You definitely want to change directions to avoid the stretching.

What I have done is sew one half. Then I turn the quilt and sew other half. In both directions. Making larger xs is what I have done.

umm....I would use a walking foot for sure....I only try very small table toppers without my walking foot...helps to keep all the layers together as it feeds the top and bottom at nearly the same speed...without a walking foot...the bottom layer gets fed by the feed dogs and the top just rides along on top of the batting.

oops..just reread your original post...you are using a walking foot...my bad....

In response to the questions about using the carpenter's glue roller bottle for glue basting -
1. I wash the roller thoroughly with warm water immediately after using it to glue. The roller can be easily popped out and I just rub it down with my fingers under warm water to remove the glue and any accumulated fuzz/threads.
2. The roller is a made from a hard rubber. As long as you clean the glue after every use, the bottle and roller should last for years. There really is nothing to wear out.
3. I do not dilute the glue. I Gently squeeze the glue bottle to feed a small amount of glue onto the roller then roll on the batting in an X pattern which spreads the glue so there are no glue blobs that would leave stiff spots on the quilt.
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This is the easiest way I have found to glue baste my quilts. I buy Elmer's school glue by the gallon for about $15. I can baste a lot of quilts from just one gallon.

Hope these tips help other quilters.

Thanks for the link to the glue roller gadget! I hate spray basting - the air fills with glue and lands willy nilly indoors, including my lungs. Sort of like COVID 19 droplets! Will give rolling a try.

Thanks for the explanation! :)

If you plan on doing cross hatching a lot, the straight edge tool from Lowe's or Home depot will be invaluable. It is a long two inch wide metal ruler. I have the 4 ft one and the 6 ft one. The longest one was $12. I can lay it on the quilt top and mark straight lines with a Crayola Ultra Washable marker or what ever way you like to mark. I have never had any luck with tape for marking.

The few times I used pins to baste turned out to be miserable when machine quilting. I have used glue, sprays, and fusible for basting but I now use Free Fuse basting powder. It's wonderful. I start from the middle edge and quilt all the way to the other side. I do one half the quilt at a time. I spread the quilt taunt while sewing. I use a walking foot for straight lines. The bigger the sewing table the better.

I use to set up folding tables around my sewing table making a large fat L shape so the quilt could lay smooth. When basting my quilt I set up folding tables the size of the quilt and use the iron to heat set the glue or fuse powder on each side.

"If you plan on doing cross hatching a lot, the straight edge tool from Lowe's or Home depot will be invaluable. It is a long two inch wide metal ruler. I have the 4 ft one and the 6 ft one."

Way to go, OnebyOne! I thought I was the only one who buys rulers, squares, miter tools, etc. for quilting at Home Depot & Menards. They have lots of rulers, etc. that work great for quilting. I've even coveted their rolling tool bags for transporting sewing machines - a lot heavier duty than the flimsy rolling carts made for sewing machines.

This Free Fuse powder -- can it be used on poly batting?