Spray basting....how long....
 

...does it stay wet for on the fabric?

On a queen, would you spray the whole thing and then put the batting down, or would the far end dry before you got the batting all smoothed out and made your way to the far end?

Do you only spray half at a time?

Thanks.

Watson (Who is just FULL of questions!:o)

For large projects I spray 1/2 at a time-- not because it dries too fast but because it is much easier to work with 1/2 at a time.

can I high-jack your thread to ask a follow up question? When it comes to spray basting, stretching out the fabric isn't mentioned like it is for pin basting. Doesn't your fabric have to be nice and taut before you baste no matter the method?

Feel free to high-jack with any questions you may have!

Watson

I spray in sections too. If it is a small quilt (baby) I will do half and then the other half, but I also do it smaller sections depending on size. The spray doesn't dry, it stays sticky and you can reposition if necessary. You do need to be careful with the various glues. One that I got for my embroidery does dissipate after a couple hours. Which is nice for machine embroidery, it is not for quilting.

Always spray the batting with basting spray and then smooth out the fabric over the batting....that way you are sure to see any areas that may have puckers/wrinkles and can be dealt with right then. It also eliminates the need to tape down the fabric. But you just want to smooth the fabric over the batting....don't try to keep it tight as it will pull back and pull everything with it causing ripples.

You should never stretch the backing fabric, no matter which basting method you use. You want to smooth it out, yes. I like to heavily starch the backing fabric before layering, as it will be nice and smooth after ironing. You can even tape down the edges of the backing, if you like. However, you do not want to stretch the batting and then tape it. When the backing fabric is released from the tape it will spring back to its normal tension. If the quilt has been basted, this will likely cause puckers and/or wrinkles in the back.

There is plenty of time to work with the basting spray before it dries. It is re-positional for quite awhile. If you do a search on "spray basting" on the Quilting Board, you will find threads that explain why it is easier to spray only half the quilt at a time. I still remember the quilter who wrote about spraying the entire quilt before layering and how, after wrestling with the quilt, she ended up looking like a snow bear!

for crib or smaller size quilts, I spray half at a time... I load my larger quilts onto a longarm so no need for spray basting.