I need some advice about basting guns. I almost bought one yesterday but thought I would first poll users here for their opinions. Making my "quilt sandwich" and then basting it or pinning it is the hardest part of quilting for me. I wondered if using a basting gun with those little tacks would be easier. I also am exploring machine quilting - nothing fancy; I'm just a beginner. But I also wondered how much those tacks would interfere with that process. Thanks for any light you can shed.

I have one. I do not use it. It was more of a pain for me. I use the spray adhesive. seems to work alot better for me. How much was that gun anyways? I would sen dyou mine for shipping if you want it. save you som eof the cost of experimenting. Only thing is I will have to find it. lol.. make sure it didnt get tossed out. lol. was it the little red one with the red tacks?

The only problem I have with basting tacks are trying to move them while I am quilting.
It is easier for me to undo a safety pin and remove it/move it out of my way, then to cut a basting tack and try to get the back of it out from under the quilt so it doesn't get into the bobbin area of my machine. :D:D:D

Have one or had one. Maybe I gave it away. Hated it.

Thanks for offering me yours, Fidgety (love that name!) That is so generous of you. If I can figure out how to send you a private message, I will send you my address, etc. and we'll work out the details for payment of shipping charges. (Those pesky things are about 30 bucks - a little more than I'd like to spend to experiment) I'd love to at least try it. And then if it doesn't work for me I'll pay it forward and let someone else try it until it finds a happy home. :)

Bought one, used it once, threw it away. It allowed too much wiggle room so the fabrics moved, and half the basting thingys wouldn't bast. The spray, much better.

I had one it put big holes in fabric, always got jammed, the third time I used it, it broke. I like basting spray, with a few pins just to set my mind at ease.

The brand and type can make a huge difference in the useability of a basting gun. I know that, in the past, many of the guns sold for quilting were not the best type. Avery Dennison is the best brand I know, and you want the microtip (finer needle and shorter tacks that will hold a quilt sandwich tighter).

I found that using a basting gun was faster and a lot easier on my back than either thread basting or pin basting. Once I spray basted a quilt, though, I never used the basting gun again. Spray basting is much faster and much easier than using a gun. The only thing is you want a very well-ventilated area so you're not breathing in the fumes.

I have one, used it in the past, now I do spray basting. I had to use a lot of tacks, so sandwich wouldn't shift and took time to remove them

i have one somewhere never used it