I hate basting a quilt with a passion. I was at Joann's a couple of weeks ago and saw a basting gun. I passed on it, as it was almost $30 and I had never even seen a reference to one. Do any of you guys have one? Do you like it, and is it really easier to baste with one of these?

Hi,
Tried one and did not like it - left too much of a gap between the ends of the basting tie. It also left pretty large holes in the quilttop. I would not waste the dollars on this tool. Only my opinion - but have heard the same from others. Good luck in your decision.
Sue

I have a mini basteing gun....I forget I have but have used on certain project.....only paid the 40 % off at JoAnns.....if you hate basting you would like this cause it is fast.....

I tried and tried and tried and never got it to work right. I got it new at a garage sale and sold it used at another.

Maria

Hmmm..I tend to make bed sized quilts. Would it save any time on something like that, or should I just keep up with the quilter's safety pins?

I'm the gadget queen so I have one. What I use it the most for is to keep blocks or pieces or strips together. I keep blocks that go in one row tacked together, if I have eight rows I have eight stacks of tacked together blocks. I tack scrap pieces together by colors. It makes a great organizing tool. I do use for basting on small quilts or projects.

Lord I love mine. I have my house held together with it. My valances are held onto the curtains with it (they are actually table runners) and the head protection have been held to the chair with it. I have put on numerous buttons with it and yes I have actually used it for a quilt. I wouldn't do without it.

i have one but only use it for small quilts. i never use it for anything over 4.5 to 5 feet.

I have one I bought many years ago. At that time there were two types on the market. One had a bigger needle and larger tacks and was often accused of leaving bigger holes. Mine has the finer needle and smaller tacks.

It worked really well for me, but the problem I always had was finding a suitable place big enough to baste on. At the time they sold an egg-crate type grid you could slide under the area to be basted, so the quilt sat on that and gave you room to insert the tack without hitting the table underneath. I didn't like that, as the quilt sandwich always shifted on me. I did use the gun with my homemade quilting frame and it worked well that way. (This is a frame of 2x4's that can be clamped together. The quilt is stretched out completely. Takes a lot of space, and sags in the middle, but worked fine for my twin size quilts and smaller.) I think it would be impossible to use a gun on a quilt laid out on carpeting; the tacks would stick in the carpet. I never tried it on a hard floor; might work well that way. I'd test it first, though, in case the plastic tacks are shot out hard enough to mark the floor.

I don't know why I wrote all of the above!!! I don't see any reason to use a tacking gun now that basting spray is widely available. Basting spray is much faster and there is no problem with thread getting caught on a plastic tack when quilting.

I have one and I use it alot. I try to baste in the areas where the holes won't be as noticable.. they do go away after awhile.

Also as far as basting with it on a carpet or table.. I use my cooling rack. Yes the same one I use to cool down those cookies that I rarely bake! Works great and I can slide it as I go.