Sandwiching a quilt.
 

Does anyone else hate this job and keep putting the job off. The fmg or even hand stitching I love doing but I hate the middle section. Please help ..
Thank you for reading and offering advice.

Yes, it's not my favorite part either. That was a huge incentive for me to get a long arm...I knew I wanted a frame at the very least so I wouldn't have to crawl all over the floor basting a king size quilt. LOL* You could have a long armer machine baste it for you? Many do that for an affordable fee.

I use nice stainless safety pins and start out on the floor. I slide my cutting mat under where I'm going to pin (carpeted floor, alas). Put maybe 20 pins total in (full size), just to hold the middle and keep the edges straight. Then roll it up and put it on a 6' x 3' folding table. Aha! Now I can put more pins/basting in without crawling around the floor!

Once it's up on the table, I'll put a few more safety pins/basting stitches in over the whole thing. Then I focus on the line or section I'm going to quilt -- pin or baste that area, then do the quilting, take the pins/basting out, then move on to the next area. Breaks up the job a little so not too much boring, nasty stuff all at once.

Usually I'll roll up the excess at one edge of the table so it's not hanging down and distorting things, but this doesn't seem to be a problem with a @ full size quilt and poly batting.

I've done only home-sewing-machine quilting so far. If I'm using the Pfaff with integrated dual feed, I use just a few safety pins, @ 3" either side of my quilting line and every 8-10" lengthwise; it feeds neatly, and things don't shift. If I'm using the old Singer 301A (does a better job with dense cottony batting), I'll baste instead.

I must admit it isn't my favourite part. I usually use the Hobbs 80/20 fusible and I iron the sandwich together. I do it on the old carpet in the basement so I can do the whole quilt laying flat with my knee pads on. I usually put it off until I feel like the exercise and when my arthritis isn't really bad.:D

Thank you but is there a way with some kind of boards.

I use the Sharon Schamber board method. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA
I've only done up to a twin size but will soon try a queen size. I do it on a 6 ft banquet folding table (my cutting table on risers) This has saved me a lot of grief.

pumpkinpatch quilter responded exactly as I would have. I also hated the sandwiching, and wasn't very happy with the FMQ either because of the quilt's bulk. I did try quilting in sections, and that made the sandwiching and FMQ much easier. I used Marti Michell's book, Machine Quilting in Sections.

I sandwich mine on my cutting table using binder clips. I'm standing; not crawling around on the floor. The table is actually a bit higher than I would like ideally for a cutting height but it works a charm for sandwiching! My knees would give out long before the quilt was done - even a baby quilt if I did it on my knees on the floor.

There is a member here on this board who did a beautiful tute on basting with boards. I'm sorry I can't remember who it was. Thought I had it bookmarked, but can't seem to find it. I'm sure someone on here will remember, or maybe you can do a search in the Tutorial section.

I too dislike sandwiching. I do it on my dinning room table using binder clips, and pins, (cutting mat under where I pin) a section at a time. Works pretty well for me. Good luck.

I use the Sharon Schamber method with 8 foot boards. I put a folding table next to my dining room table so I have some table under the entire width. How will I do my queen size? Probably in halves. A bother to set up, but easy on the my back and the quilt back is as smooth as can be. Oh, I pin baste, not thread and needle.

I just posted about basting.. I HATE it.. I like spay basting for small projects but I usually make king or queen size and I have never found a method I like.
I have tried it on 2 8ft tables. the floor, ect.. nothing seems to work well for me..

Here are Sharon Schamber's videos on how she does the technique with the boards - Part 1:

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

Part 2 shows more about how to hand-baste (but many people use her sandwiching technique with pins):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_EjBGz5vGQ

I like this idea. I can't kneel on the floor though, my knees hurt too much. My big quilts I give to a long-armer so I don't have to baste. Smaller projects fit on my table, so I don't have to knee.

That is just one of the reasons I love my Long Arm professional. I will quilt if its under a twin size , anything larger go to the pro.

[QUOTE=humbird;5948016]There is a member here on this board who did a beautiful tute on basting with boards. I'm sorry I can't remember who it was. Thought I had it bookmarked, but can't seem to find it. I'm sure someone on here will remember, or maybe you can do a search in the Tutorial section.

QUOTE] FOUND IT!

Thread Basting My Quilt Sandwich for FMQ by azwendyg

This is the best basting tute I have seen.

I am very lucky to have the use of the wonderful 6 foot tables at the church. We have a group that meets there on Tuesdays. If I had to pin up the sandwich at home, I think that all I would ever do is wall hangings. If you need motivation to get something done, why not pretend that it is for a family member? I know when it is for just me, I have a tendency to put it off.

