It helps push the pointy part of the pin up to close the pin. Wood handle with a metal grooved end.

:thumbup:

obviously using spray, pins or basting by hand is a personal preference. And there is a huge difference between sprays, techinque for using the sprays, and the quality of supplies used in the quilt itself.
I only use 505 spray at this point, which is odorless, cleans easily with water (if necessary - i never have any need to clean anything because I don't have overspray), and I use 100% cotton in my quilts with quilters dream cotton batting. I think some of you who are complaining about shifting may want to think about what type of batting you were using. perhaps if you had a higher loft or poly bat, that may have been an issue. :?:
Anyone with respiratory issues would have to take the use of any product into consideration. For others, who have no adverse effects from the sprays, but suffer from arthritis or limited ability to physical work on basting a quilt using another method, the 505 is a life saver.
Happy Quilting! :-)
Lisa

I use the spray only on a quilt that I am going to tie. It holds well enough for that. I use bondable batt. Then I quilt from the center out, with the quilt in my lap. This way I can take my quilt in the trailer when we travel for the winter.

Dell,
what spray do you prefer?

The can of spray that I have is Sullivans. It is the only one that I have bought and I have had it a long time. I only use it when I am going to tie a baby quilt. Maybe I should have tried another brand. Since most of my hand quilting is done while we are traveling and they are queen size, it is taken in and out of the closet every day. So it gets a lot of rough handling. I use a bondable batt and then I sew a strip of fabric, about 4 inches wide, around all sides. This protects the batt and edges.
I did just make a baby quilt as we are expecting a new Grand-daughter.

Congrats on the new grand-daughter! how exciting!!
:-D :-D
I have no experience with Sullivans, only the 505. But I spray baste, using Quilter's Dream Cotton Batting and then i go to my machine, and I have to say it is Sweet! no puckers and just a joy to work with. I am just finishing up a quilt today that I have been working on since the weekend. It's been really fun to quilt!
Lisa

I use the basting spray and have not had any problems with it. I found that you should spray the batting and not the top or backing fabric for the best results. If you fold back your top (or back) midway, then spray batting, replace fabric and smooth out, then repeat on other side, it smooths out and holds nicely for quite some time. I absolutely hate hand basting and pinning causes such pain.

it's funny - i do just the opposite. When my backing is pulled tightly I spray it, and then i smooth the batting over it.
once the batting is smoothed, then i spray it and smooth the top over it. I do this with 505 on cotton fabric with quilter's dream cotton batting and it works every time. I would be afraid that by spraying the batting i would not be able to get my backing tight enough to avoid any lumps, bumps or wrinkles.
To each their own! :-)
lisa

I don't like to add any chemicals to my quilt. I prewash all of my fabrics to remove finishing agents and pesticides, and I don't use starch. I like my fabrics super CLEAN!

generally my quilts get a rinse after the quilting, as I usually use some kind of marking technique that needs a rinse out. any spray starch or sizing that i use in the process of piecing gets rinsed out at that time as well. So far, so good. No problems. I've been using the 505 spray since it came to spring quilt market in Providence RI, which i think was about 7 or 8 years ago now.
If I have fabric that should not be rinsed for some odd reason, then I probably would not use the spray or the marking tools, but that is not usually the case.
Lisa