I posted the other day, after discovering that a quilt I'd sandwiched SO carefully nevertheless had creases in the backing. I'm now wondering how else I might approach this, given that I have a small house with no walls big enough to use, and only one suitable floor area, which is carpeted and therefore not ideal. I've been looking at tutorials on using a table, but none of them seem to say whether you can do this successfully if your quilt is considerably bigger than the table - the videos I've looked at use quilt tops that are conveniently almost exactly the same size as the table top. Can anyone advise, please?

I have used my dining room table. I layer all three layers, than start pining, or basting, in the very middle and work out to each side, top and back. I smooth as I go. I know some will clip the backing to the edge of the table to begin but I don't. The weight of the hangover seems to keep it smooth. Once the quilt area on top of the table is basted I move the quilt sandwich one way or the other to continue with the pining or basting. Works or me.

i use my pool table with a cover overtop of it to protect it from pins. but, laying out my layer quilt for a couple days before i pin seems to work best. it seems to let the batting relax.

I use a carpeted floor all the time! Lay your backing down, wrong side up and pin it to the carpet in the corners and a couple of places along the sides, making sure it is flat and tight. Layer your batting and then the top, smoothing out each layer. THEN (this is how it works), slide a cutting mat on the carpet, under the backing and use the mat as something to pin against so you don't catch your carpet. I just did it last night - works great!

You can use your table to layer. I've done it several times. I longarm now but ocassionally I have one that I dont want to long arm. I layered a lonestar last week using my kitchen table. The picture I've attached is a quilt that I did earlier in the year on a long folding table. I use large black clips that you can get at wal mart or office supply store. When I put my backing on I use these same clips to keep my backing flat, layer the batting, removing one clip at a time to hold down batting to the back, then repeat process when I add the top. I'm spray basting between the layers. I only move the quilt about 12 inches or so each time I need to pin a new area. You really don't even need to pin but on this particular quilt I did. The one I'm currently working on I didnt pin, only spray basted.

Believe it or not, that's EXACTLY what I did, pins and cutting board and all, and the backing got creased! I was quite surprised. It wasn't a big quilt and the carpet doesn't have a thick pile either. That's why I'm wondering if I can find another method.

That's really helpful - thankyou - what I was thinking I might be able to do. I just wanted the confirmation that it still works if it's a big quilt. I have a standard-sized dining table that I think would work well - no fancy edges, so the clips would go on OK.

Good to know -would have to choose my couple of days carefully, as I'd be using my dining table!

This is what I was thinking of doing. Doesn't the quilt tend to slip off once you get near the edge and most of it is off the table?

I use the table, clip on the backing first so it won't slide. I do not clip the other layers. Start from center and smooth out. Put your cutting mat upside down under it, pins could gouge the mat.

Or gouge the table!!

Yes, sorry, forgot to add I put weights on it to hold it in place. Anything heavy will do. My bookcase sits there so books were always handy! Yes, I also put a mat under the layers to save my tabletop from pin pricks.

I'm not very good at descriptions so often I leave that to others who do a better job!!

genius using the cutting mat underneath! I have hard wood floors, which one would think would be ideal for basting, but my knees won't allow me the be on the ground that way for too long. I use my bed to baste but struggle with the bedding underneath...I have a lap quilt to baste today and instead of dreading it I am looking forward to trying the cutting board tip, thanks a lot!

I think you did pretty well!

I sandwich my quilts, big and small to the carpet in my family room. I use gorilla tape and tape in a few spots, I have found I get less creases if I do not pull the backing fabric very tightly. I just lay it out flat, smooth out the wrinkles then lay the batting on, fold the batting back half way and start spray basting, smooth that out. Finally add the quilt top and do the same as I did with the batting. One thing I do try to spray the batting and not the fabric, but sometimes I have had to spray the fabric, just so I know it sticks. Occasionally I safety pin it here and there. It works for me. Now the carpet is a very low nap one and the tape sticks very well to it.

Since I have extremely limited space (live in a motorhome) and my body just won't let me get on the floor, I will find various places that have the room and tables I can use to layer. Places like churches, senior citizen centers, etc. where I can put 2 or 3 tables together to accomodate the size of quilt I need to layer. I either use Sharon Schamber's method (http://www.SharonSchamberNetwork.com) with a little adaptation or simply use painters tape on all sides of the back. I will often use tape in addition, especially to attach the leader edge of the fabric onto the board, to keep the fabric taut and straight to start with.

this is exactly how I do it, but I use a banquet table that has a fermica (sp) top so everything slide nicely. I very rarely have a problem.

This is what I have done. Works fine if you can get up when you're done! :-D

I posted sort of a tutorial on this awhile back using my own adaptation of Sharon Schamber's method. You can check it out here: http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-91013-1.htm

In my spare room I used the king size box springs laid up against the wall; worked out great.

I lay mine out on my bed with an old top sheet down to protect surfaces and use basting spray. My knees won't take doing it on the floor anymore and could never get it pinned well enough to prevent puckers. The spray basting is so easy and fast that I will never pin another! If it's a large quilt, you can do the batting in sections making it even easier to fmq. And the bonus is that I never have puckers when done quilting!

