Today’s Topic: Four Ways to Baste a Quilt
Welcome to Week Eighteen of The Better Machine Quilt-a-long based on my book 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting.
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Good Morning, Quilters!
I am back from a fabulous week of sunshine and sea shelling on Sanibel Island, Florida. I had a lovely time soaking in the sunshine and rejuvenating on the white sandy shores with my sisters-in-law. We thoroughly enjoyed Florida hospitality while visiting the Shell Museum, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and the Edison and Ford winter estates. One of the highlights of our trip was a ride on the Thriller Boat where a pod of dolphins swam alongside us, jumping and playing in our wake! And of course, no vacation is complete without checking out the local quilt shop. We recommend Three Crafty Ladies-a small but very complete quilt and craft shop!
Photos and sea inspired tutorials to follow…
(NOTE-Today is Prime Day on Amazon…Great deals all day. Please support LKQ by using the link above for all of your shopping–at no additional cost–Thank you!)
For now, back to week 18 of our 25 week QAL based on my book, 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting.
Quilt Basting is VERY Important
To be honest, basting quilts is one of my least favorite parts of quilting. Basting is often the rate-limiting factor in completing my quilts.
However, it is a necessary evil and an important one.
Basting improperly will lead to very disappointing results! Do not rush through this step. And whenever possible, recruit a friend. Two people can baste two quilts faster than one person can baste one quilt. (How’s that for quilting math?)
Four Ways to Baste a Quilt
Over the years, I’ve used four methods for basting my quilts. For all four methods, the quilt layers must be smoothed out, secured tautly to a surface and then layered. The difference in the methods is how the layers are adhered to one another.
The four ways to baste a quilt are: Thread, Iron, Pin and Spray.
Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of each method.
Thread basting
After the layers are secured on a table or floor, they are stitched together with long basting stitches.
Pros: This method works best for hand quilting. There are no pins to interfere with hooping the quilt and threads can remain in the quilt for years (It took me four years to hand quilt a queen size quilt!)
Cons: This is the most time consuming method. The thread gets caught in free motion quilting.
Overall: Best for hand quilting, avoid for free motion quilting
Iron/Steam Basting
Layers of a small quilt with cotton batting may be adhered by steam pressing.
Pros: Very quick!
Cons: Only suitable for small quilts (under 24 x 24 inches). Only works with cotton and some blends of batting–test first!
Overall: My favorite method for small quilts. Add pins in each corner so the backing doesn’t flip in on the edges.
Pin Basting
Layers of the quilt are secured on a table and then pinned with safety pins.
Pros: Quicker than thread basting. Works for any size quilt. Safety pins hold the quilt very securely so no shifting occurs. Pins are easy to remove while quilting.
Cons: Pins add weight to the quilt. More time consuming than spray basting.
Spray Basting
Quilt top and backing are sprayed with adhesive and layered.
Pros: Quickest method for large quilts. No pins which add weight to the quilt. No need to remove pins while stitching.
Cons: If you don’t have a large open wall or table, this method can be awkward. May require a step stool or ladder. More likely to have layers shift than pinning. The entire quilt must be pressed from the top and the back after layering…again, somewhat awkward. Requires use of a spray adhesive.
My Favorite Quilt Basting Methods
When I am making a small quilt with cotton batting, I always Iron/Press Baste.
If the quilt is small and I’m not using cotton batting, I usually spray baste.
For large quilts, I usually pin baste, though I think spray basting is an excellent option and one I need to practice.
This Week
- How to Pin Baste a Quilt, Step by Step
- Preparing Small Pieced Quilts for upcoming lessons
- Quick Halloween Ideas
What about YOU?
Do YOU enjoy quilt basting?
Which is YOUR favorite method for quilt basting?
Do YOU have any tips or tricks for making it easier?
Are YOU a sea shell collector/artist?
We’d LOVE to hear!
YOUR Relaxed and Rejuvenated Quilter,
Lori
PS…Tom doesn’t like basting either!
Tutorial available on BERNINA We All Sew HERE
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy Quilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to LKQ. For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com. Thank you!
Visit my Etsy shop: LoriKennedyShop for all of my books! They are ALL bestsellers!
61 comments
Kathleen Davidson
Hi Lori, I use Elmer’s Washable School Glue for basting. It is similar to spray basting, but much cheaper and no fumes.
Teresa K Madigan
I am a beginner hand quilter. I enjoy lap quilts because they go quicker and I can finish one without forgetting about it. I found that basting is the best for me. When I try a new creative design I literally bast the design on with the hoop and then go back and do my hand long stitch. I have never tried the sprays because I do not have space to lay out anything large.
