Thank you for your continuing tutorials. Could you tell me please what basting pins you use? Sounds magical . It’s one of my very favorite quilting tools. I am rekindling my love of quilting and am amazed at all the new products and techniques available now. (End Rant.). I guess as quilters we think we know the basics, but after reading your "lesson" for this week I now have a list in front of me on how to baste properly. Glad you are back to the 101 series. It gets better! Works great! I’m a mold-breaker in one way, but traditional in others. Although, really, choosing among your patterns is tough. Hey Terri! Any experience? A lady I knew, who was 94 years old when she passed, quilted by hand. Hi, feeling excited! If you scratch the area with your fingernail or wash the quilt, all of those holes will magically disappear! Enjoy the rest of the week. I'm terrified I'm going to mess it up when I start doing all this fun stuff! Smooth out the pieced quilt on top of the other two layers. Before basting an entire quilt on your dining room floor, you could do a little testing in the corner. That 505 is pricey. Randomly lay the palm of your hand on your quilt. Get it here! When it’s time to baste, you do need to iron your backing fabric (at least at some point.) That’s what I did in my last quilt and it’s saved my fingers but I only did a cross hatch. thanks. And then unrolling the top including the batting on the taped down quilt back. Remove the tape from the floor (I usually enlist my kids to do that) and carefully fold up the quilt until you are ready to actually quilt it. I tried to watch your tutorial video on that, but unfortunately, where I live the internet isn’t great so I can’t get it to play! My 3 kids (and my dining room chairs) are harder on my floors than a few little safety pins could ever be. I live in a small apartment and I have a toddler, so I have little space & no time. This is one of the ways I’m able to support myself and continue writing free content. My favorite method is exactly yours. There is something to be said for reverse scissors (not sure of the proper terminology). Whether you're an experienced quilter or you're just getting started, machine quilting can seem intimidating at first. Hi Suzie, thank you for your great tutorials.I never saw those technics to baste a quilt. Helps a lot. x. So today we are going to focus on one: basting a big quilt and two: taking that big quilt and shoving it into a small little sewing machine for our free motion machine quilting. The other good news is, we’re all in this together! I’m dying now.. :p, It’s actually going to be a free pattern coming out soon – hopefully by mid-October! Thank you for all of the wonderful tips! (Little secret between you and me...I kinda like basting. It’s by far the fastest and easiest way I’ve found to baste, and the glue washes out after the quilt is finished. If you’re going to be basting big quilts though, you do need a pretty big table. Hope you're going to share some clues about how to prevent this in the future. Genius! God bless you always and in all ways. Maybe we’ll catch each other there! Thanks for your tips! I have a question: Do all spray bastes have to be washed/rinsed out? When making your sandwich, the key ingredient is to pull your fabric so that it is taut, but not stretched. Your video on basting with the herring bone stitch I think is my option for sandwiching, but should I have as much edge as it indicates to begin with, before trimming? Can I still get my quilters licence if I skip this step? Basting Your Quilt. What was I thinking?! For now, back to week 18 of our 25 week QAL based on my book, 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting. All sewing machines have a basting stitch. HA! I used yo use the boards, now I use pool noodles to roll each layer along. DO NOT machine quilt these lines out from the center as that would distort your quilt. Good tutorial! I’m still not convinced I could spray outside with the Chicago winds blowing, but maybe I’ll test this out on a small project. I use the rachet C clamps to hold the quilt taut. Major bunching and shifting at the machine. You may be a pro quilter with perfect speed and accuracy, but your quilt can still bunch up and get puckered if your basting isn’t up to snuff. I add a Kwik Klip to the process to save my finger tips. I've always lived in homes where the floors were pretty distressed already, so a few pin marks were not going to be noticed! However, it is a … like 27mm or 37mm? The spray make not stick as well to other fibers. If you are stingy with the spray, you will notice shifting. I have hardwood floors. I love all of your tutorials, thank you! I got these at Menards. Oh that's