I've read so many of you spray baste. I've done it with really small quilts, but now I'm getting ready to FMQ (teeth chattering) a quilt that is 55 x 55 inches. If I spray baste, is that ALL I need to do? Or should I still pin it too? I doubt it matters, but the back is also pieced (big pieces). I'd be using 505. Is that the right product?

I'll be watching for the answer...I'm getting ready to FMQ my first little quilt too

All I use is spray baste.

505 is all you need. It is wonderful.

when I spray that isall I do. no pins.

All I use is the spray baste!

How careful do you have to be? And do you baste the whole thing at once? Work from the middle out? (I know I'm supposed to quilt from the middle out.) It just seems impossible to me that it will all stay put. (Maybe I'm a wild quilter. Do you think so?)

It will stay put unless you physically move it! Great stuff, no pins. Work in ventilated area. I put my cat outside since she is one nosy puss. :mrgreen: I sprayed half at a time. Let the half you are not working on hang over your table. That way you know where you are. Then quilt as usual, from the middle out.

It works just fine, quilt from the middle out.

I just spray basted a queen size and I just love it. I will never pin baste again. It is holding together great just waiting to be quilted.

I spray baste , but still pin a bit on the perimeter, sometimes it can get pulled up while moving it around.

I'll spray baste and no pin. I've also been using the fusible batting. Works great too. :thumbup:

I'm with you--I spray baste and pin whereever I think it needs it.

I don't have a flat surface or enough room on the left side of my machine. I have to roll it up and that distorts it.
Syl

I guess I move mine around too much because I usually need to either pin or baste around my quilts. I do this only on the bigger quilts, not wallhangings or smaller ones.

Me too, probably dont need to pin but when I'm doing a large quilt, the pins just make me feel better about any spots on the edge that might not have been sprayed as much.

I use painter's tape to hold my backing nice and tight and then I spray baste the batting. I leave a 2" border around my batting on all 4 sides. I then spray baste my quilt top on top of the sandwich and the top is 1" smaller than the batting all around. After I spray it I use a rolling pin to get it nice and smooth. It holds up but if you need to adjust it you can take it apart to adjust and when you put it back together just use your rolling pin and it sticks just great. Make sure you have good ventilation and use a drop cloth or be ready to scrub your floor; it gets very tacky.

i sometimes pin the edges of the border.

I've been wanting to try 505 spray, but having a hard time finding it. I can order online buy have any of you ever seen it at Joann's, HL, Hancock?

I forgot the "scrub floor" part once. :thumbdown:

Does spray basting work with all kinds of batting? I normally use polyester batts.

I've read too that some quilters fix up a basting wall for spray basting. How can this be done and is it really much easier than basting on the floor?

I actually baste mine on my bed. I take all the sheets off but the fitted one. The I put the batting on, and spray the top half. Then I lay the bottom half on and turn over. I make sure there are no wrinkles and do the same thing again.

Some good information here.

I have Spray Basted for years before I got my mid arm..i have attached pictures from shuttererfly showing how i sprayed my quilts..I layed a clean sheet down..put the back of the quilt down..layed the battin down ...then the top...smoothed all the wrinkles...folded back top..battin half way...then sprayed alittle..about 8 inches across..folded down..smothed fabric..one step at a time...then went to the other side and repeted the same steps...sorry if i have misspelled words..but wanted to share the pictures...hope this helps...
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/re...8AbtnDJm5ZOGP4

It's good to follow a specific series of steps when spray basting to make it easier. For example, position batting on top of backing the way you want it first, then turn back half of the batting, spray it, then smooth it back into position. Then do the other half the same way. Position the top, fold back, spray, smooth that half, etc. the same way.

On a large quilt it can be a good idea to pin baste along the edges.

You don't necessarily machine quilt from the center of the quilt. A lot depends on the type of quilting you are doing. If you are doing straight line quilting, for example, to create squares then you start at the middle *of a side* and work your way to the opposite side. Similarly, with free motion stippling, you probably want to start at a side edge and work your way to a side edge. That way you don't have to worry about burying thread ends later. There are some designs that require starting and stopping in the middle of the quilt, but most do not.

Just the spray baste.
If you use the safety pins, they will just be in your way.
Make sure you have enough spray on the backing, and your batting to secure all the layers and enough fabric on all (4) sides to push and pull your quilting.

505 seems to work on polyester batts. Some of the other brands appear not to work very well on polyester.

I tried a basting wall, but I find it much easier to spray baste on a large table (using large clamps to keep the backing in position). A wall is easier than working on a floor, but a table is easiest of all.

I've seen it at JoAnn's before.

What a great idea. I've always used our ping pong table, but there's not enough ventilation in that room. And i can see how layering the back over the batting, then flipping it will allow me to see that it's nice and smooth.

I knew you guys would give me great ideas!

Thanks. That's very helpful.

Your pictures really helped me "see" how to do it! Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

This is the quilt I'm quilting:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-94200-1.htm

I'm doing diagonal lines in the pieced blocks, pebbling around the frogs, and outlining the leaves in the outer border. I'm going to do a fancy stitch from my sewing machine in the narrow green border. Not sure about the blue border--maybe more pebbling or some more lines. I can't draw to save my soul, so it has to be pretty easy. As i write this, I'm thinking i could maybe pull off some tadpoles, but I'm a little afraid they'd end up looking like sperm! LOL

Use your wall space.
You will get better results.
I've been using my walls because you can mark your backing with chalk marks and spray and then add your batting and spray and then your top is last all at one time.

I've been spraying my quilts for a long time. I can remember telling the girls on the other board that I was using spray and they were OMG, you can't use spray, your needles will gum up and break, or it will get in your machine. I've never had a problem with it. I still get mine at Walmart in the automotive department.
Syl

what kind of spray do you find in the automotive department at Walmart and is it cheaper. I find $15.00 per can at JoAnn's pretty expensive, even when I have a coupon it is expensive.

I want to know what you get from automotive, also. And what you pay...

I have had people say they use Aqua Net hairspray, I tried it and it worked for a small project, but I wouldn't use it for a bigger quilt. At least, not until I know a better way to do it.

JHittle is cheaper, especially if you buy 6 cans at once.

The one I have is Krylon, I don't remember the price, but it's around 5.99 or under for an 11 oz. can. Works good enough for me.
Syl

That's cheaper than $9 a can from hittle

I spray baste king sized quilts and I do 'stay stitch that size so that I'm certain that it doesn't go out of shape. I don't worry about the other sized and they all turn out OK. Don't be too heavy handed with the spraying - a light mist will do it.

What spray do you use from the automotive dept???