Thank you Clara. The shorter, finer tacs of the Quiltac sound good to me.
I just read some reviews of the Quiltac. Most seem to love it. It appears the ones who don't like it had problems due to how they were using it. I would not lay the quilt on a hard surface and point the basting gun straight down - you could break the needle. Some reviewers who like theirs said they point the basting gun at a slant. I have been using a plastic grid under my quilts with my Microtach. . It lifts the quilt up a little. I aim the tacs in the open spaces of the grid. One reviewer who loves hers said she got a plastic ceiling grid from Home Depot.
I do Not recommend the Dritz or Collins basting guns; they leave big holes.

Yes, Barb. Avery-Dennison makes the Microtach.

This one looked real interesting too. It's even got shorter plastic bits to keep fabric from sliding and moving.

www.quiltak.com

Thanks Judith!
Is Microtach affiliated with Avery?
Barb

I'm going to look into it, too. Years ago I had the one from JA's and found it to be terrible! Thanks for the info.

Betty D

Judith, microtach sounds great. I will google and see if I can learn more. Janet

I have the curved safety pins and Kwik Klip too, but about 10 years ago I started using Microtach to baste my quilts, for everything from small to queen-sized quilts. I saw it advertised in a magazine and researched it on the internet. I found one quilt shop in North Carolina that sold it.. I called them and asked if it could be used for quilting. They said 'Yes, they use it for quilting all the time,' so I ordered it and tried it out and have been using it ever since. It has a fine needle and fine nylon fasteners. I buy refills at ACMoore in their sewing section. (This is not the big basting gun sold at JoAnn's that has big plastic fasteners that leave big holes in the quilt. )
I slide a plastic grid underneath the quilt as I baste.
This method is much easier for me to use than safety pins. It makes a large quilt much lighter to handle than a quilt weighed down with safety pins. One big advantage to me is that I don't have to remove or maneuver around safety pins as I machine quilt - especially with free motion quilting. I try not to sew over the little nylon thingys, as that can make it a little trickier to remove them later, but it is no big deal if I do sew over them. In over 10 years of using them, I only broke one needle. Not sure why I broke that needle. Can't necessarily blame it on the little nylon fastener.

I use a crochet hook to close the pins. Works great. Must check out those covers.

Thank you all very much for your help. Gave me lots to think about. I also ordered a few Clover Flower pins too.

I've used curved safety pins for my large quilts, unfortunately I have no idea of the brand. 1 do not close them as you place them in in case you need to move them and 2 using a spoon really helps when it comes to having to close them.

Great new picture

I use the curved safety pins, two sizes. I highly recommend the Pin Grip Covers and a Kwik Klip tool to open and close the pins (some people say a spoon works as well). The covers definitely help save my fingers from getting sore and makes them easier to see - especially when they fall on the floor.

I do have a strawberry. It's worth a shot.
Thanks!

I have a mountain of those curved safety pins but I don't use them because they are too hard to close and open. I find the EZ Basting Brights much lighter, easier to open and close, easier to see on most quilts. But mostly I spray baste or stitch baste these days. Have you ever tried one of those pumice strawberries to sharpen your pins? Harriet Hargrave recommended one at a workshop I attended. You can get one hanging off the side of those cheap tomato pin cushions. That's my tuppence worth.

When I first got into quilting I purchased a lot of very cheap curved safety pins and they have given me a lot of grief. Dull or not sharp at all and varied in quality. Time to replace.

What brand would you recommend?