klgls

Pinkcastle - do you "paint" over the whole area - or it is a hit and miss approach? Since I have been doing a lot FMQ on my domestic - I'm seriously thinking of using this method and I dislike stopping to remove pins too. Thanks.

DebraK

before acquiring a longarm, I used this method as well. Great results, and kept me off my knees. I couldn't handle basting any other way.

hairquilt

Starch the heck out of the backing & that helps a lot!!

KwiltyKahy

I glue baste now and will always. It works so well for me.

Sewnoma

For me, when I get puckers it means I didn't tape my backing down well enough. I'm not as young (or as light) as I used to be and doing all those deep-knee bends to tape down and then baste a quilt just kill me after awhile so I start skipping steps and then I get puckers. I'm going to switch my methods and try something I learned from a Leah Day class on Craftsy - she bastes up on a pair of folding tables and uses lengths of elastic wrapped around the legs to give tension - she pins the elastic to the backing so the elastic is keeping things nice and taut.

Onebyone

I haven't had a wrinkle or pucker worry since I started using Elmer's School glue. The fabric isn't going anywhere and it's so simple to pull apart and if I need to. I had quilt basted with the glue for over 3 months. I decided I didn't like the backing so just pulled it right off, re glued the backing I wanted. The glue washes out completely, non toxic. It's really a heavy starch product.

Jo Belmont

I heartily agree! Over 30+ years of quilting, I've tried them all. Sharon Schamber's method is not only kind to my back, I have never ever experienced a tuck. Other advantages is that there is no residue that needs washing after the quilt is completed (I do my washing before making the first cut); washing afterwards is only as needed if it's been sitting around or has become soiled in the quilting process (except baby quilts which are always given a final, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic wash).

ONE THING THAT HASN'T BEEN MENTIONED: (Often we overlook the obvious) You are working from the center out, aren't you? There is no getting around that and it automatically accommodates the miniscule adjustments that might be needed.

Hope this helps.

Dolphyngyrl

Starch, then spray baste, should be less wrinkles. I never liked pinning, only did it on my first quilt

Prism99

I too would advise changing from safety pins for basting to either basting spray or Elmer's glue. Think about spray basting. When you use this, all three layers are continuously "glued" together. With pins, no matter how closely you pin, the three layers touch only where the pins are. No matter how careful you are, each pin is bound to take up a little more or a little less of one of the layers. For basting, you really cannot beat having continuous contact between layers.

Another thing that helps tremendously, even if you pin baste, is heavily starching the backing fabric before layering. Starch stabilizes the backing fabric so it is much less likely to stretch or move as you handle it. I recommend a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water (the heaviest starch I have been able to use efficiently). What I do is "paint" this solution onto the backing fabric using a large wall painting brush (the kitchen island works great for this job), wait a couple of minutes to make sure the fabric fibers have had an opportunity to absorb the starch, toss in the dryer, then iron with steam.

charlottequilts

I still use pins and clamp to a table. I have yet to have a wrinkle on the back. But then, I don't stretch things really tight either, probably because it's more work.

I can't bring myself to baste with adhesives, neat as it sounds, because I am not convinced that some glue doesn't end up in the batting after washing.

Hugs,
Charlotte the skeptic