Hi Woody,

Where do you buy 505 basting spray in Australia? I'm in Sydney.

I pin all my quilts using curved safety pins but think I need to try spray basting.

I glue with Elmers school glue, will never go back to pinning.

Thank you for all the feed back! Two follow up questions: have any of you tried basting guns? In theory I love the one I have, but in practice it leaves obscenely large holes in the fabric which is why I tried to skip basting on my current project. As for the glue basting, do you have to clean or replace your needle more often when sewing on fabric with glue?

Re: the glue basting, if you use minimal glue (and think of glue as a replacement for pin basting, not as a replacement for spray basting) you will never know it is there. I drizzle a very thin bead of glue in a kind of big grid pattern and smooth everything into place and let it dry. If it is too big for my table, I start in the center and work out. You could probably put a drop of glue every 4 inches or so like you would a pin. I just find it easier to drizzle. I don't have any arthritis or gripping issues but I find if I turn the bottle over it doesn't take much effort.

I tried a basting gun - I bought one that had "micro" tacks so it was very small. One problem was the gun I got was defective and completely broke before I could get even halfway through the first strip of tacks, so I sent it back. I didn't find it easy to use (aside from the breaking part) because there didn't seem to be a good way to definitely get it all the way through the entire quilt - several of my tacks ended up going just through the top and into the batting and not catching the back. Then I had to peel back the quilt and get those tack ends OUT. Did not like that at all so wasn't sorry to send it back and wasn't inclined to replace it!

I glue baste with Elmer's now and LOVE it. I bought a gallon of the stuff and a large food-prep squeeze bottle that's really easy to squeeze and it's the perfect system for me. I don't start sewing until the glue is completely dry (usually next day) so my needle doesn't get sticky at all - doesn't seem to dull the needle any faster either. The glue goes on in a thin drizzle and then is flattened by the fabric and batting; and it's "crispy" when dry, not gummy or sticky, so the needle just slides right through.

Did you ever smear a layer of Elmer's on your palm as a kid, let it dry and then peel it off? (If not you should totally try it now!) Remember how delicate that film was? Needles go right through that. :)

I haven't tried spray glue yet. I'm leery of fumes and overspray in the house, and too lazy to move the cars out of the garage! LOL

I use Elmer's School Glue diluted about 50/50. I just drizzle a grid pattern over the batting and then smooth the backing/top over it. It's so much easier than pin basting. I used the spray once and was almost asphixiated (sp?). I'll never use that again. Nor will I go back to pinning. The glue is so much easier for me. I don't have a problem with needles getting sticky.

I tried the elmers glue basting and didn't like it (thick lumps of glue I had to quilt through, took too long to dry), I tried spray basting and hated it (the spray goes EVERYWHERE), so I still prefer to baste by hand (pins add too much weight and need to be removed when you get to the needle).

I use Sharon Schamber's method of hand basting with the two boards. The board keep the backing/batting and top flat and straight - it's really easy. Yes, it does take a long time, but it's worth it for larger quilts. I also use water soluble thread to baste so I don't have to worry about quilting over the stitches. If you're going to wash the quilt when finished (I always do to remove the spray starch), the basting thread comes out in the wash. If you are not going to wash it you can give it just a light spritz with water and the stitches come out.

If I have something small to quilt (placemats, small wall hanging) I will take it outside and spray baste it.

Here is a video to Sharon's method.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA

I used to pin baste as that was how I was taught. But I switched to spray basting with 505 or Mettler's and get much better results--no tucks or wrinkles at all.

I machine baste with water soluable thread...long stitch length. I tack the sandwich with a few pins,first..the stitch vertically and horizontally,from the center out. It works well for a large handquilted item,that I quilt in my lap.

Elmer's for me!