Hand Basting for Machine Quilting
Recently I made a baby quilt (40 x 48") and basted it with a large "Z" stitch before machine quilting a random stipple. Although I'm an ox as far as hand stitching is concerned, this was easy (since it's not a finish stitch), held the quilt together (I used two layers of flannel for batting) and was easy to remove (I used orange thread on a blue quilt). I have used the safety pin method and frankly, it was so onerous it put me off making another quilt for a few years.
Is hand basting recommended for machine quilting? If so, how close together should the basting be? Any pointers on thread, technique, etc.?
Sorry if this question has been asked before. I did a search but nothing popped up that seemed to match.
James