Karen Moore
I use the 505 spray and place my quilt tops or backs on the lawn or even on the snow to receive the spray. I fold the back or top to bring it into the house and tape it to the table or wall. Then fold the batting in 4ths and smooth it onto the back one section at a time. Then add the top in the same manner. If the quilt is quite large I find a friend to help. I pin the corners and edges and have no difficulty with tucks doing free motion quilting.
Conelhero Leila
Hello Lori and quilting friends
I’ve tried it with spray and I didn’t like it, I found it more difficult and time consuming, and not to mention that the place needs to be ventilated and the spray can make furniture or floors sticky.
I have already stitched a large bedspread and I liked the safety pins, which we can take off during the quilting, I also liked using the kitchen table, we set up the sandwich and we are going to pin it little by little and with a helper this process really becomes faster.
I finished putting together a king bedspread top today, I’m going to use a cotton blanket for quilting, and I made nine patches already thinking about square flowers, I can’t wait to start quilting.
Then I will post a picture in the group of how she looked.
A big hug from Brazil
Jill Katzung
I use Pin-Moor stoppers on straight pins for basting. It saves my hands so much during the basting and they are so easy to remove as you quilt. There is some cost initially but they last forever! I have made the inexpensive knock-off from pentel erasers but I’m too cheap, cut them too small and I get poked. I haven’t noticed the weight particularly and they stay in place well. I was planning to spray baste a throw sized quilt for my daughter but I’m having second thoughts now.
Janice Potvin
I like using pool noodles to roll each of the three layers separately. Then I can unroll and spray a section at a time. I have six noodles, so if it’s a large quilt I can hold two noodles together with a dowel or paper towel rod inside the ends that connect. There are Youtube videos about this method. Oh, my dining room table extends to 8 feet which helps. I open the patio door for ventilation and use newspaper or cardboard along the edges to prevent overspray.
Claire Watts
I have had success in the past with spray basting with 505; wearing a mask. However, recently I used a homemade formula of spray starch and the layers weren’t sticking together so I used commercial spray baste – not 505 and had a difficult time ditching the quilt with way too many skipped stitches. After trying every topstitch needle I own without good results I tried the Bernina 130/705 H Pro Universal and it was the only needle that could penetrate the glue. I think I’m ready to return to pin basting or learn how to use the thread basting option on my Bernina Q20.
azuliverdepatchworkandquilting
I learned to thread basting in order to keep the three layers together, but a month ago, for the first time I used safety pins for machine quilted.
Karen
Basting is a real chore and my least favorite step. I pin baste but am interested and will investigate some that were mentioned here.
JWinMaine
What about fusible batting, such as Hobbs? Does anyone have any good or bad experience with it? I tried it years ago and I don’t recall what I thought so I am going to try it again. Ann Peterson sprays all of her quilts and says the Sullivans and 505 do wash out. I tried it with a sample machine quilting piece and really liked not having darned pins getting in the way or catching on my foot.
Sanibel is a lovely place to visit. Really enjoyed Ding Darling and Three Crazy Ladies. I’m happy to hear they are still in business — it’s been a few years since I was there.
mauibabequilter
I tried the fusable recently on a fat quarter practice piece and it made the sampler really stiff. I also didn’t hold very well. I don’t know if it was because it was an older fusable that I had saved or if it didn’t fuse well for other reasons. I don’t know if it relaxes after the quilt is washed or not.
Nelwyn
I tried that recently and it didn’t work for me at all. I followed the directions but it just wouldn’t adhere. And I got extremely hot while trying to do it – front and back, little by little! I had to end up pin basting after all!
maryannrohrer
This is very good timing for this subject. I just finished a quilt top for a friend who is recovering from a stroke. I have been agonizing how to quilt it. Just used the floor method with pins to keep it together. I have finished the in the ditch quilting and it turned out pretty well. Now have to decide how to quilt the white areas. I wish I could post a picture of it. Blue and white, Plaza is the pattern
I have been extremely hesitant to try the spray basting out of fear of overspray, chemical addition to the quilt, and what the build up of the spray would do to my beautiful new Bernina! I would love to hear from long time quilters who have used the spray…does it hunk up your machines over time?
Suzanne
I’ve used basting spray for a few years now. I spray, then add some very long machine stitches to fully stabilize my quilt.
