I have a Bernina. Just watch to see that the needle does not gum up. Also make sure it is dry and you may be spraying too much on the quilt. I just finished a twin size and did not have any problems other than the fact the Bernina is small. Sure saved a lot of work

I too spray baste and love it. My old fingers do not allow me to work the safety pins anymore.

I've recently learned a new way to spray baste & so far it's working well for me. Pin (or tape) single sheets of newspaper all over your design wall, pin the quilt back over the newspapers, smooth backing with your hand moving easily across the fabric, spray, place batting over backing & smooth, smooth, smooth until all is straight, then lightly spray batting & place top over it & smooth, smooth, smooth. I leave it hanging on the wall for a while before I start to FMQ, it seems to leave less residue when it's a bit drier.

I used J Tailor I bought it at Joanns it was 50 percent off.

I posted a video of this. its on this thread. I plan on trying it next time.

Here in Canada, 505 is over $30/lg. can so I am using fusible batting when Connecting Threads has their batting sales (often) and buy a case. It actually is cheaper that way (for me anyway) . I love the fact that I can use up batting pieces without sewing them together...just fuse and use!

I heartily second the spray basters! It is especially good for my charity quilts. Lay them on the bed, layer them up, then spray in 1/3s. Holds better than pins, and can be repositioned if you don't press too hard when smoothing.

After using the basting spray once, I found out it is great but you have to have great ventilation. I have asthma and it really affected my breathing when I started to use it. Now I cover my face with a cloth and leave the room while it dries.

Count me in as another spray baster! Been doing this for 5-6 years now and I rarely use pins. I also mainly baste on the wall - so much easier than getting down on the floor once you get the hang of it.

BTW - I use a mask when I'm basting and the room I do it in has several windows. I am not really "afraid" of the fumes, but just very sensitive to smells in general. I don't worry too much about this being a chemical - most of my quilts are art quilts and even the bed or lap quilts I make, I figure it washes out well and definitely wears off over time.

Tanesha

The only time I ever had a problem with gummy needles was when I used it with Minkee backing. I possibly used too much, but I was trying to use it very sparingly, so I think it a little more likely that the spray reacted chemically with the polyester Minkee.

Maybe it would react with the poly in 80/20 batts, too? I think the only batts I've used so far with the 505 or June Tailor sprays were 100% cotton.

I wonder if anyone has had gummy needles when they used the spray sparingly on 100% cotton batt and fabric? Or did you get the gumminess when you were using a poly or poly blend batt or backing?

I just kept cleaning the needle with TriFlow lubricant and prayed for the end of that blasted Minkee quilt! Oh, I was so happy to get that thing done! :D

I love it too, would not pin another quilt if I had to. lol It is so much easier, and you can get the blasted back on there straight

To Me it's Messy(unless it's a super small project)! I also do not like all the fumes! Yuk! It's a :thumbdown: for me! I prefer small curved safety pins.

I would never use pins again. Spray basting is much easier and my quilts are so easier to work with and look so much better.g

I love 505 to hold anything fabric together. I mostly use it to keep borders out where they belong when I have quilts on my LA. It is great for holding the quilt sandwich together so you can pin or baste it for hand or DSM quilting. Easy to reposition your fabric and stick it down again too!

I have a Bernina 820 and I used the basting spray on my last four quilts -- 2 queen size and 2 nap size. I used June Tailor on the first one and it did gum up the needle some, but I used 505 on the others and the needle didn't gum up at all. I think I probably sprayed the first one too heavily, too. There were a lot less fumes with the 505 brand. I'm definitely a convert.

I also use spray basting and love it. I have never had any breathing problems as a result of using it. This summer I bought a flannel-backed tablecloth (the largest I could find) and I put that on my table before I start layering the quilt to collect the spray. When I'm finished I can wipe it off, thereby eliminating the mess on my table and/or floor.

I have done both pin basting and spray basting. Also I have used the plastic tags. But, once I did pay a long arm quilter to baste my quilt and it was very inexpensive and it worked great. You might check with a long armer for their price.

I like spray basting and I also use 505. It has worked great for me. My Bernina hasn't had any problems. I think the letting it dry first suggestion is a good one.

This topic reminds me of pre wash/nevr pre wash; iron with starch/never starch. Everyone tries things and either adopts it or doesn't. it is nice we all have a choice. :-D

BTW: I always wash my fabrics first and sometimes iron with starch. Mostly I like spraying/ironing with plain ole water!

I agree with all you spary basters. I've been using it for years and love it. I spray my large quilts after taping them to the garage floor. For smaller quilts Iuse the basement floor. I always wash the quilts when they are completed and haven't had any problems. The spray does migrate though so I never use it near furniture or carpeting.

