I have modified Patsy Thompson's spray baste method to help me center each layer accurately. I use a chalk line on the wrong side of both the top and backing to indicate the horizontal and vertical centers. I also use a chalk line to indicate the horizontal and vertical centers on both sides of the batting, this can be tricky, I use tailor's triangle chalk. Then I tape the backing smoothly to a wall. Smooth but not too taut. I fold the batting in half along the horizontal line and spray the exposed surface moderately, not too heavy. Error to the lighter side until you get a feel for it. I hold the batting with the folded edge up, sticky side away from me. Standing in front of the backing, I line up the vertical and horizontal chalk lines as I let the batting make contact with the backing. Begin to pat the batting from the center to the sides and from the horizontal line downward until the lower half of the batting is adhered. Then I spray the batting which will adhere to the upper half of the backing and pat it to the backing beginning from the center and the horizontal line and working upward and outward. Next, I spray the entire exposed side of the batting. I fold the quilt top in half, rst, so I can hold the folded edge up and approach the batting on the wall with the wrong side of the lower half of the quilt away from me. I align the horizontal and vertical centers and, as I did with the backing, I work from the center to the sides and from the fold line downward to pat the quilt top to the batting. When the lower half is secure, I begin on the upper half, starting at the center working outward and the fold line working upward. When I take the sandwich off of the wall, I lay it flat and check both sides for any lumps or folds but I don't usually find any. I take the sandwich to my domestic machine where I stitch in the ditch between blocks and between borders to further anchor everything. Then I do all my decorative quilting. So far I haven't had any trouble with the spray baste not holding everything very sufficiently. This has helped me to successfully baste quilts up to 110 x 96 without problems and to keep the layers all centered on each other. Of course, a helper(s) is always a plus making the process so much easier, but I usually end up doing it solo and I can handle large quilts since I'm really only working on one half at a time. Do be careful not to stretch the batting as you adhere it to the backing. I've read that spraying the batting is a key to not getting ripples in your backing and I do believe this is true. Best of luck no matter what method you use!

Here is a link to Patsy Thompson's video on spray basting.[url]learn/classrooms/[/url]
Libby Lehman spray bastes also. She presses afterwards.

i use a very thin layer of spray baste to hold things together (on all sizes). then do straight lines with superior's vanish on my domestic machine to hold it proper.
i also use vanish for tacking bits and pieces on.
i can then quilt to my heart's delight without worrying about anything moving or getting cought in pins or basting thread. and when i'm done all the white basting/tacking/go there and stay there vanish thread disappears in the wash.

I have taken Ann Petersen's class on Craftsy which includes how to spraybaste a large quilt, her method is also described on her website: http://obsessivequilter.weebly.com/tutorial---basting-a-large-quilt.html. I have since done all my basting this way and it has worked very well! First of all she is spraying the back of the top and backing fabrics, not the batting, then she is heatsetting the spray through ironing the quilt. After I have ironed I will either stitch in the ditch or baste with water soluble thread, depending on the quilt and what quilting I am planning. Thanks to Ann for sharing her method, it has certainly been a super help for me.

I helped a friend machine baste two large quilts with Superior's VANISH on a HandiQuilter yesterday. It was her first time on a long-arm and she got them both done in 3-1/2 hours, which is a whole lot less time than it would have taken us to hand or pin baste them!

I have machine basted a quilt with water soluble thread on a domestic machine. But I have done the basting after having first pin basted the quilt. I did that because I hate to have to stop FMQ to remove pins. I only do that if for some reason I don't want to do enough stitch in the ditch to secure the quilt.

I think Ricky does some of his basting with Superior's wash away thread so then when he soaks the quilt to square it up, the basting disappears. I have done this on a few quilts but since most of mine are small I haven't done it for a while. I haven't watched Grand Finale for a while but I think he mentions it there. Otherwise e-mail him at rickytims.com and he will usually give you a responxe in a hurry. hugs, Ann

Heather,
I have basted smaller quilts on my old Bernina that has a nice basting stitch but also like using basting spray. For hand quilting larger pieces I have had them basted on a long arm. I am currently hand quilting a lap top quilt which is only machine basted (my own) and am machine quilting a double which is basted with 505 spray.

Jeanine (a Brazilian living in Canada)

I don't use the curved pins anymore because I find them too stiff. I have found these coloured pins that are oxidized or something. They are really light and so they are easy to close as well. (Sorry I don't have the brand name.)

I use 505 to baste my quilts. I spray it on the batting(although I found that doesn't work well with the wool batting I used) put the top to the batting, turn it over, spray the batting again and put the backing in place. If it is a large quilt, I pull the backing over the front and pin to keep it from shifting. I start in the middle and stitch in the ditch working my way out to the edges. When all of the in the ditch stitching is done, I take the pins out and add whatever other quilting I want to add. As Margo says "there are many ways to do the same job, find what works for you". This is what works for me. Hope it helps.

You can use straight pins, but you do end up with lots of stabs & scratches unless you put something over the ends Ie. Pinmoors or alternativly, bits of plastic cork or washed/unused earplugs.
Safety pins work well, curved safety pins are much easier to handle than straight ones - just don't close them until the end and you are certain they are where you want them to be; then it is easier to use a spoon to scoop up the point and close it (doing one or two by hand is ok, but you will be needing to close several hundred and your fingers get real sore after the first several dozen)

thanks, all! I will watch the video in a while, but using table instead of floor sounds brilliant!! *anything* to make it easier!

For pin basting --- what kind of pins???

Machine basting is not something we think to do on a domestic sewing machine - but I have done it on a baby quilt just like Ricky demonstrated in the current show and it worked fine. i use 505 basting spray a lot and I have found it works really well. But I will also put a few pins in about every 6" as well. I don't like using pins because they are very hard on my thumbs - particularly removing them for some reason. Patsy Thompson uses 505 as well and she talks about it in her class here in the classroom above. She even uses it for king size quilts without any pins.

You are right about Ricky thinking that the 505 basting spray is not enough to secure his quilt totally. So he does both methods to be sure.
I think for smaller quilts the 505 works great. I have had no shifting when I used that.

But when it comes to bigger quilts I use Sharon Schamber's method with boards and handbasting like she does. You have a lot of control over the quilt when it's on a board. I'm lucky to have a lot of tables so I can handle my quilts there without having to crawl on the floor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA
that's a link to no 1 of her videos on basting