padding but using the stitching to make a pretty pattern that is meant to be seen.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Ffc%2F3c%2F93%2Ffc3c9329ebdf3eb8c065d891d8479de3.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Pad stitching is meant to be invisible.
Come to think of it, that's the only difference I can think of between the two styles. Pad stitching is also usually done by hand, but quilting can be either machine or hand done; pad stitching is usually scattered over the area to be held down and quilting isn't, but that's more stylistic than anything because tufting is a valid quilting style .....

Jay Angler wrote:
Modern interfacing is non-woven and often involves glue, so "quilting" the cotton to the inside half on your waistband might imitate interfacing better than just stitching the edges as in your picture above. But only if you feel you need that degree of reinforcement - I'm suggesting a concept here, not deciding if your project requires it. If I was doing heavy work pants which I often clip gloves, hand tools etc to, I would think this a good idea. If I was doing a fancy outfit where the waste band needed to look clean and crisp, I also might do so.

Not all modern interfacing is non-woven. Not all "old fashioned" interfacing was woven. Sheets of felt and batting, rolls of wool, as well as batts and anything else you can think of are all used at different times and places for getting certain effects from fabric and fiber. Fusible interfacing, as well as needle punched batts are relatively new, but the concepts have been used since we first started sewing animal hides together. Well, okay, maybe not immediately then.

Quilting closely will provide a great deal of reinforcement to an area. you can make it practically solid by spacing your stitches closely enough. It's a good technique for something that needs to be strong or will be subjected to a lot of wear.
This sort of stitchery could be used in a separate piece that could be placed inside a pattern piece, or otherwise made not visible and provide a good excuse to use up all your partial bobbin thread bobbins, or those random bits of thread color that were meant to match one fabric and just never turn up again.

Jay Angler wrote:
3. I would absolutely make sure that both the outer fabric and the cotton reinforcement have been washed and "pre-shrunk" so that you won't have one layer shrink differently than the other. I had a purchased shirt where that hadn't been done and the collar looked horrible.  
.

I make it a rule to always torture and torment any fabric that comes into my home, as quickly as possible. Unless it is something that would never be subjected to a hot water wash for any reason, short of plague. I travels straight from the shopping bag in which it enters the house to the laundry room, then goes into a hot water wash and then a hot dryer. I want it to bleed out all the loose dye, melt, shrink, felt, wrinkle, become some shapeless mass of random thread - whatever horrible thing might happen to it if it's treated harshly - before I do anything else.
I never have to worry about whether something in the stash has been preshrunk. I never have to worry about whether the dye will bleed or the grain suddenly become not quite straight. I get all the protective finishes and starches/fabric treatments out of it from the very beginning so that it and I can understand each other.

It's not a perfect system, but it is easier than spending hours or days trying to make an outfit and finding out that your skirt is off grain and so hangs oddly, or the loosely woven fabric you made a shirt out of turns out to be only slightly better than cheesecloth, and the finish treatments were what made it sheer and flirty, not something better suited for straining jelly.

Best thoughts! (pictures are examples quickly pulled off the internet. I do not own the images, nor do I own the objects pictured. If I need to, I will happily replace those images with ones I do own, but The Grumpy Old Lady Cat has decided it is Cat Holding Time, which is sacred.)
Kristine

Kristine Keeney wrote:

Jay Angler wrote:
2. The Japanese do that "hand stitching thing" to attach an inner layer to the outfit - lot's of little stitches oriented in the direction that needs reinforcement - I've seen this, but never done it myself.

That particular style of stitching is called pad stitching for Western/European sewers. It's a tailoring technique that tends to be thought very "fancy" or couture and is used for making certain that layers of fabric and/or padding don't shift around while worn. ...

In Dutch it's called 'doorpitten', at least that's what I remember my teacher in costume sewing taught me.

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:

Kristine Keeney wrote:

Jay Angler wrote:
2. The Japanese do that "hand stitching thing" to attach an inner layer to the outfit - lot's of little stitches oriented in the direction that needs reinforcement - I've seen this, but never done it myself.

That particular style of stitching is called pad stitching for Western/European sewers. It's a tailoring technique that tends to be thought very "fancy" or couture and is used for making certain that layers of fabric and/or padding don't shift around while worn. ...

In Dutch it's called 'doorpitten', at least that's what I remember my teacher in costume sewing taught me.

This just keeps growing and growing (much like my squash seedlings ...)=)

I did my standard three click research bit and thanked (mentally) my maternal grandmother for her patience.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-8FJwdJW7p3s%2FT4Z8SRJA4HI%2FAAAAAAAAAng%2FlYRleKKd2mw%2Fs1600%2FIMG_1263.JPG&f=1&nofb=1

It seems, from the sites I was able to pull up (in said three click research), Doorpitten is a cross between the Italian's gift to interesting fabric design - trapunto, and the fancier forms of quilting.  

