Prism99

I haven't read through the entire thread, so forgive me if I am repeating.

One way to reduce or eliminate puckers in the backing is to heavily starch the backing fabric. I use a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "paint" this onto the yardage using a large wall painting brush, wait a couple of minutes to make sure the starch has saturated the fabric, toss in dryer, and iron with steam.

I also starch the top using several layers of spray starch. Starch stabilizes fabric so it is much less likely to pucker or distort.

The above works for me because I use cotton batting and 505 basting spray. It may not work if you use polyester batting, especially if you are using a brand other than 505 for the spray. There have been reports of the layers not sticking together when the batting is not cotton, especially if not using 505.

Edit: And, whether you use basting spray or glue, it's a good idea to have on hand a yardstick so that you can smooth the fabric from the center to the edges as you work.

Edit2: I re-read your post and just want to make sure that you are basting only half of a side at a time. That is, after laying the backing over the fabric, you need to (1) peel back the backing halfway, (2) spray baste the half of the batting that is exposed, (3) smooth the peeled backing half over the batting, using the yardstick to help you smooth from the middle out to the edge. You repeat this procedure for the other half of the backing. Then use the same procedure after flipping the batting over to add the top.

Just want to make sure you are not spray basting the entire batting, then trying to smooth the entire backing or top over the batting. This makes the process much more difficult.

Edit3: I also want to add that, for glue, one of the best suggestions I have seen is to use a small painter's tray and a foam painter's roller to apply the glue. Dilute it by half with water, place in paint tray, dip foam roller in water and wring out well, then use the roller to apply glue to the batting. Remember you do not have to cover the entire surface of the batting! You can simply criss-cross. This allows you to apply a small amount of glue (which is all that is needed) but to apply it evenly. If you happen to get a gob, just roll over it to spread it out.