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Old 05-13-2009, 07:14 AM
  #42  
Cathe
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,097
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http://www.quiltak.com/index.htm This is the one I like and recommend.

I do not use basting spray - I do not like chemicals in my quilts. (Yes, I wash the heck out of the fabrics when I get them home.) I have used the fusible ones before for table runners and baby quilts, and those are fun for small projects, but they still have glue in them.

"Tak"ing works well for hand or machine quilting and is very fast if you use the best quality gun and tacks. Otherwise it can be frustrating and leave holes in your quilt. A good basting gun (the Quilt Tak) leaves smaller holes than safety pins.

The preparation for basting is the same as for any other kind of basting, except that you need to put the grid down under the backing before you start. You don’t need to start in the middle, but I like to put a couple of tacks there first to secure it.

For a grid, I went to the big home store (Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, whatever) and bought a ceiling panel - the kind used over lights in suspended ceilings. I think it was $6. It was only 1/4" thick (it really needs to be thicker!), so I cut the 24" X 48" panel in half crosswise and stacked the two halves. I glued them with model airplane glue (intended for plastic) and ended up with a 24" x 24" grid for a MUCH lower price than you would pay for a smaller one at the fabric store. I like it a lot.

I attached ribbons to each side of the grid so I could pull it around under the quilt as I worked. I have done many queen sized quilts like this. It's super fast, and as I said, it's great for hand or machine quilting.
Be careful removing the tacks. Special tools are available for the purpose, but they are not strictly necessary.
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