gigi712

I do spray basting on the wall in the garage and hubby staples each piece of the sandwich as we put it up. It works great and taking out the staples is a no brainer. The holes that are left on the edge of the quilt will be cut off anyway, so that's not a problem either. Love 505 spray basting.

DogHouseMom

Ok ... I'll weigh in here and you know I had a recent experience with spray basting.

First ... the reasons I love and hate spray basting.

Love it for the result. It's smooth, the basting is complete (ie no "un-basted" areas), I don't have to pull pins out or get basting stitches caught in my hopping foot ... I just put the quilt down and GO, it stays basted for a good long time, and you can pull it apart to adjust then stick it back down.

Hate it for one reason only ... the mess. The overspay - which cannot be avoided. I'm not talking about overspray of the area you are aiming at ... I'm talking about the particles of mist that WILL drift through whatever room you are basting in. It's inevitable with an aerosol product ... it drifts.

Soooo .... as you know I recently waited patiently for a decent warmish day with little wind to bring my quilt outside to spray baste. For this quilt spray basting was the best option because I was using minky as the backing and minky is slinky - or as my LQS lady said as she was (attemping to) fold the minky "it's like wrestling a wet seal".

So what I did was spray baste outside, then bring my quilt top indoors and spread it out on the minky which was laying on the floor. Yes ... I needed a friend to help me. Depending on the size of the quilt (wider than the span of my arms?) and the weight of the backing (minky is heavy) and batting, I may not be able to use a wall. The width of this quilt was wider than the span of my arms so I could not place it in place with any confidence. The minky is heavy and and its a knit so I was concerned that it would be stretched at the bottom. So on the floor it went, and yes we did have to adjust it (the adjusting I did on my table). If I had a table large enough I would have used that, but I didn't want to do it on a table where the sides had to drag off the edge.

So IF you decide on spray basting 1) find a friend and 2) do it either outside or in a room/place where you don't care if everything around it gets sticky.

I really really LOVE spray basting ... so many pro's ... I just need to work around the one big con.

QuiltE

Thanks Everyone ... for your comments and ideas.
I really appreciate it and if you have more, please keep adding them.

Some direct comments .........
DublB and MadQuilter ... thanks for the video. Hearing a professional does make it seem realistic to do it. Interesting that it is not just a regular wall, but that she has used the ceiling tiles under the quilt so she can pin into it. Looks like I might be better to do it on my design wall, than the real wall.

BluegrassGirl ... thanks for the video too. I've looked at it before, but it looks so complicated. I think I'd have the boards flipping all over the place! Though I;m not saying it's out of the question.

Tartan ... well, they are expecting us to have a big meltdown next week! Though, I don;t think I'd be doing it then! I've actually looked around my garage but no wall space big enough. Outdoors, certainly would be a really good soslution to the overspray issues and Mother Nature would do the wash up after!

DHMom ... you just hit on the concerns I have about not being able to reach across a quilt as I work. Overspray is a concern ITA. Yes, no doubt it drifts thru the air ... but I haven;t noticed a problem with it attaching on the edges of the table I use or onto the floor.

Jim'sGem ... I wish the church was an option, but no, they won't allow it. Community halls here are only available at their high rental rates!
I wish sending it out to have the basting done was an option ... but it really isn't!

dublb

QE I just remembered another thing. I use the old fashion maskin' tape ta tape it up. The tan one. The blue tape won't stick & everything falls. I also put 2 pieces at each point that I tape along the top. I make an X w/it.

Buckeye Rose

I do all my sandwiches on our 8' pool table, which has a vinyl cover. I can spread out a quilt to get half of it completely on the table. I use Elmer's liquid glue to baste.....best method I have found so far.

annesthreads

Sandwiching is my biggest headache. My house has small rooms, so no big table or floor space, and all the floors are carpeted, which makes it more difficult to keep the backing really smooth. I'd be really grateful if someone who does the job in sections on a table could explain how, as I've tried it and it's never worked well, especially with larger quilts. If I start with the centre of the backing fabric on the centre of the table it can't be taped because it covers the whole table -how do you stop it moving and wrinkling? I've tried double-sided tape underneath, but it doesn't hold it once I start adding the other layers and pinning. I've also tried clips, but the table is too thick (and the clips are likely to scratch it). And then when I put the batting and top over the backing, I can guarantee that, however careful I am, one of them won't be centered and I'll find that I only have 2 of the 3 layers on one of the edges, or that one of the layers isn't straight. Is it any wonder that I absolutely dread this job? I need sandwiching in sections #101 please! (So you know what I'm working with, my table is about 46in x 31in)

psumom

I have a large worktable...the kind that the sides fold down. My friends and I pin baste all of our quilts on it. We start in the middle, using clamps to hold the backing in place. Then we smooth the batting over the backing and remove one clamp at a time and re-clamp both layers. Finally, we smooth the top over the batting and again, remove one clamp at a time and clamp all three layers. We then pin. At that point, we remove the clamps, reposition the quilt, and clamp an area that is already pinned and finish the basting. Sometimes we have to move the quilt as many as four or five times. The clamps came from a hardward store!

annesthreads

Thankyou psumom - that's a nice clear explanation. I'm going to have to give it another go - and maybe go to the hardware store! How many clamps do you use?

QuiltE

DublB ... thanks for the added info. I think I'll be doing it on my design wall, which will let me use the pins. I'm nervous about it though!

irishrose

Sharon Schamber method, though with pins, with a card table butted up to my dining room table. Smooth as can be.