WHW RS Sample Quilt Class: Basting

Hi friends!

We're almost there!  It's time for basting and quilting.  This is the part where we create a quilt sandwich with our quilt top/batting/backing, temporarily attach them, and the stitch them together using free motion or straight line quilting on our home sewing machine.  Wahoo!  I love the quilting stage.  :)

First off, I created step by step instructions for my students, but I highly recommend you check out a few of the links I'm providing in this post.  Basting and quilting are best learned through demonstration (or photo/video tutorials) followed by lots and lots of practice.  Be patient if it doesn't look amazing on your first try.  Keep going and you'll get better and better, I promise.  :)

NOW.  Before we can quilt our quilts, we need to baste them (meaning we need to temporarily hold them together so that they can withstand lots of smooshing and shoving during the quilting stage). 

There are basically two methods for basting: Pin basting and Spray basting.  I personally prefer spray basting.  It's more expensive, but its easier and faster for me.  Plus it involves way less crawling around on the floor and I seem to get fewer puckers when I spray baste.  On the other hand, I used pins for years when I was first starting out and wasn't ready to make the investment in spray baste.  Both methods are great.  For the record.  I buy my spray baste HERE.  I can usually get 3-4 Queen sized quilts (or 6ish lap quilts or 12ish baby quilts) from one large can.

Here are some excellent links for quilt basting tutorials:

This is one of the best tutorials I have found for pin basting:

Crazy Mom Quilts

These video tutorials for basting, quilting, and binding are also excellent:

Happy Quilting

This is where I learned the tip to iron my quilts arter they have been spray basted.  I took her crafsty class, Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine and it was LIFE. CHANGING.  Worth every penny.

Obsessive Quilter

A few tips for basting (including a few alternate methods):

Craftsy

Spray basting How-To:

Craftsy

And lastly, if you're interested, here's a thread basting technique that may work for you (I've never tried it):  Sharon Shamber Thread Basting

Here is my handout:  COMING SOON...

Stay tuned for quilting instructions!