Originally Posted by
Tartan
You can also put a marble under your backing fabric and move it around as you thread bast to give you enough slack for the needle. Nice of your husband to raise up your basing surface to save your back.
I have tried and tried the marble technique but have not caught the hang of it. So I use the teaspoon as I learned with Alex Anderson a very long time ago. It helps with safety pins. I use my old corregated cardboard folding cutting board that I used for garments years ago to protect the table top. Sometimes I pin and then baste.