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Backing
I am new to quilting. I have just finished my second easy quilt. I am having trouble keeping backing tight. I pinned my quilt sandwich with a lot of pins, while it was clamped to large piece of plywood. But I am still getting big wrinkles when I stitch it. Any suggestions on this?:)
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lately I've been using the wall to sandwich my quilts. I pin the backing to the wall, spray the 505, stick the batting, spray the batting and stick the top. If when attaching the batting and top I feel any wrinkles, I remove and try again. The 505 allows you to re-position the fabric. I found this method great because I don't have to do it on the floor anymore.
I tried also on a table doing by sections and that is fine when the quilt is not too big but my preferred method is the wall. I found it on a u-tube. here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwV8tUkhxUM andrea |
Are you hand quilting or machine quilting? I like to use my floor q-snap frame for hand quilting and it does a good job. For machine quilting I use Hobbs 80/20 fusible quilt batt or 505 spray basting instead of pins. I never had much luck with pinning a sandwich to quilt. There are some that use Elmer's washable school glue to bast but I haven't tried it yet. There is a good tutorial on QB if you want to see how it's done.
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Spray basting with 505 is a lot easier than pinning, and it actually does a better job because it keeps all 3 layers of the quilt sandwich in continuous contact. Pins establish contact only every 4 inches or so. (I prefer to spray baste on a table. I cannot get down and up from the floor easily, and my arms get too tired working on a wall.)
The other thing that helps *enormously* in preventing tucks and puckers when machine quilting is heavily starching the backing before layering. I use a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "paint" this solution onto the backing with a large wall painting brush until the fabric is saturated, wait a minute to allow starch to penetrate the fibers, toss in dryer, and then iron with steam. This stiffens the backing fabric so it is much more stable, therefore less likely to stretch or fold over on itself with handling. It also helps to spray starch the top heavily before layering -- again to add stability to the top so it is less likely to stretch and distort while you machine quilt. Also check your machine, as the presser foot may be compressing the sandwich too much. Many machines allow you to adjust the presser foot pressure. This is especially important if you are using a thicker batting. |
Originally Posted by Prism99
(Post 5860142)
Spray basting with 505 is a lot easier than pinning, and it actually does a better job because it keeps all 3 layers of the quilt sandwich in continuous contact. Pins establish contact only every 4 inches or so. (I prefer to spray baste on a table. I cannot get down and up from the floor easily, and my arms get too tired working on a wall.
The other thing that helps *enormously* in preventing tucks and puckers when machine quilting is heavily starching the backing before layering. I use a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "paint" this solution onto the backing with a large wall painting brush until the fabric is saturated, wait a minute to allow starch to penetrate the fibers, toss in dryer, and then iron with steam. This stiffens the backing fabric so it is much more stable, therefore less likely to stretch or fold over on itself with handling. It also helps to spray starch the top heavily before layering -- again to add stability to the top so it is less likely to stretch and distort while you machine quilt. Also check your machine, as the presser foot may be compressing the sandwich too much. Many machines allow you to adjust the presser foot pressure. This is especially important if you are using a thicker batting. |
Try Elmers Washable School Glue to sandwich your quilts! It is inexpensive and secures the layers so that they do not shift. There is a tutorial on how to use the glue here on the QB.
I started out with basting pins in my early quilting life but hated how i had to remove them when quilting on my sewing machine - so I have tried all the other mentioned methods of sandwiching quilts and now use the folowwing three methods. 1) Elmers Washable School Glue 2) 505 in the red can (it is the cheapest) 3) Hobbs 80/20 fusible batting ( I buy 4 or 5 when on sale) Good luck with your projects! |
Prism, that's great advice about how to starch the quilt back. I'm definitely going to try that, thank you!
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Thanks, I'll have my husband make me a basting wall, and try the spray. I am now starting one for each of my twin
grand children, it will be a good chance to try it. |
Do not pull your backing TOO tight when clamping on table. It needs to be taught but not stretch to the max. If it is stretched too tight then when it is unclamped it will relax too much causing backing to pucker. Also I use 505 spray adhesive but still have to be careful about pulling backing too tight.
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I agree about not over-stretching the backing! I do not stretch mine at all. I just smooth it out with my hands. If I tape, I tape simply to keep the backing from moving. The purpose of the tape is *not* to stretch the backing!
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