I just discovered this weekend that my Bernina doesn't like spray basted quilts. I was having trouble getting an nice looking stitch, so after playing with the settings with no improvement, I tried without it. My stitches were perfect. Kinda disappointed as I love the ease of using spray basting.

That really surprises me. I have a bernina 440 qe and it worked fine with 505. But I was doing free motion with my BSR. What type of quilting were you doing. It could be that if I look closer my stitches won't be totally even and I just didn't notice since my quilting isn't the uniform type. I would really like to know. I am doing my next quilt with hand or pin basting just to try the difference and see.

I agree, I like the spray basting. I take old sacks or newspaper and lay around the edges under the quilt before spraying. That keeps the sticky off the table or floor. I have not used the spray on a large quilt as yet, just up to lap size.

I saw this on a online video. I don't remember where but she had the news paper up and sprayed it on the quilt and batting and backing on the wall.

I'm sorry I didn't realize there is a tute on this. I'll look for it. I got the info from a quilting friend. Hope I didn't infringe on any rights. sharon

I was looking at this just last night!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UoUz...eature=related

I need to give this a try. BTW, she has some very nice videos in addition to this one.

Yes, that is great if you have a wall that large with nothing on it. My walls are all decorated. I think I will stick with the one where you just move it along your cutting table. I believe that is is on Missouri Quilts.

A pair of saw horses and a sheet of plywood covered with a sheet and throw open the garage door.........

...........and it's a perfect place for spraying....

works every time.....MJ

A sheet of plywood wouldn't be big enough for most quilts (48" wide). Do you just keep moving it around and spraying the top? I still wouldn't do it because of several family members' sensitivity to chemical things but I was curious.

Well, I am going to give this a try. DH Has some saw horses & plywood. Thanks,,,

I had read that the spray didn't stick to poly/ batting, and had read that Aqua Net hair spray worked for some people. Am also on a limited budget...sooo decided to try something when doing my GGS's quilt. Both sides are poly fleece and it needed a thin poly batting as he lives in Colorado. We have an over-sized couch bed and I spread the bottom out on that (it covered the whole thing as he is 13 and quite tall), sprayed a VERY LIGHT spray of Hair spray then an even lighter spray of June Taylor. Smoothed the batting an did the same to it and spread the front material on. I did it in halves as I didn't want it to dry before I was ready. It worked beautifully even tho I had to leave the quilting for a week!! And in 3 places ,just before quilting, near the outside edges I had to pull it away on the front to smoothe it out and it stuck down fine. Now I buy the cheapest spray baste I can find and keep the Aqua Net handy! There didn't seem to be very much smell either, (I usually open the windows in the living room where I do it, on a couple of plastic table cloths you buy on a roll) so once since it has gotten real cold I have only opened one window about 3 inches and done it, didn't want to kill my plants that live there in winter, LOL. No problems then either and have never had a problem with over spray either. Works fine on cotton also, but don't know about cotton batting as I can't afford that.
Hope this works for those that try it!
Take Care Imak

I don't have any large wall space either but did find a closet that was quite large. I took an old plastic shower curtain, taped it to the closet doors then layered and sprayed the pieces. Haven't quilted it yet but it sure beat getting down on the floor or bending over a table.

That is so funny! I was thinking the same thing. I have read a few pretty heated discussions on here. It is to be expected some because we all have our own opinions. The best board ever though!

Oops! Forgot to say that I like to spray baste also.So much quicker & easier. It is expensive too. Pros & cons on everything you do anymore as far as if something is good for you or not. You definetly need a well ventilated area if you are going to use it.

I'm a spray baster, too - I usually feel guilty about it, but quick & easy trumps messy & wasteful!

Love this idea of using an old shower curtain instead of newspapers!!!

I am a newbie, so here is another dumb question. I know you will be gentle...The fine tutorials talk about free motion quilting when basting with spray. Does this also mean you can baste quilts that have been pieced, assuming you have really pressed the seams down well?

I knew it. My question was so dumb that you have all been dumb-struck. I need some help here, funny ladies. To baste or not to baste--pieced quilt tops!

I really don't quite know what you are asking?????

Do you mean can you use basting spray with pieced quilt tops? If that is the question, then yes, keeping in mind the debate above!

Maybe you thought that we only spray basted applique or whole cloth quilts??
I have used spray on pieced quilts. Just make sure it lays down flat on the batting and the batting lays flat on the backing. It worked fine, but I had posted that on a large quilt, I had a long arm quilter baste the quilt with thread on her machine and it really worked well.