Quiltingboard Forums - Thread Basting My Quilt Sandwich for FMQ

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I just finished basting a quilt sandwich to get it ready for freemotion quilting on my domestic machine.

Althouth I often spray-baste on smaller quilts, when they are bigger and harder to handle, I prefer to thread-baste so everything stays in place better, and I don't have to worry about the glue coming loose and the sandwich shifting while I'm quilting.

There are a couple of key factors that I LOVE about this method of basting:

1. There is NO crawling around on the my knees involved,
AND
2. The flannel covered boards used to roll the quilt top and back onto, make even a very large quilt quite managable without any help from anyone else. (This method of rolling onto the boards will work well for spray-basting also.)

I took a series of pictures to share with you this morning as I went through the basting process:

I have 2 - 24" x 48" adjustable height folding tables I got at Sams Club for laying out quilts for basting. The first step is to lay the backing fabric face-down on the table and then position the quilt top on it, face-up. I use a little masking tape to hold the backing in place while I get the quilt top positioned. In this picture I am lining up the center of the quilt top with the center seam of the quilt backing.

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This picture shows the top and the backing in place.

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I begin by centering the first board about 4" down from the top of the quilt, then I bring the quilt top over the top of the board and smooth it in place.

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I use the second board to roll the backing, following along down the length of the quilt as I go.

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I have 2 MDF boards I have covered with flannel that I use to roll the quilt top and backing onto. As you see here, I have slid the quilt top and backing, together as a unit, so that the edge of the quilt is now at the edge of the table.

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When I get to the edge of the table, I slide the quilt farther up onto the table and continue the rolling process.

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This picture shows the first sections of the quilt top and backing rolled onto the boards

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After the top and backing are rolled onto the boards, it's time to put the batting in between....This step is a little tricky. Since you don't want the position of the backing or top to shift, you have to kind of lay the batting on the backing and re-roll the top over it.

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Then smooth the batting and top over the backing.

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In this picture, you can see the roll of backing at the back of the table, the batting in between, and the quilt top is rolled on the board that the bulk of the batting is on top of at the moment.

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Here is the quilt sandwich ready to start basting. Both the boards with the quilt top and backing are at the back of my table, and the batting is sandwiched between and hanging loosely over the back of the table.

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After all that work, it's time to break for some coffee and a lime cheesecake bar!

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I use #12 pearl cotton and a heringbone stitch to baste. (Sharon Schamber has a video on youtube of exactly how to do this basting stitch; do a seach on "Sharon Schamber basting a quilt" to find it).

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Here is the first section of basting.

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When the first section is basted, slide the boards to the front edge of the table, allowing the basted part to hang over the front edge. Then unroll another section of backing, arrange the batting on top, then unroll the quilt top over it. Then baste that section.

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Continue unrolling and basting in sections until you reach the other edge of your quilt sandwich! This large sofa throw size quilt took me a couplte of hours while I was watching a movie early this morning.

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Here's a shot of the back of the quilt. I think you can see the basting stitches here.

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And here it is, ready to FMQ.

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Wow! Thanks for sharing. Your quilt is beautiful and your directions are so precise and easy to follow. :-D

Your quilt is gorgeous. I put all my quilts on four boards and no need to pin, baste. I have a room in my basement that has nothing else in it except my boards and stands for quilting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iamquilter

Your quilt is gorgeous. I put all my quilts on four boards and no need to pin, baste. I have a room in my basement that has nothing else in it except my boards and stands for quilting.

I assume you're hand-quilting with them on a "frame"? That's how my mom used to do it too. I'm totally in awe of those of you who are such talented hand quilters!!!

I free-motion quilt mine on my domestic machine, so I have to baste first.

Since basting is my absolute LEAST favorite part of quilting (I go as far as to say I HATE HATE HATE it so much, sometimes I wonder why I even put myself thru it!), I would love to give it a try. I thread baste because I mostly hand-quilt, and just finished a queen size-shifting on a long table because I can't get on the floor any more - and have a few puckers-and it took me about 8 solid hours!! I gave up when I got to the 10" border and started pin basting-and have puckers in the border! I hope to adjust it after quilting all the center by the time I get to the borders.

Thank you for your step by step guidance. The pictures help a lot. Love the idea. I usually end up basting my quilts on my hands and knees. I love your idea but I think that I don't have enough space to accommodate. Hope to try it out though. Thank you for taking the trouble to post the pictures and to explain the process.

Love your quilt!

I don't have enough space to do this in my sewing room either. I've got two folding tables just for this purpose and I'm set up right in the middle of the living room... When I'm done basting I lower the tables to regular height and move them to my dining room to use around my sewing machine when I freemotion to support the quilt. :) Then when I'm done with that, I fold them up and put them back in the closet until I need them again.

I use this method, except I use my pins.

Any particular reason that you use mdf boards rather than wood boards? Is each board 8 plus feet long? Thanks for the great pictures and instructions.

great tute!
i agree with thread basting- that is how i always do it too. i hate dealing with all those safety pins; it all just holds together better when thread basted. i 've never had luck with the sprays, wind up still thread basting so consider it a waste of time and money...but that's just me

Quote:

Originally Posted by auntlucy

Any particular reason that you use mdf boards rather than wood boards? Is each board 8 plus feet long? Thanks for the great pictures and instructions.

