Over the years I have dabbled with different methods of basting quilts, always trying to find the way that seemed to work best for providing a flat quilt to make quilting it easier.
For a long time I resisted spray basting because I would be doing it on my own and I thought that two people would be needed. I thought the spray basting had to be done outdoors and the English climate does not exactly lend itself to this. I thought that if there was a wrinkle in my spray basted quilt I would not be able to correct it. I thought that the quilting needed to be done straight after spray basting or the layers would come apart.
I was wrong on all counts. I just wish now that I had tried spray basting my quilts a long time ago - well, my small quilts anyway.
I can cope easily on my own with spray basting a small quilt by folding it in half and doing one half at a time. It is best to have good ventilation when spray basting, but that means a window open, not having to be outside. If there is a wrinkle in any layer of my spray basted quilt, I just separate the layers, smooth the wrinkle out and then smooth the layers back down. If I don't have time to quilt immediately after I have spray basted, the layers are still well stuck together for days afterwards.
So - I'm a convert. Now to the mechanics of spray basting. Layer your quilt in the normal way: backing fabric right side down, then wadding, then quilt top with right side up. I usually try and leave the 3 layers lying for a few hours to let them settle down.
Before beginning spray basting, open a window and lay newspaper down on the area where you will be working. Lay the quilt on top of the newspaper.
When you are ready to begin spray basting, peel back the quilt top and wadding to half way so that just the backing fabric is exposed. Spray from about 10" away in a general zigzag pattern. You don't want to saturate the fabric - just enough for the adhesive to be able to work. Lay the wadding down on top of the backing fabric and smooth gently from the middle to the border. If you find a wrinkle just lift the wadding, smooth the wrinkle and put the wadding back down again.
Spray baste the top of the wadding in the same way and smooth the quilt top down over it.
Turn the quilt around to the other half that you have not spray basted, peel back the wadding and quilt top and repeat the process. Leave for half an hour or so and your quilt will be ready for quilting.
I haven't been as successful with spray basting large quilts but I think it would work just as well provided that you had someone to help straighten out the layers of quilt.
This video is my first attempt at video instructions and I hope it will demonstrate all of the above.
For other methods of quilting click on pin basting or thread basting.
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