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-   -   Basting- pins vs spray or? What do you do? (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/basting-pins-vs-spray-what-do-you-do-t293415.html)

Stitchnripper 12-20-2017 03:47 PM


Originally Posted by ruby2shoes (Post 7965697)
I just use pins....lots and lots. My current quilt has about 500 of them in it......pinned every 2-3 inches. I'm lucky as I have a large table top I can use when I am basting so I don't have to kneel down on the floor to do it. I don't like spray baste. I have tried several including 505 and have had problems with fabric shifting every time. It's fine for holding practice sandwiches or small projects but that's about it....as far as I'm concerned it just doesn't hold up with all the movement and manipulating done whilst quilting a quilt any bigger than a cot quilt......This is just my opinion derived from my own personal experience anyway. I don't think the wool/poly batting I use is particularly compatible with the spray baste........never seems to hold my sandwich unless I quilt straight away....if I come back the next day I've always got fabric separating from the batting....not glued any more. And yes, I've read the instructions, watched all the you tubes and followed umpteen forum threads on the subject. I tried Elmers White Washable school glue the other day for the first time and it was easy to apply, dried well and left me with a fabulously glued together sandwich but my machine hated it; kept intermittently jamming and not feeding. When I applied the glue I even used a scraper to make sure the glue was spread out. In the end I soaked the whole quilt sandwich in the bath tub to dissolve the glue and separate the fabrics and batting before drying and re-basting with pins. Now that it is basted this time with pins the sewing machine is doing fine.....go figure. Have never heard of anyone having the trouble I have had with this product...guess I'm just lucky that way!!!!!!!


Goah i have never had that problem with the elmers. I'm about 15 quilts in some of them pretty big. I drizzle on in a thin bead like I am doing a big meander. The glue doesn't replace spray basting it replaces pin basting so it doesn't have to cover every inch of the quilt. I've used different machines and not one has had a problem. I wonder what happened in your situation??

Jerudy 12-21-2017 08:40 PM

What other brand of pins are sharper and work best?

117becca 12-22-2017 03:55 AM

i thread baste. i go to the library or church where i can have a big table, sit in a rolling chair and it takes me about 3 hours to baste a queen size quilt.

Garden Gnome 12-22-2017 02:26 PM

The thing (one of the things) I like about 505 spray is that you can shift it if you need to. You can take the backing off and reposition it. You can put the sandwiched quilt in the closet for 6 months and then drag it out to quilt and it's still great.
I will generally use about a half dozen pins after I have the sandwich sprayed and together, just to extra secure the edges. And as sparingly as I use it, it's not expensive.

themadpatter 12-28-2017 12:08 AM


Originally Posted by Jerudy (Post 7967498)
What other brand of pins are sharper and work best?

I went to Wally World to buy more pins, and stopped at the New Thrift Store On The Block on the way home, and they had an old box with half a gross of safety pins in it. They are in bunches of 6, 3 sizes, and all the labeling is in an Asian language with characters, so either Japanese or Chinese, not sure which. And they are nice and sharp. So, not much help for you, but it was a great find. And then, after all that pinning, I took it apart and spray basted it in my driveway. I was going to try Elmer's, but its a T-shirt quilt, and I didn't want to press my luck, so ther we have it!

meyert 12-28-2017 08:09 AM

I don't like using the pins to baste because I feel like they add a lot of weight to the quilt.

I agree I love the 505 spray - but it gets expensive for me.

I have started to use the elmers glue and that is my current basting option. I have used it on small and larger quilts and I am happy with it... but I do still end up with blobs of glue so I wish I could get better at applying the glue :)

yolajean 12-28-2017 05:18 PM


Originally Posted by quiltingcandy (Post 7965676)
I have been spray basting for years. You have to find the spray that works the best for you. I have not tried the Elmer's white school glue for basting the entire quilt yet but I do use glue sticks for matching seams. And I use the Clover clips for help with the binding. If I don't have to use pins - I don't.

I use Sullivan's and have never had any issues with it.

Faintly Artistic 12-28-2017 07:19 PM

Boards and thread basting here. I hate pins.

JANNY 01-09-2018 10:45 AM

I have only used pins and thread. As a retired Respiratory Therapist, I don't think that much spray in my house would be good for our lungs.. Outside or a well ventilated area may be OK. May try if I can do it outside.

Boston1954 01-09-2018 01:28 PM

I love my pins. Too chicken to try anything else. This works for me. I hand quilt so no worries about running them over.


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