Spray basting hates me
 

I'm having such a hard time spray basting my queen quilt. I don't know why I did it this way. I always have trouble. I have wrinkles everywhere and I have to peel off the back and try again since I ran short on backing on one side. Never again!

I have had the same problem, but lived to conquer it and now love spray basting or glue basting. Of course, by the time you peel it all apart you will look like a white fur ball. I know this from experience.

I like to lay the batting down on my table. I clamp it down all around the edges with my big clamps. (They came in a cheapie set from Walmart and look like chip bag clips.) Next, I smooth the backing over the batting and clamp one edge and half of one end. Flip the unclamp half of the batting back and spray baste. Repeat for the other half.

Flip the whole mess over and repeat for the top. Somehow, for me, starting with the batting on the table makes things lay still. Every time I put the backing on the table and add the batting I get wrinkles.

Why not read some of the tutorials and comments about Elmer's washable school glue for basting? I use a regular table and work from the middle out. Let us know if try this and if you like it better.

I know what you mean!

I love the clips Lisa spoke of. I got a box of 6 or 8 at Office Depot and the were very cheap. With or without spray basting I use the clamps to sandwich when I pin and I have two sets to make sure I get it well clamped. They are called binder clamps.

I used to fold my quilt top back half way, spray and then fold the top down bit by bit. then turned over and did the same with the backing. Now I have a six foot piece of baseboard, one inch thick that I use. I lay my layers out on my joann's table, fold over the board and fold, wrapping and folding as I go across the table. spray and unfold, unfold, unfold. pressing down as I go along. then do the other end if need be. Then turn it all over and do the same to the backing. Works for me a bit easier using the board.

Katie Amelie has a video on You Tube. You can also Google "How to sandwich a large quilt on a small table". it's pin basting but you could probably apply the technique to spray basting. MSQC has video about spray basting also.

Just sayin' I use the clamps also but I pin baste my quilts. I've never had a problem pin basting, other than occasionally running out of pins:) Then I have to run to the store. I find that I can kind of bond with the quilt while pinning and think about how I may want to quilt it. I do FMQ on my domestic machine. Hope you find a method that you enjoy!

I have found that when I spray baste, if I iron the batting to the backing , ironing from the backing side and doing it is sections, it helps get a really nice flat two layer sandwich. Once that part of the sandwich is complete and I am happy .. I do the same ..adding the quilt top last , and ironing it smooth in sections.

I also could never get along with spray basting. I do clamp my quilt down using pins, the old fashion way !!

first i clamp my backing down tight then I "roll" my layers ( batting/top) ... Works like a charm..

Ahhhhh thank u so much! Because you posted this I put the batting down on the floor and put the backing over it. It worked! then I flipped it over and put the top down and it is perfect. thank you so much I'm so glad I posted this. I love this board everyone is so helpful!

I think from now on tho im going to pin baste. Ive nevef had such trouble pin basting it.

I had the same problems with spray baste. It was just a mess. Then I used the Sharon Schamber method of rolling the quilt on to boards and then thread basting. That works really, really well but it's time consuming. So then I tried spray basting with the boards and it works even better than the thread basting. Next time I baste a quilt I'll use the boards and Elmer's glue. The real secret is winding the top and backing on the boards to keep them flat and smooth.

One more thing about spray basting--which I do all the time--you need precious little spray and it does not need to be on every inch of the batting. If you have a lot of trouble with wrinkles, you may be using too much. Lighten up a bit on how much you use and see if that also helps.

I just posted a few minutes ago how I make the sandwich, and it is just the way Lisa stated. I start with the batting, spray it and smooth on the backing, flip and repeat with the actual quilt top. That just works SO much better for me.