Need an ingenious idea to sandwich a quilt
 

Yesterday, I was achy all over - felt like I got hit by a Mack truck. I don’t normally have aches and pains so this was all new to me. Trying to think of what I did the day before then it dawned on me. I was crawling on all fours for several hours sandwiching a quilt. I definelty need an ingenious idea to do this part of the quilt on either my small and narrow dining room table or on top of the 2 person hot tub outside. Any ideas? Thanks

This is one of the reasons I got a longarm! Actually, many long arm quilters do offer a sandwiching service. They use a really long basting stitch. My machine came with one built in specifically for this purpose.
Other than that Sharon Shamber's board basting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA
and patsy Thompson's wall basting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UoUzK19Vww

I use my cutting table to sandwich my quilts. I start in the center, clamp everything down, 1 layer at a time and then either pin or thread baste that whole section. Move the quilt all over the table until the entire quilt in sandwiched. It's tedious moving it around bit by bit but it certainly beats crawling around on the floor! I've done everything from baby to king quilts with this method. My cutting table is the type sold by JAF with the drop leaves on the sides and about a 12" center section.

I have a large island in my kitchen (5 feet x 5 feet) and I use that!

I use the JAF cutting table also...somewhere I read to tape a quarter in the very center of the table...that way you can easily find your center for your backing and top by feeling for the quarter. That eliminates pretty much any guess-work in using the table. Since I spray-baste, I do this process outside and the table stays outside under an eave in a fairly protected area and comes in handy for other things but it does live out-side.. I know its not meant for that but seems to work out ok. Many years ago, I made use of our kids' trampoline!! that was pretty great..but still awkward. Large table tops work best..larger the better.

great tip, thanks

I use the long tables put together in our apartment's lounge. before moving here, i've used the tables at the library.

yup use my Joann's cutting table...clamp, pin from center out and up and unclamp and move to one side at a time reclamp and pin...works great...

I'm planning to combine board basting and glue basting for a queen quilt (DH's wolf quilt.) I was planning to take it over to his church and use the tables there, and complaining that I'd either have to babysit it while a section dried or run back and forth every hour or so. He said "Why can't you just add more tables? Unroll the first section, glue it down, move in another set of tables, unroll more, glue *that* down, and so on?" The man is a genius! (Or else the spirit of my late father was whispering in his ear! :D )

I also use the JAF table with the drop leaves, however, my problem is opposite of too big a quilt. I do lots of throws and wall hangings which aren't as big as the table. I can only clamp 2 sides, then have to tape the other two, and always end up with a wrinkled backing. Any suggestions as to big table/small quilt?

My handy DH made my basting frame which sits on top of my kitchen table chairs. It's 8ft x 8ft and breaks down into 5 8ft 1"x2" boards which I store in a corner of my sewing room. The sewing room is to small to baste in so I do that in the kitchen.
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The 5 boards are held together with wing nuts and it is at a good height for comfort. I can pin the entire quilt except for about 12" square right in the middle. That last 12" I baste after I have released one side of the quilt then I stand inside the frame area to reach.
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Jim got me two plastic tables a while back. They are each 30 inches by about 5 feet. They fold in half when I am not using them and they can go behind the couch.

I have used the floor, tried the wall method, used the pool table and done the ironing board method. Last quilt I did was on the floor but my knees and back revolt too. Our basement is being renovated after a flood and when all is finished, I plan to buy one, or possibly two, of those long folding tables. I make smaller lap quilts for chemo patients, use spray basting, so I am hoping the tables will be the solution for me.

My cutting table is 4ftx6ft and I spray baste on top of it.
I have another 2ftx6ft table that I can add on if I need it bigger.

A big saver for backs is to have your table on bed risers (whether for cutting or spray basting).



The pool noodle method for spray basting intrigues me ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCIdv6iwLeQ

Oodles more of noodle links to check out if you ask Mr. Google.

I glue baste with Elmer's washable school glue (replaces pin basting, not spray basting, doesn't have to cover the entire surface) on my dining room table. No clamps involved. Smooth out top wrong side up. Position cotton batting and then position backing right side up. Smooth. can work from center and out, or from one end down and then the other end. It is the easiest thing and I am about 15 quilts in and nary a ripple or sore anything. No fumes. No overspray. I drizzle it on in a sort of grid or a meander about where a pin would go. If it globs, I use my finger to smooth it out. It has always washed out of my quilts. Do one side, and flip over and do other side. Next morning it is dry and ready to quilt.

Oh, wish I could find a site I was on yesterday. She used pool noodles with dowels or pvc pipe inside the noodles. Maybe you can search pool noodles quilt basting.

I saw that yesterday on you tube - try googling basting with pool noodles

True4Uca and StithchNRipper .... see my earlier post for link! post #13

I sandwich my quilts on the big table at church. It helps that I also work there...
But even if I didn't, I think I'd still make time to use them there.

Donna Mc

This will be perfect as I just don’t have space for 2 tables in the upstairs loft...my Simply Sixteen with the 5 foot Little Frame is in the loft by the front windows. Thank-you!!!

https://youtu.be/MikOtzRqgNY this lady uses pipe insulation but im sure pool noodles work just as well she explains everything clearly by the way if any of you have a face book account join her sit down fmquilters jeanne harrison she has excellent tutorials

That is how I baste a quilt. It doesn't take very long and it uses up odds and ends of thread and bobbins too.