This is the part of quilting I don't like either. I use the island in my kitchen. It is nice and high but of course not big enough to hold a whole quilt so it is pin basted in sections. I can't get on the floor - knee replacement makes it difficult to get back up - I can do it but it ain't pretty! Never thought about just pin basting the center, quilting, then pin basting the rest. Might have to try that. Seems like it might be a good way to keep the back smoother.

I think this is why I have so many UFOs. When I get to the sandwiching part it is so much more fun to start something new!!!

Irish rose. Could you glue baste instead of pins ?

I hate sandwiching, too. It's much easier with two people to layer up the big quilts especially. And so much more comfortable off the floor! I have two big tables and some bed risers in the basement so when my weekly quilt bee had several tops to do, we would set a week, all bring our quilts and supplies and have a sandwich day. Many hands make light work! The bee dissolved, so now my hubby helps me wrangle the big ones. Bless him!

Humbird,

Thank you so much for finding the link to Azwendyg's method of basting. My knees are getting worse and this will be a perfect method for basting.

It is amazing how one small comment can bring so much success . I will tr Sharon's method after I purchase two pieces of wood.

I love the board method, bookmarked the links. Thanks so much for sharing. Now i know why my few quilts were never squared, Will definitely try this message, cause getting on floor hurts my knees and back.

Not my favorite part of the process :(

Washable school glue is the way to go for me! fast, easy, cheap....what more could you ask for?

Me too! I love this method!

I'm with you girl! If my quilt can be spray basted, i will do that for a smallish quilt. My larger ones I either take over the pool table or use the Sharon Schamber method.

I wonder if foam noodles wouldn't work instead of boards? Anybody tried them? Long boards would be awfully heavy, and give my tendonitis fits.

Preprimed 1X4s are available at the home improvement stores and are not heavy at all. You can cut them down if you never plan on making a quilt anywhere near 96" wide. I use blue painter's tape to hold my back and top perfectly straight on the boards before I start rolling. You could use try using noodles if your quilt isn't any wider than the length of the noodle. I prefer the boards because they stay where I put them while I'm pinning the sandwich.

I never liked the sandwiching part of making a quilt. Finally tried spray basting and it has made an incredible difference. It's quick and effective. I no longer crawl around on the floor, use hundreds of pins or have wrinkles/tucks when I FMQ. I no longer dread the sandwiching process and will never do it any other way. I admit to being afraid of it initially but WOW...what a difference it has made for me!

here is a video that may help and keep you off the floor. I tried it and it does work. I used a card table and did a queen sized quilt with no problem at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnke_KzeTI8

Thank you everyone for some great ideas and tutes. Will try them all to find one I like.

Here's the tute I posted awhile back on basting with boards. In my tute I thread basted, but these days I almost always use 505 spray instead with the same over all method: http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...mq-t91013.html

I originally got this idea from a Sharon Schamber youtube video, but the one thing I do differently is that I have covered my boards with flannel so that the fabric kind of sticks to them and does not slide around at all. I really LIKE basting this way; hope this is what you were looking for!

Not my favorite either

I don't find the long boards to be particularly heavy, and when you use them, you are mostly just rolling them on the table top and not lifting anyway.

Totally agree!
A lady at a sewing group I went to used a little gun that puts plastic tags through the fabric (like the kind that price tickets are attached to clothing with) to baste. Anybody used one of these? Are they useful? The lady didn't like having to remove all the little tags afterwards, but I really don't like having to unpick my tacking anyway so I don't think I would find that a problem.

I dis like the sandwiching part also. I have 2 large folding tables that I set up to do the sandwiching on. use big clap(from Harbor freight or home depot) found a bag of 40 all sizes at Home depot for $5.00. anyway thats how I put mine together. can't crawl on the floor any more my knees won't allow that. To raise the height the bed risers work, not major bending over, found those at goodwill.

I am working on a quilt top now that I plan on trying something different I saw a couple of weeks. Each square is sandwiched and quilted with the quilt top and batting only. Then each square is joined with a 1/2" seam. After the entire top is done square by square, the backing is added and machine quilted using only stitch in the ditch. The top can have any type of quilting because you are only dealing with the individual squares. The back will only show the stitch in the ditch. I am trying a queen size to see how it works because I've never been able to make a large quilt because of the sandwiching and quilting problem. I can't remember where I saw this method. It was probably here on this board.

I have done it on the floor, but usually on my queen size bed. Use basting spray and pins.

suzyquilter
 

Do you belong to a quilt guild or club? I save my sandwiching for club days. We keep two to three banquet tables pushed together just for that purpose. I ask someone who pins the way I do to help me. (Some in our club use spray and for reasons I won't get into here I do not use it.) If it is over a full size, I will get two or three to help and it's done in no time and I get to visit with my friends two! http://www.quiltingboard.com/images/icons/icon11.png