Re: Machine quilting

Phyllis,

Here's how I baste on my dining room table:

1. Mark center of each side of table by taping a toothpick down (can be felt through lots of layers).

2. Iron the backing, find center of each side and smooth it down on the table, right side down, with the shortest side matching the longest side of the table, matching center of fabric with the toothpicks. Usually the width is a bit shorter than the table -- sometimes I have to put all the extra leafs in the table though. Tape these edges firmly to the table with masking tape or painters tape.

3. Find the center of the batting and smooth it over the backing, matching centers; then do the same with the top, right side up. For the two ends that hang over the edge, I clip weights like you might use to keep a picnic table cloth from blowing away. Other people use clips to clamp those edges to the table edge.

4. Pin baste, starting in the middle, until the part covering the table is all basted.

5. Gently un-tape the sides and shift toward one end. Re-tape and re-clip, then baste that part. Un-tape, shift the other way, re-tape, re-clip. Baste some more.

I can usually get a quilt basted in three sections that way; or you can just keep shifting and do it in 4 or 5 sections. I do pin *really* densely with this method. Starting in the middle like that, you can gently smooth out any wrinkles, lumps or bumps toward the edges.

You could probably thread baste using the same method. If the table isn't long enough to tape the width of your quilt, I would suggest the clips or clamps for the side edges, rather than the weights.



)O( Anne in CA )O(
"It's not having what you want; it's wanting what you've got." -- Sheryl Crow
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Phyllis Nilsson wrote:
I discovered last evening that basting has become a problem also. If anyone has learned how to baste sitting down, I'd appreciate learning how to do that without messing up the "sandwich". I have nothing to lay the quilt on that is truly big enough (our house is very small) so I'm going to have to do this in small areas at a time and hope the part that hangs off the table (onto a chair) will not pull everything out of place.

.

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