Basting the 'Sandwich'

I most often use fusible batting, with basting tacks (from the new, tiny gun) around the edge - just in case. I mostly make wall hangings and such, so they don't need to be soft, and the fusible lies beautifully flat. When I make a cot quilt or anything else hat needs a more snuggly batting, I will use my microtack(h) gun. I started with one of the original sized 'guns', but this micro one is fantastic. The two main complaints about the 'original' were that the needle left large holes (and sometimes actually damage the fabric/split thread), and that the 'stem' of the tack was too long, and allowed for movement. The tiny one has answered these concerns. . In message , Edward W. Thompson writes

i'm guessing you mean for machine quilting it. if you use safety pins on a large quilt you've the added weight to contend with. if you do use these, dont close the pins til you've got them all in, in case theres some need to adjust. pin about a fist apart and consider where you intend to quilt so some of it can be done without removing the pins in mid-stitch. just something to consider. i prefer thread basting, large or small. thats just me tho. takes time but if you use up old cheap thread in a colour that contrasts a lot with the background it will be easiser to remove. it weighs nothing in comparison to pins too. the smell of dinner cooking is wafting out here and into my nose so i'm a bit distracted and cant think of more now. fwiw, jeanne

I use safety pins, about an inch long in brass. And lots of them, about 4" apart over the whole surface. I like them because:

-easy to use

-easy to remove when machine quilting, which is what I mostly do

-thread basting is incredibly tedious so I tend to make the stitches too large, and I hate having to rethread the needle

-pins can be recycled many times before they become too dull to use. And I will keep on using them regardless of which method wins the poll! Roberta in D

"Edward W. Thompson" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I do both thread basting and pin basting, but probably pin basting has become dominant---the primary difference, to me, between the two is that pin basting tends to be *faster*. Spray seems to me a bit gunky on the needle, especially as a hand quilter, and the gun and I just have never really hit it off---although I have in fact tried all four methods, as well as no-baste on a three rail floor frame.

I would, however, throw in the caveat that if you expect it to *sit unquilted* any length of time, I'd thread baste or gun baste: spray's apt to change its characteristics, and even if you think you don't have much humidity, pins are apt to rust in the quilt--and stain the fabric--if left a long time. (Not to mention that you likely have only just so many pins, and that ties up a good many of them.....)

The other caveat I have with pin basting if you hand quilt has to do with putting the quilt on whatever frame you use (I use a floor hoop, currently): be careful of pins that are right at the hoop or other fastener. You'll likely want to remove them so that they don't get pulled and rip fabric.

--pig

I use larger size safety pins for the bigger quilts and spray basting for small ones (wall hanging size).

My reasoning is totally self-serving -- LOL -- I've got arthritis in my hands, and pins & spray are easier for me to deal with than thread basting.

-Irene

Careful there, Jeanne. You could get in trouble with using contrasting color thread for basting. When I was first learning to smock, I had the local heirloom shop do the pleating for me. This was before I had my very own pleater. They used bright orange and lime threads to pleat. When I removed the threads after smocking, there were bright orange and lime stripes where the dye in their threads had discolored the little white dress. That was at least 20 years ago but a lesson I won't ever forget. Polly

Roberta, have you found a good source for pins? Mine have become dull too. How I would love to have some fine, sharp ones. Polly

When putting together the sandwich, I spray a little between each layer. Not much, just a bit. I then pin it with the funny shaped quilt pins. I close them, I know some people leave them open, but I tend to make bed sized quilts. I have basted quilts, and still do a little before pinning if I have a heavy quilt I am trying to pin, but just basting tends to make puckers for me. To each his own I say.

It depends on how I am going to quilt the quilt. If I am machine quilting, I like to pin baste. I have colored covers on my pins so that I can see them. Helps then they fall on the floor or when I am finished quilting so that I don't leave them in. If I am going to handquilt, then I baste so the thread does not get tangled with the pins. This can be a problems since I am quilting my second queen sized whole cloth. It has had some buckling which I really hate when that happens.

