I found lots of helpful tips online (like Kelly's video and Kristie's tutorial). It does seem that brand matters, and most quilters seem to prefer 505 spray. (I got mine here--I've heard it's the best price around.)
And, guess what? It worked. Within a weekend, I had two quilts basted, quilted, and awaiting hand-stitched binding. (Machine stitching the binding is one shortcut I haven't been able to take. I've tried, but I'm no good at it. And hand-stitching the binding is my favorite.) Will I stick with the spray? Hard to say. It's definitely a time-saver, but spraying all of those chemicals on a quilt bothers me a little. I bought several cans, so I'll be using the spray for a while!
One of my finishes was this (Boom Boom) Pow-Wow quilt. (Pow-Wow pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew.) It's a fun, dynamic quilt that's great for small-scale prints. Most of the prints are from the Boy Crazy line by Riley Blake.
The large-scale print from Boy Crazy is really fun, but it didn't work with the Pow-Wow pattern, so it ended up on the back!
And...all finished up! One note on this pattern: Allison's fabric requirements don't include much room for error. Allison says right there on the pattern to cut carefully because you'll need the full width of fabric, but I still made a cutting mistake (or two...) that caused me to rework my plan. (Just to be clear: The cutting instructions are perfect. I happen to be a dunce.) If you're prone to cutting mistakes, you might order a little extra fabric. :)
I like you have been hesitant to try the spray basting, but after spending several hours on the floor this past weekend pin basting two quilts, I am seriously considering it now...I hurt the next day! LOL Your quilt turned out beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI changed my design wall from just a piece of flannel to something I can stick pins in--just so I can spray baste inside without having to do a lot of kneeling. I'll check out the two links you posted too.Cute quilts!
ReplyDeleteYay for a happy spray basting experience! I love how your Pow Wow quilt turned out, those prints are so fun!
ReplyDeleteHey, fantastic! Love it. I find that spray has its place but I don't use it all the time anymore. For small projects, for sure. For really big ones I find that with all of the handling of the quilt in the quilting process, the spray doesn't always hold well.
ReplyDeleteI find the spray basting works well for placemats, table runners, wall hangings and smallish baby quilts. I have tried it on 2 separate larger quilts, one was 60" x 70" and the other was 75" x 75" and the spray basting did not hold up getting pushed and pulled thru the 11" arm of rof my Janome 7700. So I continue to pin baste the larger quilts.
ReplyDeleteBasting my quilts on the floor is no longer an option for this old lady with a bad back. I use my King size bed. My bedspread holds the backing and keeps it from slipping around and I can reach clear to the middle of the quilt to start my pinning. If the quilt is larger than my bed I still lay out all of the layers and if necessary I roll up one side so I can reach the center to begin pinning. It works like a charm!
I am a total spray basting junkie. And, seeing as we have snow half the year, I do it with sealed up doors and windows, no ventilation whatsoever. And I'm still normal. Right??
ReplyDelete(thanks for the shout out for the tutorial!)
I love the design! I have spray basted but have had mixed results with it, so I usually pin. Maybe I should give it another shot because I have more quilt tops than one girl should admit too...
ReplyDeleteI've recently converted to spray basting too. I love it! So much quicker and I haven't had any trouble with movement or puckering. I like 505 best too. It has very low fume smell I think. The can I used before was Birch brand and it stunk to high heaven. I was very reluctant to let my kids help with the smoothing and sticking of the layers when I used that brand.
ReplyDelete