I have very mild asthma (no meds required) and Tailor’s brand spray doesn’t bother me, even if I spray it indoors. it has very little odor, it’s not necessary to use it heavily to baste your quilt well and overspray can be controlled with a piece of cardboard held at right angles to the quilt when you get near the edges. You could wear a mask or might also wish to have a small fan on low speed to blow the excess away from you as you work. And it does wash out nicely.
In order to harm your machine, you’d have to open up it up and spray directly into the mechanics – so no worries there; it doesn’t gum up the needle either.
However, if you have any sort of breathing disorder, severe allergies or lung problems, you might not wish to use it.
The choice is yours of course but perhaps you should try it once or twice on smaller quilts.
I hope this has been helpful.
Arvilla Trag
I once used a brand of spray adhesive (I forget the name) that actually gummed up my machine needle so bad the bobbin thread stuck to it and the ensuing mess resulted in language not suitable for cats, let alone children. I have never had that problem with 505. As far as the fumes go, I am a a child of the 60s, a few more fumes do not bother me at all.
sunnysewsit
I have tried Sharon Schambers’ method; I have tried pins, I have tried spray basting (but that has to be done in my garage with the door open, because I have asthma, and the spray is irritating) — Best method for me is having a long-arm quilter baste my large quilts! Compared to the inconvenience and pain of crawling on the floor or trying to fold it on a table into quadrants, it is worth it, and they do not charge that much.
Patti Scronce
How much is the long arm basting?
Marty A
If you can get it from $20-$60, I would go for it…provided you don’t have to wait too long. In my area, unfortunately, they want to charge you by the inch as if they are quilting it…Ends up being $100-$200 depending on quilt size……
Marta
My local Long Arm lady charges anywhere from $20 to $60 depending on size of quilt.
mauibabequilter
What a great idea!
Suzanne
First I spray baste lightly to tack everything down and press the quilt. My sewing machine will make very long stitches – up to 20 millimeters. So I use a 10 or 15mm stitch to baste, starting in the middle and working carefully outward in a large sloppy spiral, smoothing out the quilt I go. Sounds goofy I know, but it works rather well. The only downside is that long stitches can catch on my quilting foot as I FMQ. But that’s not too hard to deal with; I just snip the basting threads out of the way as I go.
Almost forgot! Tension settings have to be fairly light when basting.
Arvilla Trag
If it works it isn’t goofy. If something had to not be goofy in order to work, our species would never reproduce.
Lori Kennedy Quilts
LOL!
Mary Whitaker
Love these comments. I usually use pins and when weather is good spray baste on smaller quilts outside on the picnic table. Is there a basting spray that you can recommend that can be used inside?
Mely
Hi, I wonder if you’ve used the new Clover wonder pins . Do you like them? Any better or easier than regular quilter pins?
Mely
kate b
Yes…Wonder pins are way easier…very sharp points…which is a good thing unless you stick yourself, which I am prone to do.
Maureen B. in B.C.
I think I’ve tried every other method once, but always gravitate back to pin basting. I have an old pingpong table in my garage that I employ for this, and add a Costco folding table to its side if the quilt is longer than the pingpong table. I flip a CD into the old TV (yes, we have a TV in the garage, just for this purpose, it’s old and has a tube — I turned 70 yesterday, so I’m allowed a TV with a tube😉). When the movie’s done, usually so is the quilt, or quilts.
Maureen B. in B.C.
AND … we were on Sanibel 8 or 9 years ago. We affected the Sanibel Stoop, and came home with a shoeboxful of shells. Just amazing the various shapes. We learned the hard way to always wear pool shoes in the ocean … the Florida Conchs are terrible on bare feet. Is the Mucky Duck still going strong?
Cynthia J. Clark
We love Sanibel, too. We winter in Venice and take a drive down to Sanibel at least once each year.
Question, which link did you mean for “prime day”?
Cynthia J. Clark
Oh, and I pin baste most of my quilts!
MartyA
I thread baste using Sharon Schamber’s method. (she has videos on y-tube) I can do it by myself without having to get down on the floor. You only need two 1X4 pieces of prefinished lumber as long as your quilts width. I have a sit down machine , so am glad it adds no extra weight. You cut the thread out of your way as you quilt, so it doesn’t get in the thread. I think about where I’m going to ditch quilt as I’m basting and try to avoid those areas.
Amy Lippitt
I just watched Sharon’s video – what a great technique! I’m a spray baster and I’m thinking I could adapt Sharon’s method to work for that, too. Can’t wait to give it a try.
Martya
Yea!
