michelleoc

I've gotten a lot more done since I learned about Elmer's school glue from here at the Board!

LivelyLady

I, too, don't mind sandwiching the quilt once I learned about it......kudos to the poster who posted it! Also, I listen to an audio book; it makes the time fly!

JudyTheSewer

I just ran down and Elmered a baby quilt. It was lickety split quick. I have a large dining room table in my sewing suite. It is easy to do a full sized quilt (I haven't tried doing anything larger using the Elmer's School Glue method yet.) I just let the excess fabric fall on both sides of the table, smooth the backing out, put a few bull clips to give a light tension to the backing, and put a grid of glue on, and smooth out the batting. (I put the bottle of glue in a bottle of HOT water for a few minutes to make it drizzle out a bit easier.) Twin/full quilts are done in three sections; middle, one end, the other end. The quilting chore I dislike is pressing yardage

QltrSue

I loathe sandwiching, too. I think it is because the large sized tops, batting and backing are so unwieldy. I usually have to enlist my husband's help to get everything centered and smooth. I use two fold up tables on risers that hubby built to save my back. Back when I was in a small weekly quilt group, we would have an occasional basting day where anyone who had a top ready could bring it and we would all help baste. That would be thread or pin basting, before the dawn of glue or spray!

citruscountyquilter

Having a large space at the right height and washable glue have been a lifesaver for me in sandwiching. I put the glue on the batting and then smooth the backing over that. Once that is dried I flip it over and repeat the process with the front. By putting the glue on the batting I don't have to worry about some leaking through the fabric on my table. I also put a small amount of water in the bottle to make it flow easier and hold the bottle up high so it is a thin stream by the time it gets to the quilt bat. It's still not my favorite part but a whole lot more tolerable with this method. Before this I pinned.

quilterpurpledog

I thread basted for a long time before trying the washable glue. I am a convert! I especially hated to pin baste because they caught on everything-even each other. I do like to use the board method when using the glue. It just seems to streamline the process. No matter how you baste it is essential to keep the backing tight and smooth in order to avoid puckers. You simply can't see them from the top. Basting isn't my favorite thing but I know that doing a good job on it makes the quilting so much easier and success is more assured.

ladydukes

Great tute!

SueF

I use Quilt As You Go, Joining the Blocks on patterns that will allow it. See www.gourmetquilter.com. A pattern must be so that it will allow a 1" piece between each square but when the squares are finished all you need to do is a border if desired and bind. The joining is a little hard to understand but once you get the hang of it, you'll like it.

sisterziz

I have a large design wall that my husband made me in the basement and I can hang a king size quilt up with only about 12 inches laying on the floor. I pin the backing at the top on the wall and spray with basting spray. Then I put my batting on top of that and spray again. I then put my top on the batting and my sandwiching is almost done. I take it off the wall, lay it on the floor and finish the last little bit. I have a tack gun which I use in just a few places ( my little bit of insurance) and around the outside edge, here and there, and I am ready to quilt. I saw this on utube and decided to try it. I wouldn't do it any other way again. I have done 3 quilts this way and absolutely love it. My friend helped me and it took about 10 minutes to do the king size quilt.

MargeD

I can relate to your difficulty, as I would much rather make the top, then quilt, but I've never found sandwiching to be fun. I find it more difficult now that we have downsized and I do not have the large table I had used. I tried laying the quilt on top of a very large cutting mat on top of a queen size bed, when sandwiching our DGD's quilt for her new "big girl" bed. My DH helped, but I had a few "oops" places where I had to piece the backing as it was off an inch or so, and I doubt I will use that method again. If it were a lap quilt, that might have worked, but laying the quilt on the floor is not an option as I don't have a crane to get me back up. LOL. I suppose all quilters have at least some portion of the process that they find disagreeable, but we get past that.