Holice

you can baste a king size quilt on a card table. Just center each piece then baste that section; pull the next unbasted section over the card table. Then pull right, left, top bottom and baste until all is completed. No need to lay it out full on the floor or table.

callie8799

I take it to work and put it together after hours or at lunchtime

Up North

I do mine in my hall on the wall and I pin baste.[ATTACH=CONFIG]365101[/ATTACH]

Neesie

I use the Elmer's School Glue. It's a heck of a lot cheaper then the basting spray and works wonderfully. Also, per advice of another QB member, I lay out the batting first, then glue the backing to it. Once dry, I flip it over and glue the front.

I've only done this, with the Warm & White batting. Not sure it'd work, with poly batting.

cizzors

Garage floor with a shower curtain or two.

BellaBoo

I like Sharon Shamber's method when I have a large quilt to baste. I use straight pins and Pinmoors. Fast and no pin pricks!

audsgirl

I do something similar to Jingle. I use my cutting table which is about 40" by 60" and don't usually make anything larger than around double bed size. I center the quilt back on the table and fasten it down, then add the other parts and smooth them down. After basting the middle, I unclamp and move the whole piece left or right. Most of the time I am able to get the rest of that side onto the table. Repeat the clamping and pinning. Then do the opposite side the same way. Once the center is done, I turn the quilt 90 degrees so most of the top is now on the table. Continue the process and then do the bottom the same way. I can't get down on my knees to do it, and most of the house is carpeted (this is Minnesota, after all!) So this works for me.

117becca

I also use the Susan Schamber method and learned not to worry about the wrinkles because they do quilt out because you're stretching the fabric as you quilt.

AshleyR

I tried something different the other day. I was in a very big hurry. I had washed and dried the backing but hadn't pressed it yet.

I "commandeered" some very large, flat boxes from work (we ordered 3 of the floor mats for office chairs and when I saw the boxes they were in, I wrote "DIBS" on them!) and laid 2 of them on the floor. I had to use my bedroom floor and close the door to keep the critters out.

I put the backing down and sprayed some starch on it, then put the batting down. Then I sat down right in the middle of it, and smoothed it out. I didn't take too long and didn't get overly obsessive about it. So far, so good. My knees weren't hurting, and that's what mattered to me. I sprayed more starch on the batting and put the top on, sat on the quilt, smoothed, etc.

Then I flipped it over, and it looked like a wrinkle convention happened on the backing. No problem, because I didn't take much time to really do it, so, I started tugging and messing with it, and then I remembered the "board method". I left 1/2 of the backing where it was and rolled up the other half on a board that I had (hand quilt frame). I re-sprayed starch on the batting and un-rolled the backing/board and pressed it as I went. Flipped it around and did the same to the other side (my iron cord wouldn't reach!). Ta da! Turned out really really well.

Turned the quilt right side up, and pressed the top and put safety pins to hold it every square. I didn't have a whole lot of faith with using starch, but I didn't want a thousand pins either.

It held together really really well and didn't take as long as I thought it would, but my knees were starting to hurt. Should have put my knee pads on! The cats weren't even scratching at the door! I am almost finished with the quilting, and I haven't found any puckers on the back. I don't know that this method would be a good one if I basted today and waited 6 months to quilt it, but it sure went from floor to sewing machine just fine! And I couldn't tell that using the cardboard as an ironing board hurt my tile vinyl floor any.

I figured if quilters could use Elmers Glue, then I'd give spray starch a try. $1/can. Oh! I'm going to post this on that thread, too!!

QM

Many churches have meeting rooms with folding "banquet" tables that can be pushed together for this purpose. My town's senior center is that place local quilters use.

With lap sized quilts, I drape them over my own table, using gravity to help me....along with a lot of smoothing by hand.