Sally Acomb
I have used this method successfully as well. Saves your back and knees!
Debbie N
I recently discovered Sharon Schamber’s thread basting method after using her board basting method for a few years. I have found this method doesn’t take any more time than pinning and my quilts lie flatter, are much lighter and easier to handle on my domestic machine.
Betsy Zeigler
Ahhhhhhh Sanibel!!!! My mom’s comment as she crossed the bridge every year “ I feel like a new woman” has become my mantra as I visit now every January!! Luv 3 Crafty Ladies shop!!
Sandy
I love binding a quilt compared to basting a quilt! I pin baste and use a gadget called the Kwik Klip to close pins and open them as I machine quilt.
Marta
I enjoy binding my quilts. Actually pinning is my preferred method for basting but over time has caused me to reduce the sizes of quilts I create. My old wood drafting table is 40 X 62 and I stick to quilts only a small bit larger. I use painters tape and tape the edges of the backing layer down on an end and a side. Then I smooth the batting in place over the backing and eventually smooth the top of the quilt. I start the pinning in corner where the tape holds the backing and smooth and pin in a grid pattern until all is pinned. Then I untape, flip the whole thing over, and smooth and re-pin as I deem essential. Works good so far ! Maybe the Kwik Klips would save my fingernails from unpinning damage during the quilting step!
Lynn B
So did you hear the story about the husband who volunteered to finish up pin basting a quilt while his wife made dinner? When he was finished she asked what took him so long and he said all the pins were crooked and he had to straight them first.
Arvilla Trag
I KNEW mine was seeing someone on the side!
Suzanne
I laughed so hard it hurt! Gonna share it with my quilting buddies.
Janice Pound
If you’d like to try something new that will eliminate the fumes and overspray problem of basting spray, check out the YouTube video by Alex Anderson for a powder called Free Fuse basting powder. She provides a demo of how to use the product – haven’t tried it, but it does look interesting.
Josie LCPC
I just used Free Fuse for a lap quilt (about 50×60, plus the extra 3″ all around). I’m a new quilter, and this is my first project bigger than a table runner. I’m doing walking foot quilting, and have just begun, but no problems so far. There’s no odor at all, but it is a bit difficult to see the white powder once it’s sprinkled onto the batting. I think this may become my go-to method.
Jean Spenser
Please be careful with spray basting a baby quilt. Some people (like me) are really irritated by the chemicals and I’m not sure that they wash out. Babies have delicate skin but can’t tell you when something makes them itchy. Yes, pin-basting is slower and thoroughly annoying, but it does work.
I used to use a min tacker but it left large holes (that may have improved in the past 15 years) and didn’t hold the layers together well enough for machine quilting. They’d work fine for hand quilting.
kate b
I use Sulky KK2000 spray and then place the new Clover Wonder Pins in strategic
spots just to be sure. But, my largest quilt so far is 59″ x 62″ so this might not work
for larger quilts.
Rhianna Pearl
Hi Lori, I have a long massage table. I sandwich the quilt. Then, spray and pin a small portion of the top of the sandwich. Roll the top up to the pins. Roll the bat up to the top. Spray under the rolls and the portion of the back visible on the table. Roll out the back, smoothing as you go. Spray the bat visible and roll out the top, smoothing. Put a few pins, maybe 3 or 4. Move that whole section of the top off the back of the table. Repeat until the whole quilt is done. This will work for sizes up through twin. If my quilt is larger, I break it into smaller parts, as in “quilt as you go” , and seam the pieces back together after quilting.
Rhianna
Helen
I’ve tried thread, spray and pin and found pin works best for me. I had a problem with overspray with spray basting. I think you have to have a place where overspray isn’t a problem to use that method. I found thread basting didn’t hold well enough for machine quilting. You have to remove the thread ahead of your quilting and that releases the hold. My gripe with pin basting is if I get too close to the pin it is hard to unclasp. I figured out I can use a crochet hook to unclasp in those instances. I’ve used Pinmoors on flat head pins but found that with a large quilt th Pinmoors sometime get pulled off with maneuvering the quilt. I settled on safety pins and prefer the curved ones.
Linda Quilts
What size are the safety pins? I’ve had trouble with my layers shifting when I’ve tried safety pins. Do you have any tips for me? It would be wonderful if there was a video showing how to pin baste, so I could see what I might be doing wrong.