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.getasquiltingstudio.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F03%2Ftrapunto-quilt-8.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Trapunto uses some form of filler, anything from cordage to batts, to trace a raised design either in pattern or creating some form of accent. It was popular in certain circles as being a bit "higher class" then the Early American style of echo quilting as was being done in the 1980s. Usually, there is a slit made in the back of the quilt/item, and cordage or some sort of stuffing is smooshed inside the area to be accented. The little slit is then carefully stitched up. As you can see in the picture, the artist chose to use stitches to emphasize the trapunto pattern. If I remember correctly, that's not necessary, but is a nice effect.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QsniZvD_Tq0/UMHicso7cXI/AAAAAAAACgY/ODjet6Z0Dko/s1600/2_edited-1.jpg

The fancier "traced element" quilting (as differentiated from echo quilting in not have successive quilted lines that followed the initial shape, radiating outwards until it was made part of a different pattern), did just that - traced some feature of the fabric pattern of general outline of something, without the radiating quilted lines.

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fquiltsbyjen.ca%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F06%2Ffree-motion-echo-quilting-01.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Echo Quilting with it's radiated line patterns - like ripples in a pond.

https://i0.wp.com/www.atimetofreeze.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/photo.jpg

Tufted quilting where all the layers are fastened together with a pattern of thicker thread/yarn and tied, then cut. It's a casual design element, faster than many other options, and very useful.

https://sewguide.com/quilting-stitches/

This site gives a great deal of good information explained well. All about the different options for quilting. Not helpful, necessarily when talking about waistbands and the like, but useful for making certain kinds of garments and explanations about why certain styles of quilting are better than other styles for different outcomes.

Sources:
Initial Doorpitten pictures -
https://carinwijnand.blogspot.com/2012/04/hoe-leer-je-doorpitten.html
Initial Trapunto pictures -
https://www.getasquiltingstudio.com/2018/10/trapunto-shadow-trapunto-tutorial.html
Echo Quilting -
https://quiltsbyjen.ca/what-is-echo-quilting/
"Traced element" Quilting -
http://littleislandquilting.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-pinwheel-half-square-triangle-quilt.html
Tufted quilting
https://www.atimetofreeze.com/super-simple-quilt-tutorial/

3 skirts.

1st half interfaced with cotton.
2nd full interfaced with cotton for the waistband.

The third,  I plan to make as per my normal without internal support.

Kristine Keeney wrote:

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:

Kristine Keeney wrote:

Jay Angler wrote:
2. The Japanese do that "hand stitching thing" to attach an inner layer to the outfit - lot's of little stitches oriented in the direction that needs reinforcement - I've seen this, but never done it myself.

That particular style of stitching is called pad stitching for Western/European sewers. It's a tailoring technique that tends to be thought very "fancy" or couture and is used for making certain that layers of fabric and/or padding don't shift around while worn. ...

In Dutch it's called 'doorpitten', at least that's what I remember my teacher in costume sewing taught me.

This just keeps growing and growing (much like my squash seedlings ...)=)

I did my standard three click research bit and thanked (mentally) my maternal grandmother for her patience.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-8FJwdJW7p3s%2FT4Z8SRJA4HI%2FAAAAAAAAAng%2FlYRleKKd2mw%2Fs1600%2FIMG_1263.JPG&f=1&nofb=1

It seems, from the sites I was able to pull up (in said three click research), Doorpitten is a cross between the Italian's gift to interesting fabric design - trapunto, and the fancier forms of quilting.  
...

O yeah, it keeps growing. Strange, but this isn't what I would call 'doorpitten'. I meant exactly what was described before. The way interface lining is invisably hand-stitched inside a (couture) garment. But I found now the official name is 'pikeren'.
This what you show here I would call 'Zaans stikwerk'. See here: https://www.google.com/search?q=zaans+stikwerk&rlz=1C1EXJR_nlNL899NL899&sxsrf=ALeKk00vL5gDpBr-EW0W0qBufuZeCIVFOQ:1620751391459&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwibyNO3icLwAhUI2KQKHTbsCFgQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1536&bih=722

Howdy!
The images I was able to pull up, based on your link and a few others I followed, makes it seem like Zaans stikwerk is just a catch-all term for quilting techniques. Well, at least (for the every little I was able to follow) those needlework techniques practiced by the Zaan.
But, my-oh-my! Those quilted skirts and petticoats are amazing! (I did an awful lot of file sucking for future inspirations.

And then I find a page like this one: https://wilmakarels.com/quiltterm/zaans-stikwerk/  that completely throw everything off.
Either way, needlecraft seems to be a large part of every culture, with many different, similar techniques being invented by a people to both be beautiful and useful.
Would that we could easily do such today without having to be out-of-step with so much of the rest of the populace. (Or maybe that's just the morning talking...)

Best thoughts for everyone! I have learned so much (and filled so many research slots) in the past few days.  Thank you!