CJQ Posted November 4, 2014 Report Share Posted November 4, 2014 I have been asked to baste a quilt for hand quilting. Has anyone done this? Do you loosen up your tension a lot? I saw a quilt that someone basted on a Gammill and the stitches were about a 1/2". I don't think that I could do that size stitches unless it was one at a time. Am I missing something? Thanks for you help, Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tella Posted November 4, 2014 Report Share Posted November 4, 2014 I have basted 2 but a few months ago...I believe I loosened the tension a lot and I actually did a little practice piece first because I did not want to ruin a real quilt...just made sure it wasn't too loose or too tight... but still able to be removed easily enough...can't remember if I went to a big stitch length... I think so....And I was able to get the stitch about 1/2 inch long or a bit longer by moving across quickly...I did a u shape...up across...down...across.about 4-6 inches... Same lady brought me a second quilt to do like this and she said it was perfect...hope this helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethDurand Posted November 4, 2014 Report Share Posted November 4, 2014 I don't loosen my tension, but do a big meander in non SR mode. Maybe lengthen the stitch length, but I don't think so. I want the stitches to be about 1/4" or slightly larger. Holds everything together, but is easy to remove. This is a great time to use up 1/2 empty bobbins of colors you wonder what you were thinking of when you bought them. I charge $0.007 per square inch for this, plus bobbins. Mostly I'm doing my own basting though, few people seem to hand quilt anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted November 4, 2014 Report Share Posted November 4, 2014 I stitch a "castle top" grid using thin, slippery, contrasting thread. Using the needle positioner button, I hold it down to slowly cycle as I move the head whenever the needle comes up. About a half-inch per stitch works for me. I stitch across 3", up 3", across 3" and down 3''---then repeat to the right edge. Break thread and return to the left side, start 3" down from the first line and stitch the same pattern, "kissing "at the corners. This gives you a nice grid without stitching long vertical lines. I charge a half-cent per inch for this technique. In 10 years I've only basted four tops for hand quilters and a couple for DSM quilters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy v Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 I recently basted a quilt for a friend. She had tried hand basting it and soon realized that it would take a LONG time to do even that - the qult is a small king-size. I took long basting stitiches in a long, all-over zig-zag pattern. The stitiches are probably 2 -3 inches apart and they are loose. Contrasting thread used - a great way to use up those left-over bobbin threads. I kept the stitiches loose for two reasons. I was not certain how much play she would need to have as she handstitched the quilt. Also, I could not imagine ripping out the basting if the stitches were closer together. We talked about how she would "do" the quilting. She decided to start from the middle and work her way out in all four directions. Again because we were not certain if her handstitching would cause the quilt to pull up, we thought starting in the middle would even out any movement. When she first began to hand quilt, she found that her fingers were catching in the loopy basting. She quickly discovered that she could move her bottom hand (on the quilt back) down and away from the quilt rather than slide her hand along. Even as I write this, it seems a bit confusing. Please let me know if you have questions (nlvillarreal1@hotmail.com). Nancy SF Bay area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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