rryder

I sandwich all my quilts the way Rhonda is suggesting. I lay the batting down on my table lining up one long and one short edge with the edges of the table and then lay the backing on top of that to make sure I've got it straight. (At this point, it's okay if your quilt is bigger than your table and some hangs off.) Next, I peel back part of the backing, spray basting spray a 12-18" wide strip on the batting or backing (either one seems to work just fine) and roll the backing fabric down, smoothing it carefully as I do. Then I spray another strip and roll more of the backing fabric down. Once I've got that done for the part that's on the table, I slide the whole thing so that the basted part is hanging off the table and finish basting. Then I flip it over so the batting is up and do the same with the top. For a large quilt I will often put some pins in here and there once the top is spray basted. Then I flip the whole thing over and make sure I've got no wrinkles.

I also find that I have fewer problems with thread breakage if I let the whole thing cure for 24 hours before starting to quilt. This allows the glue to dry so it doesn't gunk up the needle which can cause thread breakage.

Rob