I'm planning to use Sharon's method w/ my next quilt, but using Ricky's idea of water-soluble thread. I like that SO much better than pins. I can sew over w/o worry, but if it does get caught on the foot I can just clip it away too.

As for, my sister told me she believes there's a 12-step program for that! Every one of my graduation quilts has been bigger than the previous one!
Florence

So far I see no holes or problems. I am using the Avery Dennison office kind. Previously I had one from the quilt dept notions and didn't use it because it did leave big holes. I think that someone on this forum in the past mentioned using this smaller one a lot so you may be able to look back for more info from someone who has used it more.
Karen

kfstitcher wrote:
No holes? I worry that the manipulating and tugging that happens when working with a big project will stretch and break threads.

A Schamber thread has started in the "Spray Basting" discussion ...

The Sharon Schamber basting video mentioned by pknord is really good and a revelation to me. I'm looking forward to spending hours on YouTube viewing everything she offers.

Has anyone used her method on a BIG quilt? If so, what sized boards did you use?

My inner seams are on the diagonal. I can see how easy it would be to keep horizontal and vertical lines straight using her method, especially on smaller project, but am trying to imagine how to work with 45 degree angles as well.

I used her basting with the boards method on a lap quilt I am quilting now. I had previously basted it the old way taped to the table and pinned. When I got back to it, to quilt I noticed it was really puckery and not as tight as I wanted. Then I tried S. Schamber's way and for the first time I haven't gotten a single pleat or pucker in the back. I used a basting gun with the little plastic things also for the first time and everything worked so well.

Karen

Judy, it depends on what your quilt is. If I'm going to do a show quilt, I will use the thread basting, since it is more secure. And Sharon shows how she snips the thread away on the areas she's quilting so that the foot doesn't get caught on the thread. I'm using pins on charity and kid's quilts, since if they shift a bit, it won't really matter, and I'm able to pin baste a lot quicker than I can thread baste.

Pat in Rockport, TX

Pat, I, too, started using this method with the boards. I even did the herring bone stitch but found that when I was sewing, I had to cut away the threads as they would catch on the foot. Do the pins work better? How far apart do you pin? Judy in AZ

If you have high-speed internet access, check out

http://www.sharonschambernetwork.com/free_area/free.html

and you won't have to buy the spray stuff any more. I use this method with safety pins and it works great, and I have no more sore knees or sore back.

Pat in Rockport, TX

I'm working with The Quilt That Would Not Stop Growing so find all this back reading really instructive.

I've used 505 to spray baste my smaller pieces and twin size quilts and was surprised at how well and how long (months!) it held the layers together.

Has anyone tried using it on king-sized layers?

I had the same trouble once in using the taping method. It is all about the pinning not your machine. The backing has to be taped tightly with out any shifting in "any area" of the quilt. I pinned from middle out and still had the problem. What my problem was I didn't have enough pins. With out having enough pins your quilt backing will get little folds easily.
I now pin all my quilt backing into the carpet taunt with special pins. Lay batting ontop getting all wrinkles completely out then laying top onto that. I would of coase had my quilting design marked out before doing any of this. Then I will sit in the middle of my quilt and start pinning working my way from middle out on all four sides. I pin heavily,about three fingures apart. It's worth the extra work.I have not had any problems since.
It really does have everything to do with how you are Layering your quilt tauntly and pinning heavy enough working from the middle out on all four sides evenly. I would only use the spray ad stuff on smaller quilts because of the handling of the quilt so much in the quilting process.

I've tried the large fusible batt by Hobbs. A client brought it. I found I had to do a lot more straightening of both the top and backing because they got stuck.
I'v never tried it for hand quilting.

What kind of batting are you using? I find that when a polyester batting is used, the fabric tends to slip and pucker in the back becaue it's so slippery. My first few quilts were like that and only after I saw how well fabric clings to cotton was I convinced that was the product to use.
Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 is my favorite batting for most things and you can actually press small projects from the front and back without pinning and it works great. They also make a fusible batting, but I've never used it for a large quilt. Cheryl

Having a long arm quilter do it sounds like a great idea... unfortunately my practice pieces right now aren't always 'straight' and I don't know any LA quilters well enough for them to be as forgiving as I think I'd need them to be.

I take my top, batting and backing to my local long arm quilter. I supply Vanish Extra water soluble thread from Superior Threads. My long arm quilter mounts the quilt, gets it perfectly straight and true and bastes it with my thread. Then I take it home and machine quilt it myself. There are no pleats or puckers.

Most long arm quilters charge just a mounting fee for this. In this area, it's abour $40. Just think, no pins, no plastic tacks, no pleats, no wrinkles, no puckers.

It takes very little effort to remove the Vanish Extra.

Susan Berbec