It seemed like everyone hates the process of basting quilts the *most* ... so I was wondering, what is YOUR preferred method of basting? It seems that there's oodles of techniques out there, so what works best for YOU?
For me, I usually do the REALLY time-consuming method of hand-basting with thread (usually whatever hideous thread color I've found hiding in my thread box - the better for it to stand out while I'm hand-quilting) ... starting at the exact center and basting toward the corners. I think that once I'm done, I've used more thread to baste than I do in the quilting itself. Lots of work, but no wrinkles. No wrinkles, but lots of back pain the next day ...
Connie, I vote against basting with a hideous, outstanding thread. Long ago, back before I owned a pleating machine, the heirloom shop would pleat fabric for smocking. They preferred black or neon bright orange for their pleater threads. More than once, the color from the holding threads would rub off and be impossible to remove. Truly impossible. It might not be a problem with some fabrics and threads but you have been warned. Don't make me come up there. Polly
"SewVeryCreative" I usually do the really time-consuming method of hand-basting with
Polly: Thanks for pointing this out. I vaguely recall reading about the issue of bright or dark basting thread color rubbing on fabric ... but cannot cite source. I generally use pins. Yesterday I basted a lap quilt with pins, using regular 'banquet tables' at church. I didn't bother to raise the height as the quilt is relatively small. For a large quilt I would elevate the tables. Pat in wet Virginia
For large quilts I do lap-quilting of chunks ranging from 2' by 2' to
4' by 4', and those are easy to assemble and to baste on my dining room table. When they are all quilted I do the final assembly of the quilt, again using the table.
In addition to all the basting methods already mentioned, you can hire a long arm quilter to baste the quilt. They will stitch a big grid of large stitches that should be easy to remove. The cost should be considerably less than having them do the quilting for you. I may do this if I ever hand quilt another bed size quilt.
Julia in MN
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On Fri, 1 Feb 2008 07:24:00 -0600, "SewVeryCreative" wrote:
Well that depends.
For the average quilt that I am going to machine quilt I pin baste. If I am planning to hand quilt, I will pin strategicly and then thread baste. Otherwise sure as anything I will wedge a pin in the hoop and have to fight with it.
Because I want to get the basting done quickly (4 cats, an autistic child) I tend to be terribly extravagant with backing and batting. And try to get as much done at a go as I can. I used to baste on hardwood, but have taken to doing it on the thin carpet the landlord insisted on putting in one of the rooms upstairs. First I lay out the backing which has been cut a whole two inches larger than the top in both directions. When it is good and flat I pin it to the carpet around the edges.Then I roll the batting on and flatten that out. I line the batt up so there is about a quarter or eighth inch border of backing on two sides and pin the three sides there is backing showing at. Then and only then do I trim the fourth side to the same narrow fringe of backing, and pin that. Very seldom does the third side need trimmed. Usually I have to sort out how to add batting to that side. Generally I just butt the batting up, pin it, and connect it with gentle lingerie stitching. Just enough to make sure it is not going anywhere. Then I can finish trimming and pin the last edges. Now I put the top on, flatten it out and pin the corners and the centers of the sides with safety pins, up to this point every thing has been big straight pins. So then I start in the middle and first pin the grand X, then the center cross. Then I do the wedges so defined, in opposite pairs. I think that it is probably a hang over from years of thread basting to do it so. That is usually how I thread baste as well unless there is some reason, usually to do with the planned quilt pattern, to do it in a spiral out.
Obiously bitty things like crib or cot quilts are much faster and easier to do, but I do pretty much the same thing on them.
I've just done this with two lap quilts for us. It was a marvellous release to send them off and get them done. It was definitely affordable - though the postage was quite high! But, I was in a log jam, and had to do something! This particular quilter does actually advertise that she will baste a quilt. . In message , Julia in MN writes
Wet? You think you've got wet? It's so wet here in the Swamp that you could go outside, pour out a glass of water and it would just hang mid-air. Polly
Shortly after I started quilting, DH bought me the 'Quilter's Table' from Keepsake Quilter. I'm relatively short (5' 2") and I actually find it a little high for my tastes but it is a gem. Folds down to about 12" wide for storage as I work in our spare room. I center the backing, clamp to the edges w/large binder clips, center the batting and clip some more then repeat the process w/top. Takes some adjusting and repositioning most times but it is pretty stable. Then I usually pin baste. I've thread basted a couple of quilts (I mainly do bed-sized). Overall I think pin-pasting is alot quicker. I recently thread basted a lap quilt that a friend and I are working on together so we didn't have to swap pin stashes. I think it took as long to thread baste that one as it did to pin baste the queen size I'm currently quiting!
I always have a complete nightmare with this part and stuggle to keep it all flat. However someone on here recommended taping the backing to the floor then the batting on top of that then finally the top. I use curved pins to pin it all together. Ok, so far I've only tried it on a 4ft square quilt but it worked well - and stayed flat!! morag
I use a table that I center the back on, then the batting, then the top. I always make the backing and batting at least 8 inches bigger than the quilt. Then, starting in the middle, I either pin baste or hand baste. I do more pinning now since I do machine quilting.
The other way I have used was when I had a huge design wall--2 sheets of insulation board. I pinned all three layers up and pin basted it. That quilt came out nicely.
If I had the do them on the floor, I'd give up quilting!!
I've a new huge kitchen table that I am going to use this time...BAsting on the floor is the pits. How do you keep from scratching the table with the pins? I'd hate to scratch this new cherry table !! Mary
You can try putting your cutting mat under the area you're pinning, slide around as necessary. Or cover the table surface with a heavy plastic tablecloth and tape it down securely before you organize the backing. Roberta in D
"MB" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...
Mary, to protect that beautiful table, you might look around for the sort of cutting mat made for dressmakers. It is cardboard and folds up sort of accordion style to store easily in a closet or behind a door. I have a pair that have seen heavy traffic through the years. They're also pretty good protection from gluey dribbly craft projects. A heavy flannel-backed plastic cloth beneath it will help too. Polly
I refinished my grandmother's old oak table with a polyurethane varnish and don't protect it from much of anything, including pin basting. I haven't noticed any scratches on it in the 7+ years I've been using it. Grandma and Grandpa were married 100 years ago last November, so I think the table must be about 100 years old.
Julia in MN
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