hand quilting & to baste or not
 

Good Morning All,
I am thinking about hand quilting ( if the hands cooperate LOL) a small wall quilt. I think it will be about 36" square when done. In planning the hand work- is it advised &/or necessary to also baste the quilt before it is hooped??? I don't think I have ever seen this question addressed so thought I'd ask. In the past I have done really small items in the hoop with no part being basted But that was when I knew very little about real quilting.
Any thoughts or advise???
Thank You for your knowledge.
sewverybusy1

I always baste, regardless of size. And with hand quilting, you'll be shifting the piece around through the hoop, so it will be especially important to make sure it is well anchored. With smaller pieces and because of using a hoop, I generally hand baste as I'd like it to be good and tight.

Good thoughts. It seemed like that that was what I should do- just wanted to be sure.
Thank You
sewverybusy1

I would baste it. I use safety pins to baste ones that are about 18 inches but have always basted any larger.

I always baste. Even if it is with the plastic darts. The worst thing is to have it slip or the hoop come loose. I have had that happen countless times when hand quilting and was always grateful that the quilt was basted where it needed to be.

I've been a hand quilter for most of my quilting life and I always hand baste. I use long stitches that are easily removed. If you don't use something it will shift and give you problems.

i have hand quilted full sized quilts to several sizes of wall hangings & pillow tops. when i first started quilting in mid 80's ..thread basted was supposed to be the rule, then came the pins & i tried that. so back to thread basting. i have done needle point and crewel embroidery for many yrs ..so, having several scroll frames i just bought and cut to wanted length appropriately sized dowels, usually 1/2", attached pining strips as you would for sit down frame hand quilting. i now use my scroll frames for all small hand quilted items. start in middle, scroll up or down as wanted to change position. no shifting of quilt sandwich. and i still thread baste everything, even for fmq. except now w minkie type backing or flannel, i spray baste. no stretching. i do fmq on my domestic machine.

plus ...as for ”if the hands allow” ..i've been arthritic since teens. so when i hand quilt i try to have a small project to "warm" up on. loosen the fingers and hands to better control stitch size etc. works well ..tho one small quilt took me 13 yrs to finish, it helped me finish several wall quilts :)

I put the quilt on my long arm and then set the stitch length to the longest setting I can and stitch rows about 3 to 4 inches apart, all the way across. I use odds and ends of bobbins and almost empty spools of thread. It is much easier than basting it by hand. I love to hand quilt. Some quilts just need hand quilting.

Thank You everyone for responding. As per your advice- I will baste before I hoop. I will use thread as that seems to be the least interfering when hooping. Guess I will have a project for many a winter night (spring & summer too...probably!!! LOL) I will 'warm up' my hands as suggested too. Cramping isn't fun.
Thank You all for excellent info.
sewverybusy1

I pin baste of my quilts--wall hanging to queen size. I use the smaller curved safety pins. I find them easy to scoop up the layers together and don't have to think of stitching through to my carpet where I do the sandwiching. I hand quilt in a 14" hoop. I can take the pins out as I go. I try not to catch them where the hoops snap together but it usually is not a terrible problem