Basting Tips

I'm not an expert and am still learning so many things about quilting, but these tips has helped me so much.

Once you have your quilt top and back ready for quilting you need to baste them with the batting.  You can either sew them or pin them.  I prefer pinning, because it is easier for me.

First I clean my tile kitchen floor.  You can do this on any hard surface.

Then I pull out the painters tape.  You could use masking tape too, but I don't have any.

I square my quilt back up along the top edge and a side edge, square it up on the edge of the tile. Use your tape in small strips to keep it in place.

(This is all three layers together) You can see the strips of tape used to keep the back of the quilt in place.  Tape the top edge and one side.  Slowly tape the other side and bottom edge as you straighten out wrinkles and/or creases.  Next lay the batting on and then the top.  I started pinning either in the middle on one side or in the very middle of the quilt.  As long as you move out in a circular motion it will keep the quilt top smooth.

Grab a spoon to help you pin.  This is the most valuable tool when pinning your quilt.

Stick your pin in through one side, then use the spoon to push the sharp edge up.  The concave shape of the spoon allows you room to fasten the safety pin.

Kind of like this.  Pinning can hurt your hands especially if you don't use a spoon.

A sea of pins.  You can never have enough safety pins.  It is better to have too many, this really helps to keep the three layers together to prevent any fabric bunching while you quilt.

Happy quilting!