pinning or basting of your quilt?
 

I have been quilting for about 10-15 years but not daily. Even put it away for years when the grkids came along. I have always pinned my quilt sandwich in the floor, but I am no longer able to do this due to various health problems. But I want to qet some tops finished. Does anyone have any suggestions so I won't kill myself to sandwich it??

I pin my quilt on a table. I find the center of the quilt and the batting and backing and I put a pin right there. Then I lay the quilt out on a table. I have a cutting table that folds down on both sides, but you could use a dining table or even a card table. I smooth out the layers and yes, sometimes the sides of the quilt hang over the edge. I just start pinning from the center out. I have had no problems with bunching at all.

I use a "banquet table." I bought it at "Smart and Final." It's your ordinary banquet table-brown on top, 6 feet by 2'. I use XL office clips you can get at Staples or Office Depot to hold the layers in place, usually starting with the center of the quilt on the center of the table. Once it's all pinned, remove clips and do the same for the remaining sides that need to be pinned. I can do most of it sitting, saving my back. you can also use PVC pipe or some kind of blocks (similar to ones you can use to raise a bed up) to make the table taller if you prefer to stand. I've done a lot of quilts this way--works for me!

i started using a folding picnic table to baste. later i got JoAnn's folding table. then i started using fusible batting, then spray baste, either Sulky or 505. both work great. Basting still takes time on the table but at least i don't have to get on the floor. Help me, I've fallen and can't get up!

I now pin baste unless I am hand quilting!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you guys so much. With my back and knees acting older than I am, I was really having a problem.

I used to pin baste, but now I spray baste. ***SO*** much faster for me, with better results! I do this on the large tables at a community center, but it's also inexpensive to set up plywood over sawhorses in the driveway and do it outdoors (weather permitting).

We replaced our bedroom doors, so hubby put hinges on the old ones to make one large surface and I put them on our kitchen table to pin my quilts. When I'm done I take them apart and store them in the garage. Works great !!!

If you go to this site, watch the video, because it shows you how to baste without getting on the floor or table. This woman is amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UoUz...eature=related

The video is a good idea if you have a wall big enough!
Right now I need to convince my husband to expand the living room to have enough room to lay out my quilts!

I gave up pin basting after my first try with spray basting. It was a life changing experience! I no longer dread that whole process. Its faster , more consistant results.... and rarely and i do mean rarely do I ever get a pucker on the backside.

The friend who taught me to quilt had me spray basting to hold the layers together and then pinning. I've only recently realised that spray basting can replace the pins completely. But how much spray do people use?

welcome from Frozen OK! I see the gang has given you many great replies thus far. Good luck and happy quilting!

please check out the Flynn Frame...it has 3 rails so that you don't have to baste it. It is used on a sewing machine most frequently now, but it was originally developed for a hand quilter. The two things I like most about it are the 'No-Basting,' the adjustability of size (you just purchase new pipes for the new length and put the same fittings on them), and the fact that you can stand it right behind a door to store as it is only about 3 inches thick. I put mine over the arms of my rocking chair and move it back and forth as needed, putting a tv table under one end to support it as i work on the opposite end...the middle areas all balance on the arms. check out the site...and see how it goes together....the last 3 minutes of his video are where they talk about the hand quilting....
http://flynnquilt.com/
ps...they are for sale other locations...ebay for 129 and allbrands.com for 99 (without rails)

Light spray basting is recommended, and some brands are better than others. I prefer 505. Especially on a large quilt, it's a good idea to pin around the outside edge to keep the 3 layers from separating there.

I think the Sharon Schambers quilt basting method looks like it would work. Google it, also think there's a you tube video.

I used fusible batting and the tables at the local library, and had a friend help me baste. With my arthritis the floor is out.

I believe this is the best way to sandwich a quilt especially if you are handicapped in any way. This is how I do a larger quilt. If I am doing a QAYG quilt, I baste on the machine. I find the center of each square, and then on each square I sew very large stitches using water soluble thread in the bobbin and needle. I sew from the center to the sides and then from the center to each corner. Yes, I know it's a bit more work, but believe me it keeps everything where it should be! :-) I alway wash the quilt once it is done so the my markings and the disolvable thread will be removed. So easy.
With a larger quilt of course, and with Sharon Schambers method you need to baste with regular thread or Perle Cotton (it holds the sandwich together better because it is a little rougher and won't budge) I never depend on pins and find them awkward to use.

