I made two quilt tops about ten years ago. I finally came upon them the other day. Life has gotten in the way! Along with knitting, petit point and reading. I have a very small apartment. No empty walls, no kitchen table or any other large tables. I had to clear the floor in the living/bedroom to lay one out. got it all ironed, layered and pinned. I basted half of it together in two days time. I was having company over so I went to pull up the part that I had basted and (horror) I basted it to the carpet!Any suggestions on how I can get it done would be greatly appreciated.

I read somewhere, maybe even on this board, to put a marble under the quilt. This will raise it enough that you won't pin the floor and it will roll to the next spot. Haven't tried it but it sounds logical.
Also, if you belong to a church, usually you can ask and they'll allow you to use their tables. Push several tables together, depending on the size of your quilt, tape and pin as usual. This would save your back too.
I'm sure you'll get some other good answers here too.

http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/blog.php/blog_id/2566

Do you have a wall big enough?

The marblesounds good. I've never heard of that. Thank you. I'll try it.

I only have one wall that I could possibly do it on and I'd have to move my bed, the headboard and the pictures. But if I could how would I get it to stay on the wall. I live in an apartment and I can't mess up the walls too bad.

Try using painters tape to hold it on the wall.

I put a cardboard cutting mat from JoAnn's under the quilt. I can slide it to where I'm basting. You could put any kind of mat under it, actually.

Janet

I would spray baste. It's much faster, and there's no way it would take two days to do it! Just place a large flat sheet underneath to catch any overspray. 505 is the basting spray most often recommended.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I think I'll try a rotor cutter map from the craft store first. That sounds the easiest. If that does not work I'll go to the wall. Local quilters shop told me that the spray basting would not last more than a few hours. And I'd have to keep spraying it. I need to go the least expensive route first.Thanks again.

The spray will last a few months, atleast it did for me :D:D:D
I like the idea of using cardboard while basting too, I would think any larger piece would do the trick!

I think there is some confusion there. Spray basting is done only once and stays for months. Some people have problems getting the spray basting to stick to polyester batting (some don't). I always use cotton batting, and I've never had a problem with a spray-basted quilt coming apart.

what about the poster boards that teachers use, I bought one at Staples it folds us, it is the kind of board you would use for a display of say pictures. That's what I use when pinning on my dinning room table. when finished it folds up. works great

sounds like a good idea

for big quilts I take them to church anad use their tables, three women and I get together once a month to work on our UFQ If one needs pinning we do it then together. Shortens the time when you have help.

Oh, my... bless your heart !! I invested in a $35 folding table from WalMart. Start at one end of the quilt with backing, batting, pieced top all together. Table is 30" wide x 62" long... I can work on large section at a time. Start pinning and smoothing AWAY from me. Has worked very well... even for king size quilts. I work down the middle for 40 to 50 inches wide... all the way to other end. Then, turn and work the sides, hand pressing to the outer edges. Works great and can be folded up and put away.

Karendenice, A lady on this Board said she puts a piece of wood on her bed and uses it as her cutting board. This idea would also work for you. It would be easier on your back than laying the quilt on the floor. Eiltcoq.

karendenice, The basting spray will last a long time. You don't have to worry about it not wearing off. I use it all the time and I don't get my quilts quilted right away. Eiltcoq.

I am a fan of quilting spray. I have a top I started quilting and then got side tracked by other projects. I went back to it 3 months later and it was still holding just fine.