Basting your quilt sandwich
 

Hi. I'm getting ready to baste my quilt sandwich and am wonderjng if any of you thread baste your quilts. I've only pin-basted, but it's hard on the fingers, lol. Any tips would be appreciated. 🙂

I have found that pin basting works best for me - especially bigger quilts. Small ones I usually spray paste them. Good Luck.

I've only pin basted as well. I use a long wooden skewer to help me close the pins (the pointy end slides nicely under the sharp pin tip and then I can just push the clasp down over the raised tip) and it's been a game-changer for me.

What I did was to use a long thread. Start at the center and baste outward with half of thread. Then re thread the needle with the other end of thread and baste other direction. This may be the wrong way but, it worked for me

I don't thread baste. I use Washable school glue. And some smaller projects I spray baste.

I used to pin baste but lately I'm using Elmer's school glue (it washes out) and I really like that technique. I drizzle it on the layers and let it dry. Works great.

years ago, I took a class from Sharon Schamber on free motion quilting. She had us hand baste the quilt first. I did like the process and it seemed to work well. I have a long arm now so no more basting for me. Anyway, there are still some youtubes out there on her method. Just do a search.

Glue baster here! Washable school glue. Fast, easy, easy to sew thru. Lots of tutes on this process.

If you're going to pin baste, the Kwik Klip will save your fingers.

the last fusible Hobbs 80/20 I got from Connectingthreads was old I guess. Doesn't fuse well for some reason. Usually it is what i use. otherwise I spray baste.

It depends on the quilt. If it's my Hawaiian quilts I always thread baste since I don't want pins in the way of the hoop and I don't spray baste them as I am hand quilting. Everything else is pin basted it just works better for me. I use the curved quilting pins that are size 2.

I must have gotten my order from the same shipment as yours. It was the first time I'd tried their 80/20 fusible and it didn't fuse at all, so I ended up pinning my tree skirt like I usually do. I thought that I'd found a short cut, but I guess not. haha I normally pin my projects with straight pins and have always been very pleased with the results, but it is very time-consuming and hard on my hands and nails.

I have good luck with this method, too. Second choice is spray basting.

Used to pin baste. Then tried thread basting. Settled on Elmer’s washable school glue. That is my only way now.

I'm an Elmers girl too. Tried pinning at first, didn't like it.

School glue is the easiest, quickest and best for me.

If it's something I can quilt on my DSM, I'll pin baste or spray baste. I now have a straight stitch machine on a Grace frame for larger quilts, those I don't have to baste.

I always thread baste unless it is very small, but I am hand quilting. I have hand quilted for someone else who pin basted. She got a big kick out of me sending back her pins joined together in one long chain, but that's just how I kept track of them as I undid them.

I love the Kwik Klip tool for safety pinning. It is also good for pushing out corners when constructing pouches and such. Once you spray baste, you never go back!

I have started using the home made spray baste. I still use commercial spray baste if I need to mark the quilting lines before basting.

For ease on my aging muscles and joints I have gone to Glue Basting. It is so easy to do and I can accomplish a lot in a little bit of time. Elmer's Washable School Glue, is what I use. I use the Clear and it does the best basting. It hold great!. There are a number of great You Tube videos available to help you master this technique in just minutes.

I am still using spray baste as my preferred option. It takes a bit to get used to the spray distance, but is great stuff. I typically use puffier poly batts than the warm and natural type and I haven't tried glue yet because I've had spray on hand and understand the glue doesn't work as well on my type of batts.

I will still use a few safety pins until I get the top partially quilted, particularly on the corners so they don't flap over and a couple to keep the center from shifting -- maybe 10-12 over the entire top and not the every hand distance of pin basting.

My biggest issue is space. For years my largest layout space has been the queen sized bed, which makes it rather challenging to layout a queen sized project -- especially when it has 4 posters and a foot board... Last year I found a free folding ping pong table and have to keep it folded and tarped outside. Nice thing is, I don't really have to worry about the finish or any warp or whatever. By regulation, the tables are 3 yards/108" long and 5 feet wide and the height is good for me to work at!

I follow the Sharon Schamber method; there is an excellent video. She uses tatting thread and a herringbone stitch and it works great. You need a table as big as your quilt, though.

I know a couple of people who use water soluble thread to baste with. When you're done, the thread washes out.

yes best ever tool. 👍👍

yep, love my kwik klip. also can use a grapefruit spoon.

The Sharon Schamber method allows you to baste on a table, comfortably. The table does not need to be as big as your quilt....only the table width matters and you can slide your boards over if you do not have a table wide enough. All the table has to do is give you a work surface and some stability.

She has her method up on Youtube, part one and part two:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA&t=4s

I liked her method a lot but when spray baste came out I started using that and like it a lot, especially convenient for smaller pieces.

Now I have a longarm and baste on the longarm...note you can send out quilts to a longarmer just to be basted!

I elmer's school glue baste all my quilts too. Drizzle on lightly, place layer on top, smooth into place with my hands, then set the glue with an iron. Best method ever since nothing slips while you are quilting it!

I use Elmer's washable school glue and a carpenter's roller glue bottle from Rockler. Basting is quick and easy; no chemical odors or overspray; no missing pins for the dogs to find on the floor; and NO puckers ever. I've done more than 100 quilts this way without even one pucker.

I use my floor frame to baste my large quilts. I have thread basted several bed size quilts on my qsnap floor frame. No getting on the floor

Another glue baster here. I bought a grooved sponge roller with a tray at the dollar store. It is meant for craft paint. I pour from a big jug and roll it on. The sponge washes up easily when I am done.

Sometimes my quilts sit basted for quite a while, especially if I finish them in the summer. I don't like sitting with a full quilt in my lap when it's so hot outside...and spray basting tends to loosen with time for me, plus it is a supply I have to buy for every quilt. I have been pin-basting the things I don't send off to be longarmed, but my space is small and i have been fighting puckers in the backing on larger projects. My mother hand quilts and using a mixture of pin and thread basting. she puts just enough pins in it to keep the layers together as she rolls it onto her frame, but as she rolls out a frame-wide section at a time, she removes the pins, smoothes the layers, and thread bastes with a contrasting embroidery thread for easy removal later. It seems like a lot of extra work to me, but she swears by it.

There is a good video on doing a quick baste of quilts on a longarm by Michael Quilts...really useful if you just want your quilt basted by a longarmer and returned to you for quilting yourself, eliminates pinning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toAhVyufcJc&t=2s