I spray baste everything but my sister is devoted to Sharon Schamberg's method. Let us know what tips work for you.

I use this method with pinning or basting depending on size of quilt. My back, knees and everything else say thank you every time!

I've done the Sharon Schamber method, pin method and spray basting. Spray basting is REALLY easy. It is great to spray lightly and apply the batting and top like putting wallpaper on the wall or contact paper on a piece of cabinet/wood.

Each method works. It just depends on what space you have available, what supplies you have on hand, and how frustrated you are with threads, pins, or sticky needles. I found I liked all three methods (I share the same complaint - can't get on the floor to baste or pin).

Sharon's method works really well in a small, narrow area. Pin basting works well if you can find a table large enough one way to tape/clip down two sides of the quilt so you can pin from the center out. Spray basting works well if you can handle the aerosol used to get the glue out of the can (definitely need a good area of ventilation for this method).

As a general rule, I do a modification of pin basting using Sharon's method of assembling the quilt on boards. This way I have my hands free, back/batting/top are taut but not stretched, and I don't need a lot of space. If I have the space, I will tape down all 4 edges of the quilt and lay on top of the table to pin baste. If I have the ventilation or need to assemble the sandwich quickly, I will spray baste.

Just tried Sullivan's spray baste and WOW that was nice to use. I had previously tried the Dritz spray baste. It worked ok for the first quilt, but when I went to use it 6 months later for another quilt, it didn't work at all, even though the nozzle was clear. I don't own stock in either of these products. Though you might like the feedback.

Good luck!

I spray baste, using my bed (with an old sheet underneath to catch overspray) as the table. The only time I use the floor is when the quilt is just too big for my king sized bed and then I recruit the assistance of my DD whose knees are in better shape than mine! One time with the basting spray was all it took to convince me that I will never pin again. There is some smell, but with good ventilation I have no problems.

I do the same thing. I have a folding metal table that, when I am done, I fold and put back out on the porch behind a bench. Works like a charm. It is long, doesn't scratch the wooden table, easy to slide back and forth, and like auntpiggylpn
says, start from the center out. Just finished doing that!!!!! Edie

I spray baste by pinning on a wall:

http://youtu.be/nwV8tUkhxUM

For machine quilting I spray baste. For hand quilting I would pin over a table, takes a bit longer but worth it. or if you have access to several large tables (library, or other public venue) you can usually get permission to pin a quilt there.

When I have sheets and blankets off the bed for laundering I lay out my backing and sandwich the quilt and pin it. Works for me.

I would love to use this technique but I have a hard time believing it is really safe to do indoors - which is the only option I have.

I have used ping-pong tables at church too. I also have pushed together two tables, those 8 foot folding tables used in churches, banquet halls and the like and use them for larger quilts. I understand. It is getting less and less easy for crawl around on the floor and even harder to get up off of the floor. Where did youth disapear to?

That's the technique I use, too, except I pin instead of thread baste.

I love this method. The basting holds very well when maneuvering it through the machine. I think the secret is making sure each layer is completely smooth and in good contact with the layer it is being layerd to. I was told everything would be sticky and gum up the needle but it wasn't a problem for me. I let it dry for 12+ hours before I started working with it.

I too have trouble with knees and my back, and getting on the floor is not something I can do anymore. So I took a bunch of pictures off my wall, hung up a 9 ft. 1x4 and then put up a tarp and now I hang my backing to the 1x4, spray (the tarp catches the over spray) and then I put my batting on the backing, then spray again and then I put my top on the batting. Then I pin with safety pins. It's not pretty but it is soooo much easier and faster too!

I used Sharon's method of basting (sorta) to tie a quilt. It was a large lap quilt. Instead of basting I just tied it and then rolled it to another section and tied some more. Did it all sitting at a 6' fold out table that I bought at Fred's for $20-30. No floor for me either. Soooooo easy on the back & knees.

I hear you about getting down on the floor!! What I do is use at table be it dinning room or a drop leaf work table I bought at Hancocks or Joanns . Also I pin my quilts from the center. Good luck

That's what I have had to resort to in my "old age" since the back and knees can take only so much bending and stooping. (woe is me!) I think my next step will be to get the office clips that yayaquilts uses.