Debbi in SO A

Edward W. Thomps> Can I initiate some discussion on the preferred way to secure the

I would use basting safety pins if you are planning to machine quilt it yourself. If you are hand quilting, then you would use thread......and a good idea for that is the dissolving thread. If it's a small type quilt or wallhanging, then spray baste is ok..... I haven't used one of the guns so I can't comment on that.

The important thing is to get good, smooth layers without any tightness or puckers.

Good luck! ~~~~~~~ Laurie G. in CA

I use the spray and then large safety pins and being a new quilter I have found that this works good with even the big quilts or small wall hangings.

For basting any size quilt, I use exclusively 505 spray adhesive. I gave up thread and pins long ago. I machine quilt on a Juki or my Bernina, I have never had any problem with the sandwich shifting or the spray gumming up the needle.

I use basting spray and curved safety pins on all of my quilts so far and have had no shifting problems as a result. I use the pins at 2"-4" intervals as the pattern seams permit. I don't do free motion quilting so that may cause a different basting requirement. For straight stitching and walking foot joining that is what works for me. This is on large bed quilts and one child crib quilt. so far. A total of 7 quilts.

My 2 cents.

John

Hi Patti, the regular basting tacks are long enough to reach down and back up to the surface of a quilt sandwich which means that the tack is tighter than usual and does not move. It is also a benefit when removing the tacks since both T-ends are on top of the quilt and there is nothing left underneath to find later. I have found that the gun is more useful to price items for my craft shows than it is to tack a quilt - but in a pinch, I have used the gun when I've run out of safety pins. My problem with the plastic tacks is that I have found them to be problematic during the quilting process - the needle (a) sews through the plastic (b) bends and jumps resulting in a longer stitch (c) the plastic tack is harder to remove than a safety pin when quilting towards it. After working on the Navan church quilt and buying a larger supply of safety pins - I now have enough pins to use for any 'normal' sized quilting project. jennellh (change the mail to news)

Here's my twocents...

Thread basting - I love it but then I like hand sewing a whole lot. I use this mostly for hand quilting though when I started quilting I used it for machine quilting to and never had any problems.

Safety pins - hate 'em. I know, I am way in the minority on this one, but that's ok, more pins for the rest of you. Cumbersome to do, HEAVY for large quilts (500 pins are not light weight when coupled with the weight of a large quilt) A pain to adjust out of the way when quilting. I'm a klutz so stabbing myself is not uncommon.

Spray basting - love it for machine quilted projects. Too sticky on the needle for hand quilting.

Basting gun - I haven't tried this for fear I will clip my quilt when cutting off the plastic tabs (see klutz comment above - I'm a girl who knows her limitations!)

Fusible batt - not on your list but my very favorite method of basting for machine quilting. Hobbs is the brand I use. Easier than even spray basting with out the worry of overspraying or the smell of the spray. Re-positionable and re-ironable (ok, likely not a word but you know what I mean) if something peels apart you can press it again to secure. I find it too sticky for hand quilting though.

marcella

Sadly no. I bought about 3 gazillion way back when, occasionally toss out dull ones, and there are still lots, at least 2 gazillion. So I'm hoping they will last a while yet. They came in a box weighing a kilo IIRC, and cost about 250 Danish kroner, which was then about $30. Seemed dreadfully expensive to me then, but I'm still using them after about 15 years! And I quilt a lot. We'll be visiting Denmark this summer, and I plan to have a look in the shop the pins came from. Roberta in D

"Polly Esther" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

I only do machine quilting. So I find that safety pins - the CURVED ones - work very well. I take them out as I quilt. (as a bonus I like how the quilt gets more and more cuddly with the removal of the pins) Allison

Edward W. Thomps> Can I initiate some discussion on the preferred way to secure the

I'll "second" Allison. I've also found that the curved pins are easier to put in. I've also found a neat "non-quilting tool" to be handy - especially when my arthritis acts up: There's a little scraper used to scrape off the boxes or numbers when playing the lottery or bingo - used upside down, it helps to push up and open the pin. (Gotta love those "Senior" Fairs with all the cheapo give-aways!!!) ME-Judy

Howdy!

As the Gershwins said, "It ain't necessarily so..."

Pin baste, hand quilt, every quilt in my world. ;-P

R/Sandy