Nanny's dollface, here is the link to the frame with instructions. Hope it works as well for you as it does for me.

http://www.quilting-tidbits.com/quilt-frames.html

We got me a long folding table for our deck & I do a big quilt by folding each part of the sandwich in half the long way & spray basting it. Something helpful is rolling each part on a pool noodle & roll it & smooth as you unroll it. They have bed lifters that will pick the table up for an easier height too! Let the sandwich dry for a couple of days or at least over night & start quilting! :-) I can't get on my knees any more, so this is my saving grace!

I think Christa Watson's method is easiest: https://christaquilts.com/2018/04/02/spray-basting-tutorial-using-a-table/<https: christaquilts.com="" 2018="" 04="" 02="" spray-basting-tutorial-using-a-table="">

If you use one of those white plastic tables (Walmart, etc), you can raise the it to the proper height with pvc pipe. Cut to length that works for you and insert each table leg into the pipe. Lowe's has precut pieces with a "finished" edge that are, I think 12" long. I forget what they are called, but are in the plumbing dept; good if you're going to use them on a finished floor.</https:>

I iron it dry. First one side then the other so there is no waiting and yes it still washes out with no residue.

I glue baste with washable school glue squiggled on in a thin stream. This can be done in sections on any size surface. I put the batting down then lay the back or top over that to position. I then fold the top/back back and squiggle the glue on the batting. Since the batting is heavier than fabric there is no clamping down. There are also no wrinkles in the top/back since you are smoothing that over the glued batting with your hand. You don't need a large surface that will be the size of the whole quilt using this method.

I have layered quilts on tables in my church fellowship hall and at the library where my guild meets. Look for some open to the public" type buildings that have banquet tables. Push two tables together or maybe three if your piece is large, and you can walk around your layering process whether you pin or spray baste.

For smaller quilts, I layer my quilts on my quilt wall, I do protect the edges and the floor with wax paper or other scrap paper to protect my wall and floor from over spray.

Check you County Extension Office. Ours has a large room with lots of tables. We have quilters who come and put as many tables as they need together, sandwich their quilt, and move the tables back when they are finished. We can use any room at our Extension Office for sewing, cutting, and/or sandwiching any time the room is not reserved. We have a UFO day once a week at ours. We are fortunate that ours is very active in the County and State. Your tax dollars pay for these buildings, why not use them?

Love this - I'm going to try this today!!!! Sounds like the way to go.

By the way, those are beautiful quilts!

A friend uses a fold up plastic table on risers and clamps the sandwich down at one end to hold it tight.

I use a double bed in our guest room, pinning the backing to the quilt underneath it to keep it taut and scooting a couple of old cutting mats underneath for pinning. This isn't great for the back, but I can leave it and come back later. I also quilt bigger quilts in sections so I don't have to sandwich a giant quilt all at once.

My husband smoothed the edges of a 4x8 sheet of plywood, which we put (on top of a cloth to protect) on the dining room table. In between uses, it slips behind the china cabinet. He also put some pieces of 2x4 together to raise the table legs about 4" higher, to save my back. Then I use painter's tape to tape down the backing, and go on to pin and baste.

For years and years I did not have a place for a big enough table to sandwich a quilt and , if I went down on the florr to do it, I would not be able to get back up! But, I did have a big tall bed - hhmmm. I purchased 2 pieces of very inexpensive wall paneling (thin and lightweight) and had them cut it to 6 foot. I store them under the bed and just slide them out when needed. This gave me a firm surface to open up my cardboard cutting board and now I had a large firm spot to sandwich on. Added bonus was that I would clip 2 corners to the paneling to hold it firm. (It was also a great spot to cut out clothing patterns without worry of cutting thru to the bedspread!)

Contact your local quilt shop and ask if you can come in and use their classroom tables. I did that when I first started quilting. They were happy to let me use the tables.

I do this by putting several layers of towels on my diningroom table (old and battered oak) and then spread my backing face down on top of that, pin and tape securely around legs so I can start in the center. I apply Elmer’s school glue swizzles in about a four inch grid. Carefully lay batting center on quilt center and smooth to the edges. Swizzle glue again on top of batting, and apply center of top over batting. Smooth carefully, then with a hot dry iron (and a sacrificial cloth, which is just a large scrap of light colored fabric that will get glue on it through the quilt, but I wash and reuse it, so if is not wasting fabric). I press the glue to dry it. I let the whole thing sit for at least an hour or more. While it is drying, I pin around the perimeter of the table to secure the glued area. With a helper, I flip the whole thing over and press from the back, and then I am ready to smooth and glue another area. Works great, and no tucks in the backing. Much easier on my poor arthritic knees.

Can you clamp a 1" x 2" x length of the table to the table where the edge of the quilt falls? Then you can use push pins to anchor yhe quilt to the board.

And QuiltE, bed risers!!! OMG i have a set DH didn't wantbto use for the bed and I was looking at buying new used furniture for my quilting room but it was too low. You. Are. Brilliant!!

ive learned that if I pull the backing too taut it relaxes when released and causes wrinkling.

I sandwich my quilts, usually queen size, at my mother's nursing home, lol! TV rooms, on the floor, or conference room, big conference table.

You can roll the quilts on boards and spray baste on a patio table. I no longer pin as they are a major hassle. I use Sharon Schamber's board method but spray instead of thread or pin basting. The 505 Spray Baste is the best - and ONLY one I use after a horrible experience with other brands.

Sharon Schamber has a youtube channel with a great tutorial on the board method- but she does the thread. Using her method allows me to spray my large quilts without another person having to help me.

I learned this from Patricia Drew, right here on the board.

basting a large quilt
 

I go to my church and put 2 or 3 8 foot tables together and use them. Most have the long 8 foot, or at least 6 foot, tables and they are great. If they are the older ones you can use clips on the edge. The newer, lighter ones have deep sides so I use blue tape to hold the backing secure.