great! Spray it with a little water – this will make the fold creases relax. Traded black walnuts for a friend at church to make the risers. That works great for baby quilts and throws, and it gives me a great chance to talk to people about quilts. And that pins get in the way of ironing(though I made it work)! Gently smooth them out. Have you tried that one? I close the pins to secure the quilt layers together, but when I take them out during the quilting process I open them and then keep them open. For many of us, basting is the step we have to do to get from the fun of piecing a quilt to the fun of quilting a quilt. I’ve taken to pin-basting on the big tables at the library. - Suzy Quilts, Quilt Tying Tutorial: How to Tie a Quilt with Yarn or Embroidery Thread - Suzy Quilts, A Scrappy Modern Quilt: The Campfire Pattern, Zipper Pouch Tutorial: How to Sew a Simple Pouch from Scraps, Lay the backing fabric on the floor with the BACK of the fabric facing UP (that means the printed or right side of the fabric is facing the floor. Its been very helpful to me. Any recommendations on size? LOL. Taught it to a friend recently and she too is hooked. I use it because it’s a great method and works for me very well. Indian Summer is my favorite of you patterns (so far! Now I have a few questions/comments.1) Yep, like everyone else, do the pins mark the floor? See more ideas about basting a quilt, basting, quilts. I dont prefer the safety pin method, they left holes in my quilt and were in the way when i started quilting…. yay! You can easily straight pin into the noodles to secure fabric if you need to stop, mid process and stand them in a corner to use table to eat at! . No, wait again, I mean eat chocolate. . I’m LOVING it! I usually use both- basting spray and (fewer) pins, but I wonder if there is a reason not to use basting spray. ok – i’m a beginner quilter here…have a couple baby quilts and rag quilts under my belt. That is one drawback with pin basting. For all those inquiring minds, I pin baste on hardwood and haven't scratched it yet. This past year I’ve been attending and actually was the president of the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild. , Hahaha Quilts sandwiches are the yummiest of sandwiches. It took me a while to realize that I didn’t need to close the pins too. I baste my quilts in my front entryway, so before I get started I remove all rugs and (kinda sorta) clean my floor. This is very comprehensive and very easy to understand! Pingback: How to Make the Softest Baby Quilt in the World - Suzy Quilts, Pingback: FREE Quilted Christmas Stocking Pattern - Suzy Quilts. We have carpet, not floorboards, so instead of tape I use straight pins to hold my backing fabric down. It looks as though you quilted lines on your top fabric before quilting the sandwich together. I am currently working on my second quilt. Hi Suzy, It’s my favorite way. I know safety pins are not toxic, lol. I am also new to quilting. The speed of your movements and how fast you run the sewing machine both work together to … Great tips too. thank you! Will get more before next project. oh dear, I try to read your tips until the end but your triangle quilts distracted me (in a good way , of course!) Skip to 4 minutes into the video if you're a little ADD like me. I've been basting my quilts like this for 25 years and have yet to have a ripple on the back yet! (See the link for week 1 in the beginning of this post.) Different quilters have different ways of doing it, but here’s MY way (AKA the coolest way). Already know that dethreading is my new least favorite part!!! I like to do a light spray baste then pin! I also want to thank all the people who wrote comments; I've learned from them as well.Keep up the good work Amanda! I’ve also heard that long arm quilters will baste for a small fee. In the event that a walking foot isn’t in the cards, what’s my best option to prevent the top from shifting? This video shows you how to use two boards to keep your sandwich layers set for quilting. I am 75 and the floor thing does not work for me. So, maybe stopping to take out a pin would be good training. I pin baste just like you do and love my kwik klip!! Next I’ll have to try the board method, since I’ve got a lot of tops to be basted/quilted suddenly! If you’re pulling it as tight as possible and taping that to the floor, chances are it’s too tight. I also use the Kwik Klip, as I use a lot of pins for a queen size quilt.No crawling on the floor for me. ), so it was nice to see it pop up again. Baste a quilt using the spray baste method for your first few quilts. I am lucky to have an 8' x 8' table in my quilting studio so no more floor pin basting for me! If you're nervous about