Does Anyone Pin Baste?
#31
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The quilt tops I made for family are mostly, either Queen or King. I have a large floor area I tape the backing taut, all the way around. I then layer with batting and then my top. I start pinning in the center and work a quarter of it at a time. It has gotten harder for me to stay leaned over, because of my bad back, but I usually ruler quilt a grid or crosshatch design or I stipple or meander quilt them. No pinches on backing. I don't mind the pinning or quilting with the pins. because I'm always stopping to shift my hands and hardly notice the un-pinning.
I am down with my back now and wonder if I will be able to quilt anymore large quilts. I just leaned over and my back went out. I was doing laundry, not quilting.
I am down with my back now and wonder if I will be able to quilt anymore large quilts. I just leaned over and my back went out. I was doing laundry, not quilting.
#32
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Another pin baster here. I read the aerosol glue can and threw it out. I don't fool with anything that says can cause cancer on it. I tried the school glue and I did not like it at all Nope not that again either. I have a large table and pin it smoothly. The plastic holders and the metal pin helper. If it need adjusting, it is easy to do that. I use my Grace table for the larger quilts. So, I am pretty set in my ways.
#33
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,203
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Another vote for pin basting. I have a small space to baste in and use a double bed. If it's a larger quilt, I quilt in sections on my DSM. I spray starch the back to avoid puckers. Just don't like the way spray glue gets all over everything in the room and me.
#34
Power Poster
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 16,073
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The glue was messing up my machine, plus... do I really want to be building a quilt with glue?
Odd to have those issues. Fusible interfacing is stronger then the school glue. Does that mess up your machine if you sew through those? Just curious how you applied the glue and what glue did you use?
Odd to have those issues. Fusible interfacing is stronger then the school glue. Does that mess up your machine if you sew through those? Just curious how you applied the glue and what glue did you use?
#35
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2022
Location: Northeast
Posts: 682
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I use a glue stick - Elmer's School Glue. I love it. Quick, not messy and holds. Doesn't bother my needle at all. No gumming up, no issues with it going through. I glue the back down, then the next day I do the front. That way I don't have to keep fussing to make sure both sides stay flat. I get the back down and smooth, next day, I do the same with the front.
I used to spray baste, but it got everywhere no matter how careful I was. When my husband came in my craft room one day while I was doing it, he said it was actually foggy in the room from the spray, even though I was doing it next to the fabric and spraying lightly. No more. Now I need to decide what to do with the remaining cans of the spray. I think I have 4 or 5 of them left. (it was cheaper when I was using it to buy them by the case) I don't think I can mail them, so something local, but I also don't think I can give them to goodwill or the like because it is a chemical? I'd love to have a yard sale, for stuff like this and not having to run into the donation centers when I have a lot to go, plus make a little cash, but unfortunately I have crappy neighbors and parking would be an issue.
I used to spray baste, but it got everywhere no matter how careful I was. When my husband came in my craft room one day while I was doing it, he said it was actually foggy in the room from the spray, even though I was doing it next to the fabric and spraying lightly. No more. Now I need to decide what to do with the remaining cans of the spray. I think I have 4 or 5 of them left. (it was cheaper when I was using it to buy them by the case) I don't think I can mail them, so something local, but I also don't think I can give them to goodwill or the like because it is a chemical? I'd love to have a yard sale, for stuff like this and not having to run into the donation centers when I have a lot to go, plus make a little cash, but unfortunately I have crappy neighbors and parking would be an issue.
Last edited by quiltsfor; 04-04-2023 at 06:04 AM.
#37
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Seattle
Posts: 15
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We pin baste on an outdoor hanging space. Then we roll it up, bring it indoors, unroll onto the dining table with folding table/chairs/boxes/etc stacked to make a full-sized support. Then we re-pin on the table, repositioning the working part onto the table as we go. Then we roll it up again, move the folding table/etc to the sewing table, and Trista feeds while I stitch the basting (4TPI edges, 1TPI inside, at 6" intervals). I do the stitch-out on my own once the basting is done, unrolling the worked area on the dining table to check for creases etc every few hours.
Pin basting a twin size quilt this way takes the 2 of us about an hour, and I can stitch in the basting on my own. Fulls and queens pretty much take a full day. King takes 2 days, including setup/takedown of boxes/tables for all the extra surface area. 2 days may seem like a lot for sandwich prep, but I like to spend a week stitching out a king, typically 4-8 hours a day; 2 days to make the next 6 or 8 days go well is nbd to me, and all of it pales in comparison to the time Trista takes to piece the top.
I did stitch-out on a king size quilt for a friend that used the pin-on-the-floor method. It was good, but kinda loose in spots. Even with lots of extra care, tighter stitch basting, hourly checks and taking 2-3x longer, I ended up with 2 stitched-in creases, each a few inches long. Next time I'll do the full tables & boxes setup and re-pin before stitch-basting.
Pin basting a twin size quilt this way takes the 2 of us about an hour, and I can stitch in the basting on my own. Fulls and queens pretty much take a full day. King takes 2 days, including setup/takedown of boxes/tables for all the extra surface area. 2 days may seem like a lot for sandwich prep, but I like to spend a week stitching out a king, typically 4-8 hours a day; 2 days to make the next 6 or 8 days go well is nbd to me, and all of it pales in comparison to the time Trista takes to piece the top.
I did stitch-out on a king size quilt for a friend that used the pin-on-the-floor method. It was good, but kinda loose in spots. Even with lots of extra care, tighter stitch basting, hourly checks and taking 2-3x longer, I ended up with 2 stitched-in creases, each a few inches long. Next time I'll do the full tables & boxes setup and re-pin before stitch-basting.
#38
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,830
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Bobdavisnph. After reading your method, I realize why I quilt by check. At some point in my life I could do all that, but not anymore. Although large…… no my shoulders can’t handle the weight of a large quilt, even to create the top. Cuddoes to those who make large quilts.
So to you, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And creativity was the mother of invention.
So to you, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And creativity was the mother of invention.
#39
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Dakotas
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