suggestions needed

I'm disabled and can not get down on the floor or kneel to pin a quilt top. I do have one of those PVC type floor model quilt frames for hand quilting but machine quilting would not work on that. I do not have any large enough tables to tape down the backing and my bed is not any help as it is a waterbed (the old fashion kind). Any suggestions on how to pin a queen size quilt or should I try basting it on the frame and move it accordingly?

Thanks, Dorothy F DeFuniak Springs, FL

Reply to
Dorothy
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Well, it *is* possible to pin baste a quilt sandwich on a table as small as a tv tray. You just have to shift it around a lot. The easiest way is to use those big black binder clips from the office supply store- you'll need about 16-20 of them. If the table is too thick, then use Sandy's brilliant idea of the clamps for picnic tablecloths.

Mark the center of the top, batting and backing with a safety pin and then pin/mark the midpoint of all the four sides of each layer. Then lay the backing right side down on the largest table you can find that will not be hurt by pin scratches- do NOT use your good dining room table- any old card table, ping-pong table, hunk of plywood or tv tray will work- but the larger and taller the better. Use the clamps to hold the backing in place on the table top- the backing should lay smooth and taut but don't pull it so tight that it is stretched..

Then lay the batting on next, smoothing it over the backing. Match the center point and the midpoint on each of the four sides- your backing and batting should be *at least* 4-5 inches larger than the top on all sides to allow for any minor shifting, etc. Lay the quilt top, right side up, on the batting, smoothing and matching as you go. The start pinning in the center and spiral out to the edges of the table top- make sure there are no pins between the layers. Your pins should be no further apart than the width of your hand.

Remove the clamps and shift the sandwich in one direction- then clamp and smooth again. Pin spiraling outwards from the area already pinned, smoothing as you go. Work your way around the entire sandwich by shifting and clamping it as needed. Eventually you will have the whole thing pin basted.

Stop and rest and stretch often. You do not have to do it all in one marathon session. Then you can hand quilt on your frame (No- machine quilting would not work with your PVC frame) or with a hoop. Or machine quilt- either with a walking foot or try the "horribly fun" experience of free motion machine quilting. It's a HOOT!

Good luck and ask more questions if you need.

Reply to
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Find a school, church, community center or quilt store with 8' long folding tables. Ask to use the space when it is not in regular use. Invite two or three friends to help. (up to five is OK but more get in each other's way) They don't have to be quilters. Preferably one of them should be tall. Use two tables for a twin and three tables for a queen. Push the tables together with long sides touching. Try to find tables that are exactly the same height. (At my church that is the real challenge in any basting job.) Use blue painter's tape to secure the backing to the table. Make sure it is drum tight. Start in the center (see why you need at least one tall person?) Use either safety pins or basting thread to secure all three levels. Try not to lean on the quilt while you are pinning (thread basting) as this moves the quilt.

Some long arm quilters will baste a quilt on their machine. There is a basic fee but it is less than quilting the entire quilt and you have the joy of doing the actual quilting.

My >I'm disabled and can not get down on the floor or kneel to pin a quilt

Reply to
Susan Laity Price

There is a method for working on a wall....I cannot give you details but years ago I saw this in a magazine ...the quilter had no horizontal space so she pinned on the vertical, hung on a wall..... Mauvice in central WI

Reply to
Mauvice in central WI

Hey Dorothy

Have you thought of your local senior center. They have large tables usually used for lunches and such. Maybe they even have a quilting class or guild that could help you with the sandwiching and basting of your quilt.

I use my local center for sandwiching a quilt. They help me put two long tables together and I can sit and thread baste or pin baste.

Most even have transportation to and from the center. Just a thought. Hope it helps.

Kate T. South Mississippi

Reply to
Kate T.

I DO use my good dining room table -- an old oak table that belonged to my grandparents. I have refinished it with a good polyurethane and I haven't noticed any scratches from the pins. But then I am not particularly protective of my table. I figure I can always refinish the top or simply brush on another coat of the polyurethane. Whether or not you use your good table depends on the finish of the table and how protective you want to be of it.

Julia > Then lay the

Reply to
Julia in MN

I'm glad you mentioned this, Leslie, as you saved me a lot of typing to explain it. LOL! One further note: Harriet Hargrave explains this method with accompanying pictures in her _Heirloom Machine Quilting_ -- just in case you have access to that in addition to Leslie's excellent instructions. :)

Reply to
Sandy

I'm with Leslie, mine always get pinned in sections, although fortunately I don't need to resort to tv trays. Not disabled, but might become so if I had to crawl around on my knees very much! Roberta in D

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

Reply to
Roberta Zollner

When I have to pin on a "good" table surface, I place my cutting mat under the quilt. You can feel it throught the quilt sandwich and with a bit of wiggling, you can move it around while you pin.

Reply to
Susan Torrens

I pin my large quilts in 'parts,' usually 1/4 of each quilt at a time, on the living room table (with one of those cardboard cutting pads underneath). I rearrange the sections as I'm done with them to go on to the next one.

-Irene

Reply to
IMS

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