Seems too risky to me.
In almost 40 years of quilting I have never quilted a project of any size either by hand or machine without basting it first. I use either safety pins, basting spray, needle and thread, or tacking gun. Several ladies in our local group tell me they never baste when they put it in a square free-standing quilting frame. They pin around the edge of the quilt and they begin quilting on all sides at once and not in the middle out as I'd been taught and always practiced.
Just curious what your experience has been with this type of procedure. I'm concerned because we are doing a very
special quilt for auction and I want it to be completed well without puckers or pleats on the back. It seems to me that we're really taking a chance on this happening when we don't baste. Am I being overly concerned about this?