shifting or don't have a huge number of pins, spray baste and then pin. Thanks so much for the tips! This tutorial will show you 3 different ways to baste a quilt. One reminder with spray basting – you have to spray baste both the backing and the top to the batting. Duct tape has been so much better!Hope that helps!AJ. I guess the fabric was treated with something. It's not a particularly fun process-in most cases it involves crawling around on the floor-but it has to be done. Well written and great example how to center the quilt! How do you know what’s too tight? :) I fold it up like a screen and leave it behind a door! My guess is not since you keep doing it. Thanks again! She would tuck everything in and see it closed, but I’m worried that I don’t really understand how she did this. It works very well and no crawling on the floor! Then every inch of the quilt is stuck to every other inch and there’s no shifting. That is exactly who I baste my quilts - I have the knee dents to proof!!! Want to test your placement? In this video, you’ll discover techniques for securing your quilt layers together on a longarm quilting machine. Tape all sides of the backing to the floor, making sure to smooth out all of the wrinkles. Moving to the next area, clip back and repeat. A basting stitch is simply a straight stitch (center needle or left needle position) set at the longest possible length. It doesn't cause any problem with puckers either! So happy to help! I look forward to your next step and wonder how you would machine quilt the top that you just basted (in-the ditch, stipple, etc?)? Bang on! I like the medium sized curved pins. A basting spray is designed to glue the different layers of a quilt together temporarily. Anyone have experience with that? Basically, if you choose to baste with pins, you’re signing up for some good quality time with your safety pin crew. Also, amen to the kwik klip! Everything is so clear. How to Machine Quilt a Diagonal Set. What would the quilted pattern look like at that point? I have always used "good" masking tape (the cheap brands never work) and sometimes the masking tape doesn't stick to the fabric. Below is the tape disaster I mentioned earlier that can happen if your tape is too thin. Fingers crossed :). Securing the back, and floating the batting and top. I'll try your way next. But at 55 years old I purchase patterns online and watch a lot of Instagram stories (thanks for always making me smile with yours!). It’s been a lot of fun exploring new techniques and styles of quilting. You can do it on a design wall (which is a great way to not spend time on your hands and knees on the floor.). I have done the pin basting on carpet but not on hard wood or vinyl. Layering them and getting them ready to be bound forever in quilt matrimony is a reeeallly important step. It’s much easier to use water soluble thread for basting so you don’t have to worry about ripping out the basting stitches as you quilt your quilt. it's still the best option that I have come across! im interested in the last method you showed. Anyway, I bet the duct tape sticks to everything! I first baste the whole table area and then slide the quilt around to get the rest basted. But the body getting older and tired has made me baste only one way, horizontal about every 3″ and then my son comes and pin bastes in between every 4 – 5″ the other way. I'm glad to see someone else still pin bastes. Pins, basting spray, and thread are all suitable methods of basting your quilt before you quilt it on your domestic machine. That way you can see at what point the floors are in danger. So looking forward to learning free motion quilting. The size and if you have a favorite brand? It looks like hand stitching so beautiful. Any cons? I really admire all your beautiful 'scrap' quilts and how you can quilt those large sizes. I just had my last scheduled trunk show in the Chicago area for 2017. To make sure you hold that sandwich in place, you are going to want to place a pin at least every four inches in rows throughout the quilt. Are you wondering about how to sew the corners of binding once you have the quilt sandwich quilted? Washing the quilt removes the thread basting…, Water soluble thread is new to me! Not sure if that makes a difference. If you have an intricate quilting design you will want to draw that on your quilt top before pin basting. i believe i’m won over by pin basting…due to my cheapness as well as disdain for cleaning up stick stuff… and I don’t have a sweet table to lay the quilt on. However, I like Elizabeth Hartman's technique of placing the batting on the floor and smoothing the quilt top on it and rolling it up. 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