problem
 

I like to quilt my own quilts. Problem: I am unable to get on the floor to sandwich a quilt. I would love to hear how others have dealt with this since I can't believe I'm the only one. Please help!

on the kitchen table

I have a large Dining table. I put 2 cutting boards on top of it and get to work. The cutting boards are those cardboard things.

I sandwich all my quilts on banquet tables with bed risers underneath.

the local quilt shop's class room- if we call ahead & let them know - and no classes are going on they will push tables together to make it big enough- & even help :)

I had a large counter height kitchen table that was great for me. Large enough to baste large areas of the quilt and high enough to keep most of the quilt off the floor. Sad to say it was too large for my small kitchen and I had nowhere else to put it so I had to give it to my sister :(.

I use my cutting table. I wish my sewing room were larger so that I could have two cutting tables pushed together. The one table works, I just have to pin in sections.

I too feel your pain. If I get down on the floor, can't get back up from it. Smaller quilts I baste on my dining table. Larger, use my bed (very carefully).

Several people here like to use this method but I haven't tried it myself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA

Floor (the worst), kitchen table, folding table+kitchen table, kitchen island (nice and high).

I arrange my three layers to a quilt on our king size bed. I pin them that way too. I haven't had any problems.

I really like the Sharon Schamber method, it can be done sitting at a table easily.

I don't have back problems but when I started quilting at about 65 yrs old I found that once I got down on the floor it was very difficult to get up!!! I sandwich all my quilts STANDING UP. I bought two 4'x8' pieces of rigid insulation at Home Depot, cut one in half so that I had 6' total width, then duct taped them together.

I start by pinning the backing on the board - wrong side facing out, making sure it is taunt but not stretched...spray baste;

pin on the batting making sure it is straight.. spray baste;

then I pin on the top, I have straight pins on the top of the quilt only at this point. Starting at the top middle I gently smooth down and out, down and out, all the way down the quilt. This is to smooth the quilt and make sure it is stuck to the batting. If you think it needs more spray baste you can raise the quilt, hit it with a few sprays where needed and then smooth out again.

Then I place safety pins about every couple of feet all the way around the quilt just to make sure it stays after I take it down off the board. I usually let it hang for a few hours to let the spray baste dry before I take it down.

This is how I do it too. My room is soo little! My cutting table has 2 sides that fold down. I can only fold one side up though. I just start in the middle and work my way left and right and then down. Then I turn the quilt around and pin to the top.

So you do your magic with sandwiching on the insulation board how? Flat, at an angle, vertical?

Quilts that are less than 72", i baste on my cutting table using the boards and basting thread. Especiallynif i can get to quilting them for a while. A few small ones i maybdo on the tile, but hard on the body. Anything larger, i take to my friend's house where she has 3 large tables and we can clamp the backing down and pin baste. If i am going to quilt it right away, i use straight pins and pieces of backer rod. If it's going to be awhile before i can quilt it, i use basting pins.

Thank you Ladies:) I also want to thank the Lady who "found" my post and sent me there!! Haha!! Is it okay to baste in "sections"? I don't have a table big enough to accomodate a quilt top all at once. I liked all the ideas and really appreciate this site. I've gotten so much help from you Ladies!! Just reading others questions and the answers they got helped me too. Thanks again!!

for large quilts to pin, check with your church, local senior center or library and ask if you may use their banquet tables for about an hour.

Most would be happy to let you pin your quilt.

When I don't want to get in the floor, I use my big dining room table. That table serves as everything. We eat on it when we have company. I cut all my fabric on it. Sometimes I sandwich my quilts on it. I pay bills on it. What would I do without it? heheeh!

If I have a quilt smaller than twin size and I really feel lazy I have often pinned basted it on my design wall. Just think vertical vs horizontal. My favorite method is the Sharon Schambers method, but I baste with quilter's safety pins instead of needle and thread.
https://www.google.com/search?q=shar...hrome&ie=UTF-8 .

I have two folding tables butted end to end that I use for her basting method. And I use my rolling office chair to sit in as I pin.

What about getting big pieces of cardboard and placing them on your bed and pinning your quilt on your bed? Then you won't pin your blankets, with the cardboard down.

I have the same issue...two artificial knees. We have a king size bed. I set up a folding table with the legs on bed raisers, at the foot of the bed. I can then lay the quilt on the bed and pull up a small amount of the sandwich to work on at a time. I start with the center, then work my way down, up and out.

I go to my church basement where they have lots of tables. Push as many together as I want.

Have your local longarmer baste it for you. I do it for customers all the time!

I use my glass topped dining table. I have to move the quilt to pin all of it. Sometimes I use a folding table or plastic saw horses with a cutting board on top. I have sandwiched so many quilts that it is easy for me.

I use the clubhouse in my community and put tables together to lay it out, spray it and put it together. My sister goes to her church and I know another person that goes to her school cafeteria. Use whatever works best for you.

i just love the way 'we all' answered up and helped her out. where there is a will, there is a way.I use my large dining room table and start at the middle and work out, using safety pins.

Spray baste on a wall.

Maybe your local quilt shop has tables in their classroom already set up you can use. We have ladies doing this at our shop frequently. They just call ahead to make sure there isn't a class going on.

Since I got my new knee (actually even before!) getting on the floor is not going to happen--I use the cutting table for smaller quilts and my bed for larger ones--slip your cutting mat between the backing and the bed cover and it gives a hard surface to pin baste or baste on so you don't get the wrinkles or baste to your bed cover!

Have watched a lot of tutes on using a wall and hang backing, then batting and top using spray baste.....

I go to church and put tables together. Works for me. I have a church key so can get in any time I want to.

Sandwich your quilt on a large convenient surface
 

It's impossible to sandwich a quilt on the floor and have it turn out the way you want. I use two saw horses (you can get the light wt. aluminum folding type) and then use a couple scrap doors side by side or get a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. Now you have a large table on which to sandwich your quilt. I realize space might be an issue for many people but you can always use your driveway. If you want to get scrap doors (which are nice because they're smaller than the plywood) - check with your neighborhood handyman and very likely he'll save his next two scrap doors for you.

Our church has great tables in the social hall where when it's not in use we can easily move/slide them as we like and when done, move them back where we found them.

I take all the blankets, sheets, and mattress pads off a king-size bed and sandwich it on there. It has worked fine for me.

I do mine on top of my queen size bed. I have done em on the floor, but it's a B!

Always do mine on top of my queen size bed. Strip the bed to matress, cover with an old sheet and go at it.
Easy peasy and no crawling on the floor and no sticky mess to clean up!!!!!!!

I have quilt frames. The 100 year old sticks are for a double bed at the largest, so my son made me two 9 foot sticks with the baseboards that came out of the house in which I live. This was really good wood. Then last year I made two 48 inch sticks for baby quilts and wall hangings. I have stapled a strip of denim on all of these, and they go together with bolts. When the quilt is pinned onto these, there are no wrinkles! Our neighbor, George, threatened to use our stretched quilts for a trampoline. In my kitchen I set it up over the counter with chairs holding the other two corners. In my living room I use the dining table under the frame and chairs under corners that are not supported by the table. When our homemakers club ties quilts for charity, we go to the town hall and use the long tables there.

I use the tables at our church fellowship hall. So much of the time it isn't being used, so they let me push tables together & pin my quilts there. You might even find some others that are in the same boat that would want to do the same & you could make a day of it. Just an idea! Hope you work it out so you can pin in a little more comfortable manner.

I use two long tables from Office Depot. I keep them against the wall when not in use.