Ideas on where and how you sandwich your quilts
 

I have a great quilting area in the basement.! My design board is a flannel bed sheet and I have a great table for cutting. It was my dining room table with 2 leafs that sits 10. I have everything I need but I still have trouble finding the best way to sandwich my quilts. Sometimes if they are small enough I can do them on the cutting table. Or if they are 48x60 I can add 2 folding tables around my cutting table and use that, since I need room to tape down my backing.

I have a 60x80 and a 97x114 quilt to sandwich and I can't seem to figure a way to tape it down except for on the hard tile floor and get on my knees. I'm not young anymore and it's getting difficult to be on my knees. Any suggestions on how you sandwich your larger quilts?

I know, I know, I can stick to smaller quilts, but sometimes I just get ahead of myself because I love scrap quilts and my creations can get larger than anticipated.
Any advise?

I've never taped down a quilt. just adjust them as I pin them, make sure everything is straight as I go. Just keep pulling them straight as I go. I also have a large dining table that seats 10 and that is what I use.

I just use my cutting table and put my batting down, first. I use Warm & White/Natural, so it pretty much stays put, even when part is hanging off of my cutting table. When I feel it needs more support, I adjust the ironing board to the proper height, and push it next to the table. Then I use Elmer's School Glue on the batting, and smooth my quilt top over it, half at a time. When one half is set (dry enough not to shift, which is pretty quick), I slide it over and do the other half. After both halves have set, I flip the whole thing over and do the same with the backing.

I've never used Elmer's glue before but I hear a lot on the board that do. I must try it sometime. Sounds very interesting .

Using Elmers glue sounds messy! how do you use it and keep it from getting messy on your fabric?

A friend recently sent me this link by Sharon Schamber...it may assist you. The method does not use pins, glue, or tape!

If the link does not open, copy & paste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA

I have done quilts and used my biggest table and started at the middle taping the back down then put the batting then the top and just do the part in the middle then move it and tape and start all over on each end works pretty good

I can use the floor in my sewing room. There is space enough for this process. I've heard from others, that they can use a community room like from the church or their kids shool sports hall for very big quilts.

I use my big dinning table. I put two safety pins in the center of the backing on the outside. Lay the backing on the table with the pins in the center. I then use big paper clips on the edge of the table all the way around to hold the backing in place and keep it a little taunt. I find the center of my batting and put that on top of pins. I can feel them on the backing. Then center the top on the sandwich. I use my office chair with wheels and wheel around the table pinning. When I get all that pinned, I undo the clips and move the quilt. If I need to clip some of the quilt that is pinned, I put the clips over all three layers and then flip up the top and batting that is not pinned, check the backing and proceed to clip the rest. I have done king size quilts this way. Hope this makes sense.

Go to YouTube/ Katie Amelie. She has a video that shows how to sandwich a large quilt on a small table. Really good video There are others ideas off to the side also. I would definitely check it out. No taping.

My kitchen, farm table, seats 8 and I have done up to a queen sz on it. do half, move and do more. It can be done! good luck

I'm not the best at explaining things but will try. Maybe someone else can add to this.

I use large, sweeping motions and apply the Elmer's School Glue fairly quickly, so that just a thin line hits, in any one spot. It ends up being a sort of wide serpentine pattern of thin glue lines. The lines don't have to be that close together but I try to make mine at least every inch or so. If the glue comes out in a blob, I just use the tip of the glue bottle, to smear it a bit. I apply the glue in a serpentine strip from top to bottom, but only 1/4 to 1/2 of the batting width, at a time. This makes it easier to make any needed adjustments, if I put the top on crooked. Anyway, then I position the top onto the batting, lightly pat it down into the glue (it isn't enough glue to soak all the way through) and smooth out the entire top, making sure I have it straight and centered. After the first section is glued on, I fold back the unglued part of the top, then glue another section (top to bottom). I usually end up with a bit of glue on my fingers but it dries quickly and then I can "roll" it off, into the trash basket. If it's more than just a bit, I use a damp paper towel.

I highly recommend the video mentioned by tessagin above. Here is a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnke_KzeTI8

It really is very informative, and the subtitles added by her son are rather entertaining to boot! I bought a 4' X 8" piece of plywood that I put on top of my oval-shaped dining table. I can do most large quilts in sections of at least half the quilt at a time. I have just enough room to walk around the table with the plywood set on top of it. It's not the ideal height, I suppose I could put bricks or something under the plywood, but have just used as is. I put an old tablecloth under the plywood to protect the table top. This way I can pin baste, glue baste, spray baste or even use a fusible batting without harming my dining table.

I use a room at our Library, and push a couple of their long tables together.

I go to the library also. My quilting group gets together one a week in the big meeting room.

I use clips that I bought at Menards in a container. I clip the back to the table (right now I go to the church 1/2 mi away). then I add the batting and then the top. Then I pin it all the while it is kept tight by the clamps. I clamp the whole thing when I have it set before I pin.

I used Elmer's glue for the first time this week. It was on a youth size qult, but I will be using it from now on. It was really quite easy, and no trouble with the machine needle.