I bought the mdf boards because they were much less expensive and much straighter than solid wood that I could find, and won't warp over time. In order for me to keep everything straight when rolling the top and backing on the boards, I figured I'd need perfectly straight boards to start with. It seems like 4" - 6" strips of 5/8 or 3/4 plywood would also work well if you happen to have that on hand. The flannel covering is stapled on and works a lot like a design board in that the fabric kind of naturally adheres to it when you smooth it onto the flannel; no need for any pins to hold your quilt fabric on the boards.

The boards I used here are 8 feet long, but I have a shorter, 5 foot, set that fits on my cutting table for smaller quilts. It works best to use boards that are just a little longer than your quilt is wide.

Hope this answers your questions...

I have used this method with great success. I have not put the flannel on the boards though- what a great idea. It will stop the quilt from sliding off the board. I watched the Sharon Schamber tute on UTube and now baste my quilts this way, for hand quilting or machine quilting. I got 2 sets of MDF in different lengths, at Home Depot and store them in a closet. I just use regular cotton thread for basting. This method is easy and saves crawling all over the floor.

thank you forthe instructions,your quilt is beautiful

Your quilt is beautiful, and thanks for the great instructions!

Great tute with so many helpful pics! thanks so much for sharing your way. I'll have to try it!

Beautiful quilt. Your tute is great. This is the only method I use since I saw the Sharon Schambers video on youtube.com about 2 years ago. I have severe knee problems and being able to sit at the table and baste is just wonderful.

Basting my convergence quilt

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I am brain dead this morning, what is MDF covered with flannel? Love the tute that is a great idea

Quote:

Originally Posted by duckydo

I am brain dead this morning, what is MDF covered with flannel? Love the tute that is a great idea

That is the kind of board I went to Home Depot to get, then wrapped with flannel and stapled it on to use to roll the quilt top and backing pieces on. (MDF is Medium Density Fiberboard)

I am not used to al th initials used by the quilters- what is mdf board? plus a few others I have seen. Maybe a lst of initials an d meaning would be helpful. I have basted on a table but it is time consuming. Nana-M

Great tute. Gorgeous quilt. Very easy to follow. Illsa

Quote:

Originally Posted by bj

Wow! Thanks for sharing. Your quilt is beautiful and your directions are so precise and easy to follow. :-D

I so agree with bj. Thank you. I have not sandwiched a large quilt yet.

Sometime would you do a tutorial on FMQ with your home machine? Your directions for basting are so precise and helpful. :thumbup:

Thank you for the information, I am 70 years old and long past the time where I could kneel on the floor. Plus room area is a problem, but your pictures really show how a large quit could be done in a rather small space. I like the idea of thread basting you just have to cut and pull threads instead of unpining all those pins. Thank you againl

Not only is your quilt beautiful, but your method of basting is close to my heart. I'm slowly converting to spray basting, but can see your point on such a large project. Love your setup. Since I'm just up the "hill" from you (in Colorado) if you're in the neighborhood could you stop by and help me set up?

I havent tried this method, but am sure going to give it a whirl. I have a carpenters star quilt (Christmas fabrics) that I am going to hand quilt and planned on using this method to baste. Great tute. Are you going to the quilt show in Phoenix at the end of this month?? I will be there and we are getting a meet and greet planned. Im from Mesa.
Again, thanks for the wonderful tutorial you have shared.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anicra

Love your quilt here. this is really beautiful. what is the name of your pattern. thank you.

Thank you for sharing your technique! And by the way, your quilt is beautiful!

I did watch the video on You Tube but your directions are better and I like seeing the bigger boards. Thank you!
Ann from Montana

This is how I baste my quilts but do not have felt on the boards, great idea. I will have to get some felt. Thanks

I use this method too after watching the Sharon Schamber tute on Youtube which I'm sure was recommended by this board. I haven't covered my boards with flannel but probably will after seeingyour tute. I've just been taping the fabric down with painters tape. On smaller quilts I spray baste and haven't had any problems but on the last biggish one I basted with washable thread. OK but the thread breaks very easily so you need to be gentle and use short lengths. When FMQ I could just ignore it which I liked very much and it did just disappear on washing. So on balance I think I'll use my washable thread again.

I agree! The video seemed clear, but your instructions with pictures really spell it out. Thanks!

I have used this method for quite some time now and found I had less trouble if I wrapped the battinh on a piece of PVC just a little longer than the fabric. It sits neatly between the front and backing. Thanks for the reminder. I also dont cover my boards, so I may give this a try. :^)

seems like a very efficient method - will have to give it a try.. thanks for the detailed tutorial

can you gives us a tutorial on your method 1amquilter?

very good method. I will give it a try next time. Sure beats smoothing, bending, spraying, smoothing, bending, re-adjusting, bending....you get the idea!

I just tried this method for the first time last week. I do not have flannel on my MDF, but will be adding it. This method saves your knees AND it keeps my 3 labs from trying to lay in the middle of my quilt!

Thanx for the complete instructions. I often spray baste, but like you don't like to do it on larger quilts. This will be great, and after looking these pics over, I'm sure my feeble little mind can figure it out. YAY a new way to go

I love this method for basting. I will now cover my boards with flannel. Just a question for you. How long are your boards for the larger quilt?

I baste and FMQ on a regular sew machine. Basting is the key.