When I needed more space to sandwich a quilt I called my LQS's or church and put 3 of their long tables together to do the work.

I did buy 2 Lifetime tables 4x2 ft with adjustable height legs [3 different heights] for my smaller projects.

ali

I needed to sandwich my first completed quilt top. My "dining room/breakfast room" table is round; I don't have floo....or space to lay it out, nor a wall. I put it on my queen size bed, smoothed out the backing; added the batting then the top; I smoothed and smoothed.......pinned the top down and then crawled all the way around the floor to pin and then baste the sandwich together. I now have it basted and ready to hand quilt.....it happens to be right here by me on the sofa..am resting.

Since it has cooled off considerably here in West Ga, I think I'll enjoy hand quilting it !.....we'll see what happens next !

Nope not on mine. If I does want to slip, just put some painters tape on the table to add friction. I've not done it but it should work.

I successfully thread basted a 40 inch by 40 inch wall hanging on my work table, which is 16 inches by 30 inches. I just shifted the PVC pipes I had the top and backing rolled onto side to side as needed.

I use a variation on Sharon Schamber's basting method. My variation is that I baste a lot closer than she does. She bastes using herringbone stitches about four inches long; I baste using herringbone stitches about one inch long.

I figure since I use a floor hoop, my quilt sandwich needs to withstand being hooped at the beginning and unhooped at the end of each quilting session.

Can I use a King size bed to pin a lapt quilt.

use the floor, get some basting spray, no pins needed, it works great

I use the dining toom table with the table pads turned with the felt side up. The felt keeps the quilt from slipping. Start in the middle and and move the quilt as needed making sure to pull fabric backing smooth as you go.

The bed is too squishy. You need something firm that won't move..

I use my floor sometimes also, but.. I used a plastic table cloth under it.. or clear plastic covering..the pins slide right over it. Then on my corners of the quilt/backing/batting, I have those sitting under pieces of my furniture. Like my couch legs and etc. They don't move around on me that way. Nice tight backing each time and I am a newbie here.

This is the process I use all the time. I have one of the craft tables similar to those available at JoAnn's. It's not overly large and I've done king sized quilts on this table simply by carefully shifting as necessary. I start in the middle, pin, move the bulk of the quilt to one edge, making sure that a reasonable amount of the previously pinned area, clip and proceed. It's far easier on the back and certainly on the knees as opposed to doing it on the floor!

i use both the floor and my kitchen table. If I use the floor I will use masking tape to hold down the corners and try to instill smoothness. I hand quilt so I can smooth out the wrinkles as I go. It is hard to sandwich no matter how I do it.

Try this. This works for me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA

In the summer, I use the hose to spray with water our driveway. When dry, I use pkging tape to tape down the backing wrong side up. After using spray in layering the quilt, I pin it.

No wrinkles, and it machine quilts great!

This is how I do it too. Start in the middle and work to the sides. I've done it with pins and with spray.

Good Morning. I have same problem for very large quilts.

I bought a large vinyl flannel table cloth, lay in on carpet flannel side down.
Adheres to carpet very well. Also when new cloth I run it in my dryer first, low temp, to get rid of wrinkles. Watch it carefully so not to get too hot. Use safety pins to hold quilt down smoothing all the way. Works pretty well for me and not so hard on the knees.
A Helper would be good. I don't have anyone to help so it takes longer.

Harriet Hargrave recommends doing it on a table. She describes it in detail in her book "Heirloom Machine Quilting."

She recommends taping a toothpick on the centers of the top edges of the table. You can then feel through the layers to know exactly where the center is to place your sandwich layers.

I used to use my dining table with leaves in- gave me 36x72 space. I went to Home Depot w/DH and got some of the big clamps like he uses for wood projects. Lay your backing down, centered with pins at the center, using length of table for width of your quilt. Smooth out and clamp on both sides, then lay batting, centered, and top, again centered. I then pin with large safety pins about 4-5 inches apart, working from the center out. You have to unclamp and slide the entire "sandwich" first one direction to continue pinning, then back the other way. If you take your time with smoothing and clamping, then flip to check the backing once it is all pinned, you should be good. May have to redo some of the pins, but usually it is out near the edges. I now have a top that DH made from a sheet of plywood that fits over my table-gives me a 4ft x8ft surface, still clamping and pinning.

I know some people say "This is wrong." but.....
(I don't listen to quilt police.)
I put the top onto the batting ONLY. I quilt a little bit, then after that, I take the backing and quilt it to the other two layers. Voila! NO PUCKERING!!!
And now, I have discovered QUILT AS YOU GO where you actually sew your pieces of the top to the batting as you go along. Why didn't I find that some years ago??? It works out amazingly! Before you know it, your top two layers are done and you are ready to add your backing. No three layers for me. I enjoy my working and my work much more when I use these methods. Why torture yourself and the quilt?

I have a long table that I use. I tape the backing down along the short edges and then lay the batting on, smoothing it well. Then I lay the top and start working. I do use clips along the edges sometimes. The best thing I bought for myself was the bed raisers that they sell with the "college stuff"-you can lift your bed up so things can be stored under it. Found a set at JoAnn fabrics for $10 and it makes such a difference on my back!