I use tables in my sewing room for small up to large wall hangings....but for queen and king I use my old farmhouse dining room table...the key for me is something I just learned a year or so ago....but the idea has been around a long time. Someone here on the board posted it but I think the idea originally came from Sharon Schamber....you can see Sharon's videos on youtube about basting quilts. She uses two boards to roll them on. It's absolutely amazing and how easy this is to do...it doesn't even matter whether you pin baste or use needle and thread. I have 3 sets of boards...these are just 1inch x 3 inch boards we had left over from building projects. The first set is 3 feet long, the second is 5 feet long...The third set----the one to accommodate the big quilts are 2 six feet pieces of board...still 1x3....with a little peg in one and a hole in the other so they snug together. I originally wanted piano hinge that would lie flat but this works great. Check out Sharon's videos....they are amazing....no more bending over the bed or crawling around on the floor to baste. AND you can easily do it by yourself. It takes me 2.5 to 3 hours to baste a king size quilt at a leisurely pace.

What amyjo said - big binder clips hold the fabrics taut then pin or glue baste together. I've done several this way. Larger quilts are done in sections. Already pinned parts add weight to help hold everything "right"
If using my dining room table I protect my table with a cardboard cutting mat.

I saw something on YouTube but I haven't tried it. The gal put newspaper in her wall, then pinned up the quilt backing sprayed with glue (501), smoothed batting on backing, sprayed it with glue and then smoothed quilt top on batting.
Things always look easy in the net but this did look doable.

On the occasions I have to get on my knees, which are fewer and fewer, I use a boat cushion. I have sandwiched a quilt at our church on the floor with my boat cushion. I don't know why we didn't push the long tables together!

I am going to get the materials and do this. It is really getting hard to get down on the floor to pin my quilts. I have a cutting table so this should really work good for me. Hope so anyway. Glad this was brought up. I don't get on here much anymore, but decided to today. God must have been telling me to get on here today. Thanks.

I use a ping pong table in my studio here is a link to how I do it
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...e-t208057.html

good luck!

You have to wash the quilt afterwards and then it is all gone :)

what a great idea--i just finished a sampler quilt an i needed that info-am in texas also-piney woods-east side-teri j

Have you ever thought about using some very long boards? Use large clips to hold the boards together at the corners. Thus making an inexpensive frame.

I was wondering the same thing last night. I tried to thread baste on a carpeted floor. Did not work to well for me. You all have shared some wonderful tips & ideas. Thank you. :thumbup:

I use a carpeted floor. Secure the backing with T-pins.

So far (until I get my room set up) I've been using my king-size bed. Spread an old sheet over it, spread my batting, spray baste the backing to it, then flip and do the top. Works reasonably well for what I've done so far. But I think I'd like to try the boards method once I get my quilting room set up later this fall (before I get around to quilting my "good" quilts).

I also used this method from Sharon, I can't get down on the floor either, so this worked really well for me on my dining room table. I used 501 spray baste tho, not the hand basting she did. I got the boards at home depot, $5.00 each, and had them cut to 7ft . Worked really well for me. Someone else said they used blue tape to tape the edge of the fabric to the board to help keep it straight. I will try that on my next quilt.

I center my quilts in the middle of the table with the ends hanging over to the floor. I have clips that clip to the table, bought them at various hardware stores like Lowe's and Home Depot.

I ALWAYS sandwich my quilts this way - I even just did a King size one. It takes practice but after a couple of tries - you will love it.

When you do a large quilt like this or even Queen, do you just move to right and left to do the whole quilt? I want to try this. I am having a hard time getting down on the floor.

In the group I'm in we put 2 large tables together but with very large quilts it's still not enough so we work on 1 half of the quilt and then carefully pull it over to pin the other half. And to keep the backing from moving, we clip it with large drawing board clips onto the border of the table, only where it can't be clipped we use tape. I've also seen some people use those clips you put on your patio table to keep the table cloth from blowing away. Hope this is of help to you. Good luck!!! :)

This is what I do also. Or how about knee pads?

Sandwiching A Quilt
 

I don't tape mine down and I do all my pining on my queen sized bed as having had back surgeries, this is the perfect height for me. But then again, my bed takes a step stool to get into. When I could sit and bend more, I used my floor!

All the methods mentioned are fantastic. I don't sandwich a full large quilt. I divide my quilt into sections quilt then join so much easier on sandwiching and quilting. Saves the shoulders.

Nessie, this is exactly how I do it. The only difference is, after I drizzle the glue, I take a damp sponge brush and gently run it over the glue lines to smooth out the blobs. I let it sit overnight to dry and then quilt. Never had a problem with it coming "unglued" while I'm quilting and it washes out completely. I am sold on Elmer and will never go back to pinning or spraying!!! :thumbup:

I like the idea of using a sponge. I always glue my binding before I sew it and love it...I have not sandwiched a quilt yet though. Soon...

My local quilt lets me use their big cutting tables, sometimes if they aren't busy, they even help me!!!