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What method to prepare for basting quilt


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I'm still pretty new to quilting.  The way i have been preparing my quilt for basting has been to lay the backing on my large table, get it straight and taught then clamp to table with my large binder clips. Then i find the center of my batting and lay it in the backing depending if the batting has a right or wrong side. I then smooth out the batting and move the clips to include the backing and batting. I then center my top on the batting making sure it is smooth and taught and replace the clips to include all three layers. Then i pin baste with safety pins. I have watched a couple of videos where the quilter only clamped the backing then smoothed batting and top before she pin basted.  Which way is best to prepare the quilt.  Thank you for your input. 

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We are mostly longarm quilters so we don't baste the quilt off the frame.  If you are using a domestic machine, or a sit down machine such as George,  your basting method is what worked for me. Truthfully, if I had known that longarm quilters would baste my quilt when I was doing them on the domestic..I would have taken it to one.  

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Judy;

I was first taught to do exactly as you described, and then pin baste my sandwich.  After one of my guilds member teacher classes, I have started doing it this way.  While I have only done it on a smaller quilt top, the instructor taught that with a few different length boards, you can do any size quilt top.  Instead of using wood boards, I purchased plastic facia boards at HomeDepot.  They are light weight, straight and will not warp, but a little more expensive.  Though as much as we spend on fabric, threads, needles, rulers, etc., a few extra dollars on the plastic boards is probably not going to kill us.  You can get different lengths and thickness of the faux wood boards.  Start small, and see what works best for you.  Let me and the rest of the sit-down crowd know what you decide works best for you.  I like it the method, as I can see the ability to baste any sized quilt top with the proper length boards, and only need the two folding tables that I already own.  Also, there is not bending over the table to close all the basting pins.  Here is Sharon Schamber's instructional video for basting a quilt;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyaLsMafElo

 

Checking out her website (https://sharonschamber.com/pages/video-tutorials) after not visiting for awhile, I think the non-sit-downers may enjoy a few of her other videos.  Here are the ones that have been of recent discussions;

Racking your quilt;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlZxLvwOvrE&feature=youtu.be

Rice bags, leaders, and side clamps;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIOGB4Liir4&feature=youtu.be

Adjusting your longarm;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFo3RnAu-s0&list=PL4F34D21D34CB8A31  (not an APQS put could use the ideas on any machine)  Watch at 3 minutes 30 seconds into the video to discover how to see if you are using the correct needle for the thread. 

                            part 2; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUWzRIkwqIg&list=PL4F34D21D34CB8A31&index=2  Sharon goes over picking the correct sized needle at 7 minutes 30 seconds of part two.

Three W's of Stipple;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w546l2vnlrE&feature=youtu.be

To end with APQS, here is Dawn discussing tension and needle size, and why tension changes going in different directions;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOD5pLcYz3w  Needle flex at 1 minute 45 seconds.  

Have fun learning and being reminded why things are as they are.

Cagey

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I, too, use the Sharon Schamber method and I have used it on all sizes of quilts.  It always works.  I love not using the safety pins and clamps.  Good luck, Judy, in finding the method that works for you and that you feel most comfortable with!

 

 

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Judy, today I was quilting on MG (Mega-George) and I realized another important reason why I love using Sharon Schamber's basting method.  I am doing more and more ruler work and the rulers just sit unimpeded on the basting thread.  If I were using safety pins, I would need to remove all of the pins in the ruler's area, too.

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