sschick

Hi All Just curious, does anyone pin baste their sandwich? I pin basted my last one (lap quilt) and it came out ok. I have used the spray glue but can't get everything tight enough to not pucker the backing when assembling the sandwich. I also don't have a large space to spread everything out to get the backing tight to glue it. I've even tried spray basting outside in the backyard (bad idea on a breezy day) and that didn't work well either. I will be pin basting my current project.

Shari

Stitchnripper

I gave up pin basting. Unless you have a ginormous quilt you can glue baste on a kitchen table or wide enough counter. Some people do it on an ironing board. I use my dining room table. I put the backing down, then the batting, then the top, maneuver it all til it is centered properly, then flip it over and slide it down on the chairs til I can pull back the backing almost halfway and start gluing, Then slide it up and flip the other side. Once it is glued, it is still reposition able for a while but holds well enough to slide it around to do the rest. I think there are YouTubes. I don't use the Sharon Shamber method with boards or pool noodles. I don't find it necessary to get a smooth backing and top. I'm about 30 quilts in with this method, up to queen size, and always successful. I use cotton batting and the glue washes out when I am done.

illinois

Yes, I pin baste and I hand quilt in a round hoop. I like being able to smooth the backing as I go along. Yes, the pins get caught in the hoop but they can be removed at your convenience to avoid that situation. It works for me anyhow.

sschick

I have a desk that came from a hotel that I use for cutting which I can use for pin basting. I never thought to use it when basting with the glue.

quiltsfor

I glue baste and found that if I do the backing first and then let it dry overnight, then glue the front down the next day or so, it works better. That way, I don't have to keep checking to see if the back has moved or puckered when I'm smoothing down the front, because the glue on the back was still damp.

I found out by accident, as I didn't have time to do both sides the same day, and realized how much quicker and easier it was to do one side, let it dry overnight, and then do the other side. Now I do it this way all the time.

sewingpup

after getting my longarm. I will never go back to pin or glue basting again. If I wanted to hand quilt or to do sit down quilting on my domestic, I will load my quilt on the longarm and baste it there. I can't do all the work to layer and baste a quilt anymore. If I don't have my long arm anymore, I will check around and see if there are any longarmers in my area that will baste my quilt for me.

WMUTeach

Hint for spray basing and pin basting. It is very important to get all the wrinkles out before you baste. I use clamps, like these to hold the backing really flat then sptray the backing, layer the batting and top. For me, this never fails.
But to answer your questions, yes. Folks do pin baste, I helpd a gal yesterday while we were at a quilting retreat with her pin basting. We still used the clamps to get all really tight and smooth, then pinned away!. BYW, the clamps can be found at any of the big box hardware stores, I got a collection of small, medium and large for about $10. The small/medium work just as well as the large.

Yikes, I needed to resize the photo, but you get the idea! Tee-Hee-Hee

NJ Quilter

I pin baste most of my quilts. If I'm working on a king size, sometimes I'll thread baste to cut down on the weight. I normally hand quilt but have done some machine quilting on my domestic machine. I use binder clips on my cutting table when basting. Lay out the backing; clip around the table and then repeat the process with batting and top. It takes a few trips around the table but certainly much better than on the floor or anywhere else that I would have to do lots of bending.

Nesie

I find pin basting to be troublesome when I am actually quilting. Too much to work around. I use spray baste, painter's tape to secure the corners ( I secure each diagonal corner first.) I spray the bottom layer first and work up to the batting and top layer.
I usually spray half of each layer at a time and then it's easier to smooth the wrinkles out. Works for me! If you are doing a large quilt, it helps to have someone opposite you to help keep the quilt fairly taut.

Quiltwoman44

I used fusible batting using two folding tables. sometimes i pin baste around borders and in the quilt a bit for handling while quilting on machine. if spray basting i too do it top and wait and then backing. or vice versa. I do that on folding tables too.
tried outside but wind is not helpful. but i use 505 spray. good stuff. tried a different brand and it went everywhere i didn't want it to go. wasteful and a mess. 505 goes where it is aimed.
since i quilt slowly, removing pins as I go isn't a problem for me.