Marta
As far as bite is concerned, it depends on what type of batting I am using. Thick ones usually take up more bite than thin ones. I like to use white cotton flannel as batting in child quilts. The bite then takes up half the space inside the pin. That prevents a pinch in the fabric so much. I also do not stick the pin straight down into the top-batting-backing. I try to stick the pin at an angle..through the top, enter the batting at an angle and then through the backing at an angle.
All that is relative of course, But in my handling, it prevents a pinch or pucker around
the pin area. I will even reinsert a pin to keep the area as smooth as possible. All those details
have helped me personally do better job in the quilting/sewing stage. Make your self a practice sandwich and test your own technique. Best wishes.
Linda Quilts
Thanks, Marta 🙂 Do you take a “big bite” of the quilt with the safety pin – like as much as the pin will hold, but without distorting the fabric? Trying to picture exactly how this works to keep everything stable.
Marta
I definitely use the quilting pins made for quilting that I buy at quilting shops. There are 2 sizes I have seen on the market. I get the larger ones – they are 1 1/2 inches long, My arthritis fingers need that size. I start pinning at the border and pin every direction in a grid, no more than 6 inches inbetween pins. Like Arvilla, I decide which is my northeast corner of the quilt and then start there, progressing with pinning a few rows of pins toward the west and the south, smoothing and smoothing the layers as I go. Then expand rows of pins both directions until the whole quilt is pinned. Took me quite a few quilts to come to this method but it is well established now.
Julie
I pin baste using two banquet tables, clamps, & some painter’s tape. It’s tedious & the pins sometimes catch each other, but it seems to be the most economical as I can use the pins over & over. I only machine quilt and this works best for me. I tried fusible batting once. It was only fusible on one side so it still needed something to hold the other side.
Gwyned
I’ve done all methods of basting and some variations on them that you mentioned except spray basting. Don’t feel safe with airborne chemicals. However, recently I discovered the joys of using five layers vs. three, with the two extra layers being a fusible web. I use a fusible that is archival. It is sold by a site that caters to museums for repairing textiles in their collections. Basically, it is like Misty Fuse, but less expensive and sold in 10 yard lengths. I believe it is 60″ wide. The fusible goes between the backing and the batt and the batt and the top. Pros – inexpensive, secure, and adds a slight stiffness for better drape on the wall (I’m a fabric artist). Cons – if not careful you can securely press in wrinkles. Not suitable, because it changes the hand of the quilt, for functional quilts.
Arvilla Trag
I generally use spray basting on my larger quilts, supplemented with a very few safety pins. I do not have a big enough area to lay out the entire quilt, so I have created a method to do it in quarters with small spring clamps. I start with the “northeast quarter” of the quilt, with the rest of it hanging off the table.
I first lay the backing on the table and put a couple of clamps along one edge, the go to the other side of the table and stretch it tight and smooth before putting clamps on that edge. I spray the backing then lay the batting onto the backing – it is important to fold the batting into quarters so it can be placed one quadrant at a time. Once that is in place and smooth I remove the clamps and slide the quilt forward so I can do the “southeast” quarter of the quilt the same way. I give the spray basted half of the quilt about an hour to set, then I rotate the quilt 180 degrees and repeat the process for the other two quarters. It is important to keep a small portion of the previously spray-basted area on the table as you move to the next area. Once the entire batting is “glued” down, I repeat the entire process with the quilt top.
I also use spring clamps to keep a big quilt from slithering off the table when I am doing something near the edges, such as marking the borders; for clamping together a large stack of cut pieces that a small clip can’t handle; and for keeping the quilt from slithering off my sewing machine table while I get it in just the right position to quilt it.
Nelwyn
Thank you so much for going into detail on how you do this. I hate basting and so tried a batting that is heat basted and it was a disaster for me and didn’t work. I will try your method, sounds so doable!
Sue Muza
I wish I had this info Saturday when I finally spray basted a large quilt! It took several hours crawling on the floor. I will try your method next time! I also do some pinning around the edge of the quilt to prevent getting tangled in the layers as I quilt.
BTW basting/sandwiching a large quilt is my absolute least favorite part of quilting, well that and marking a quilt.
Judy S
Thank you for the detailed directions on how you baste a large quilt. I’m almost ready to baste a large quilt and this is very timely information that I will try.
Pat Hart
I spray baste then use a mini tracker which tacks the layers together. I use dark tacks on light, light on dark so they are easy to find when removing after quilting.
Arvilla Trag
Pat Hart – what is this mini-tacker and where do I find one? Does it leave large holes in the fabric? This sounds like a great idea!
Vickie
Long arm baste with Superior Vanish thread !
Sally Acomb
Yes, I second this!
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