frames for basting

I have a quilt frame made from PVC pipe that I use for basting. I got it at JoAnn's. Here's a picture.

Very clever of you to use that quilting frame for basting, Mary! I wonder if a person could build one from materials at the hardware store? The snap on clamping part would be the most difficult to think up a do-it-yourself material to use. Anybody got any ideas for that part? There couldn't be much cost in the PVC pipe to make one. And it cuts easily with a hack saw.... hmmmmm..... I'm going to ponder on this!

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO. where we are under a severe weather watch for Monday afternoon and evening- ice and snow and sleet and hail and strong winds- oh my!!!

Mary, my mouth is hanging open! How clever of you! I didn't even know that kind of stuff was available. THANK YOU!!!

Leslie- off to plan a basting frame and a greenhouse, and a cold frame, and.... LOL, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

You're welcome. If I had a place to put a green house, I would be planning one too.

On Feb 10, 3:47 pm, Anne Rogers wrote:

Anne, Here is what I do. I use C-Clamps at all 4 corners. The beauty of this system using long hardwood strips about 1" x 1", is that they are at least as long as the longest quilt you would use, and are infinitely variable as to size of quilt you are basting. I have an apron tacked onto each of the two end boards onto which I pin the quilt back. Then I position the side strips so that the quilt back overlaps each side piece and use the c-clamps at each corner to straighten and align the whole quilt back, until it is square. I then clamp the side of the quilt to each side board with other clamps of a non c-clamp style. They can be any kind of clamp you might have; large office paper type, or woodworking type, or other type clamps that will fit over the wooden strips and hold the fabric in place. I then stretch the fabric so that it is wrinkle free but not so tight that when released from tension, it would cause distortion of the pinned surface. This is a trial and error decision, based on experience, and would apply to any method of using a frame of any type to bin baste. It seems to be the best system I have come across that I have tried. There are probably other people who may have other ways of doing it and if they work for them, great. I think the PVC type is restricted to the size you cut the PVC and is not variable as to size of the quilt you are doing, unless you have an assortment of PVC lengths to accommodate the smaller size of quilt. That is the advantage of my way of doing it. If you always do the same size quilt, then the PVC method is probably fine.

Hope this helps,

John

John, my thought with the homemade PVC pipe frame is pin and shift and pin some more rather like I do on a table top. That way if the quilt is at least as big as the PVC frame it would work. What I am looking to eliminate is the clamping to the table top (my arthritic hands can hardly squeeze open the black binder clamps) and the inevitable scratching from the pins. I used to use my Formica topped cutting table, but I cannot pull it away from the wall in the tiny bedroom I use for sewing- and I'd still need the clamps. Pin basting is nearly impossible without access to all four sides. Rather than fool around with putting some kind of protective cover on top of the dining table, the PVC frame would take care of it all and break down for storage.

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies >> I've been reading an older book in machine quilting and it highly

Like I said, There is always another way to skin a cat. Oops, sorry all you QI's, nothing personal, or animal intended. I guess I am lucky, in that the arthritis issue has not struck that part of the body for me. Now if you want to talk about knees, I'm, your man. I am also lucky to have all of the woodworking stuff to make and the clamps to use for my method.

John

I have one of those frames too and I hand quilted the whole quilt on it. It was a sunbonnet sue quilt on my webshots under quilts. It is a full size quilt.