Stitches

whats an EASY way to attach batting to the front of my quilt?

i am almost done with my quilt. i have the front side done and i am trying to attach the batting to the front part, but it is so big and i dont really want to hand stitch. i plan on stitching around the sqaures after the back side is on so i just need to tack it in places, but its a pain in the butt!! help!

Public Comments

1. You want to put all three layers together at the same time. If it fits on a table, great. If not, clear some hard surface floor space (or even wall space). If you only have carpeting, you may need to slide a surface under the layers before basting them, or you'll attach your quilt to the carpet. Spread out the backing fabric WRONG side up. Smooth it out, then tape it down to keep it smooth. Now spread the batting over the backing, again smoothing everything out. Finally, spread the quilt top, RIGHT side up, over the batting and smooth it out. Basting the layers, either with pins, thread, plastic tacks (like the things they use to hold price tags on clothing) or special adhesive spray, keeps the layers from shifting when you quilt it. Start at the center and work your way out, to keep everything as straight as possible. If you use safety pins, stick them through the layers about every 10 inches then go back and close them. If you thread baste, take loooong running stitches through the layers about every 5 inches. Leave the thread attached to the spool and go across the quilt at the center point. Then go back and baste from top to bottom, again at the center point. Baste diagonally from corner to corner. Finally go back through and run stitches across the width of the quilt wherever it needs the reinforcement. If you're using spray basting, turn back the batting and top from the top half of the quilt then spray the adhesive. Make sure you're doing this in a well ventilated area, and you have a drop sheet covering anything you don't want to get full of glue. Smooth the batting over the backing, making sure the adhesive holds. Then spray the batting and smooth the top over it. Repeat with the other half of the quilt. Good luck!
2. The previous answer is great for detail on how to pin and/or baste the 3 layers together to prepare for the binding so that you can then do some quilting (or I guess you could add the binding last). Unfortunately, it IS just a pain in the rear to put the layers together and stabilize them so they won't move too much while doing the other things... and the larger the quilt, the bigger the pain. Quilters do figure out ways to do it though --with greater or lesser precision. Some try to use large tables at a church or library meeting rooms, if they can too, but others just use the floor. And btw, "just stitching around the blocks" can be much more hassle than you realize too until you figure out a way and get some experience. You may just be using a straight stitch (and perhaps a walking foot), but the entire quilt will need to be turned continuously, or you'll have to skip spots then come back to them, or you'll have to do "free motion quilting" with the feed dogs down and move the quilt around in the same orientation under the needle (more difficult too if you don't have an expensive electronic machine, or use a "long arm" quilting machine). That's one reason why a lot of quilters: ...quilt by hand (takes a lot longer, but it less hassle) ... "tie" their quilts rather than quilting them ....use a "quilt as you go" method ....don't make *large* quilts (If you haven't done machine quilting before, I'd suggest doing it on a somewhat smaller item before attempting it on a large quilt... all kinds of things can be problems, from rippling to manuevering the quilt around in the machine, etc..) P.S. You might also want to check out the quick-turn "inside-out" method for putting the quilt sandwich together.** You'd still want to pin and/or baste somewhat as mentioned by the previous answerer, but that can be a good way to go about things if you want something easier to deal with and don't mind putting the binding on before doing the quilting or tying. ** http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070531101935AAemBUZ http://www.fabriclandwest.com/quilters%20corner/Birthing_quilt.htm http://thecraftstudio.com/qwc/finish.htm http://blankie.made4usa.com/StarIndex/QuickPin/Quickpin.html (although she uses no batting, and also pins the top and back together for sewing around a lot, which probably isn’t necessary)
3. You don't attach batting to the front. You make a quilt as a sandwich... you need to do your front AND your back, and then you put the batting in between the two layers, and then stitch them together. This is easier said than done! It helps to have a quilting frame, or at least space on the floor. Lay out your backing, face down. Then the batting. And then your front, face up. Stitch or pin in all corners, sides, other places to hold the whole thing together so it doesn't move. Then you can carefully roll it up or fold it to make it easier to work on. It helps if you can pin it to a frame, so it is all under tension, and all held in place. Then it is a relatively simple, but time consuming, to do all the stitching according to your design. Doing it on your lap can present problems because of the shifting of the layers, but not impossible, IF you are really careful how you handle your quilt. You might be able to do some stitching on a machine, depending on the size of it. In all, it just takes careful and slow work to be sure everything is lined up correctly, and you stitch all the layers together.
4. One of my favorites is to use fleece as the backing and batting for the pillowcase method and then tie the quilt. It's like the "birthing" method, but you're only working with two layers--the top and the fleece backing. 1. Pillowcase method Use a piece of fleece (as for jackets, etc.) that is 4-6" larger all around than your quilt top for the backing. Spread the fleece out on a flat surface, right side up (it may or may not have a noticeable right/wrong side) and smooth it out. Center your quilt top WRONG side up on the fleece, smooth it out, and pin the two pieces together around the edges. So now your two pieces are right sides together. Sew the two pieces together, 1/4-1/2" in from the quilt top edge. Don't sew around completely--leave about an 8-10" opening. Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and the end, and pivot at the corners. Press your seam and trim off the excess backing. Now turn the quilt right side out through the opening, and hand- or machine stitch the opening closed. Press again, and pin the two layers together about every 8-10" to hold them in place. Pin and topstitch around the edge of the quilt--it helps hold everything in place 2. Tie the quilt Lay the quilt out flat again, and use a heavy thread or embroidery floss to tie the quilt. Insert the needle from the top and take a stitch. Pull the thread through, leaving a 4" tail on the top of the quilt. Put the needle in again where you did the first time and take another stitch exactly over the first stitch. Trim the other end to 4", tie a square knot with the thread ends, and trim the ends to 1/2-1" (not too short--the knot will untie). You can tie the quilt pretty sparsely--maybe every 12". Don't tie over a seam intersection--the seams are bulky and it's too hard to get the needle through. Finish tying, et voila! Your quilt is done. Is this traditional quilting? Heck, no. But it is way faster and makes a quilt that will actually keep you warm--it's great for lap quilts. Pamela Johnson http://www.SewingMachineRepairing.com