In my experience marking on top of the starch will work just fine. Because of the starch the mark probly won't penetrate the fabric, which is a good thing. Testing is a good thing too, though!
Sherry

I'm just about ready to baste another quilt using Sharon's technique. It worked so well the first time I tried it.

This quilt will be hand quilted, so I have another question. I like to use a blue wash-out marker to mark designs for hand quilting. The lines will last as long as I need them to and not rub off like a chalk pencil mark will.

Does anyone know how this works with the starch? I know I need to iron and starch the quilt top and I can't iron once I mark (it sets the marks), so is it ok to mark on top of the starch? Will the marks still wash out? Has anyone tried this?

Maybe I should starch a scrap, mark it and wash it to test. If no one answers, I'll try that and let everyone else know how it worked!

Cold today, but temps looking better the rest of the week!

When I pin baste, my cats try to steal the pins! :shock:
Next quilt I am going to try Sharon Schaumber's method.

Jean in Windsor, ON where winter came back (yuck!)

Well, you could consider pinning Monty to the next quilt (giggle). You'd surely win a ribbon for "Most Unusual Embellishment".

Lorchen

At our local quilt group we 'borrow' the shop's big tables and layer up someone's quilt - we do the taping down, pinning and basting together - four or five of us will have it stable enough for the owner to take home after a couple of hours. I also can't do crawling around on the floor, not least because our schnauzer Monty sits in the middle of it!

I always pin baste the way Joanne described. I put the pins in but don't close them. After they're all in I can actually release the backing and sit and close all the pins. It's alot easier on the hands too, to close the pins when the backing is not real tight to the floor or table.
I never have tucks on the backs of my quilts.

Cher in BC

Last night Jill Schumacher http://www.quiltmakertothequeen.com/
spoke at our guild. She pin bastes and said to put the pins in, starting in the center but do not close the pins until all are in. Closing them while pinning will put wrinkles on the back. I had not known that.

Jill attaches the backing to a table, taping or clamping it, "floats" the batting onto it, "floats" the top onto it, smooths it out then starts in the middle to pin. She even showed us how you can use a 3 foot wide table. Just start with the center of the quilt on the table with the rest draping down. Pin, pin, pin, then shift the whole thing and pin, pin, pin. It looks quite do-able! I hope I have made this clear.

JoAnne

I baste quilts on the floor, and found a set of contractor's knee pads (from the hardware store) make a huge comfort difference!

You might also be able to use tables at your local quilt shop and teach some others a new trick!!

I used Sharon's method on a lap-quilt & loved doing it, but added Ricky's idea using dissolving thread, since I'm a machine-quilter and I'll just drive right over them. It definitely beats crawling on the floor!

As for lenght of table, I think you definitely want your surface to be as wide as the quilt, but hanging off the back shouldn't be a problem. If you don't have a table long enough, maybe you have a long kitchen counter? Preferably a "peninsula". You'd lose the ability to sit & work, but it would be a comfortable height... And of course, there's always using tables in a church hall, library, meeting room, etc. It's a fairly quick method too... good luck, Florence

Sharon's method looks pretty simple and I'd like to try it. I don't have a table top large enough for the quilt top I'm working on. Is it necessary to have a table that is as large or larger than the quilt back? I'm wondering if it's alright if some of the top and/or back hang off the table as you are rolling them onto the boards? Does any know? Thanks Deb

I just watched the video too. I NEVER though to use starch on the backing, but it makes so much sense! I'm tired of crawling around on my hands and knees and poking my fingers with the safety pins. I think I'll definitely get some boards and try this meathod.

Nancy in Western NY where the snow is melting finally!

Margo wrote:
Thanks for this suggestion, Margo! I watched the video on Saturday and went to Home Depot on Sunday to pick up a couple boards to use for the quilt I am about to baste. I am really looking forward to trying this method and not being on my hands and knees to baste!

That's really interesting. The quilting group I'm working with at church is always struggeling with how to get our quilt basted so we can hand quilt it. We always dread that part. I don't know if Sharon's way would work but maybe if we took turns instead of all trying to all get around it and basing at the same time. I may just miss that day. lol
Charlotte