Don't call the quilt police

12 years ago

I am often very lazy about hand work. Even basting. I had to put together two pieces of my QAYG project. The quilt tops were sewed in, the batting trimmed so they butt against each other. I had to bast the backing fabric from one half over the other so that when I stitched in the ditch from the front, it catches the backing fabric just right and looks clean back and front. Usually diligent basting keeps the backing in place and works beautifully but I was running out of time and patience.

What did I do? I cut up a thin sliver of fusible web - about 1/8" strips and used it to hold the backing in place. All done. Looks perfect.

Please don't call the quilt police!

Vasu

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Comments (12)

toolgranny
12 years ago
Quilt police nothing! You've given us all a valuable tip. You are to be applauded for the trailblazer you are.
magothyrivergirl
12 years ago
OMG~I AM calling the Quilt Police~~to give you a Medal!!
What a fantastic idea-really a solution. I have a Sampler QAYG - each block was quilted before joined, but the back seam of every single block is pinned and ready to be hand stitched. This was a year long class I took when I began - I learned a lot and learned how to use my new machine. To finish the class, I cheated and hand sewed the intersection areas only. the entire quilt is waiting patiently - pinned with all my flower head pins - for me to hand sew all the seams. But then I thought, okay I hand sew all those seams, then I have to hand sew all around for each border, or at least one. It is dark navy batik, hard to hand sew and impossible to see.
I will be using your method, and cutting the fusible web and I will add additional stitching, by machine and get this thing finished. I need my pins!
Thank you - you are a genuis.
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msmeow
12 years ago
So Vasu, did cutting thin strips of fusible web, getting them placed just right, and getting them ironed down correctly really take less time than basting? :)

Donna
new2quilting
12 years ago
That reminds me of a demo I saw at a LQS. They were selling a fusing tape for putting batting pieces together to use scraps. I wondered who would use it until I saw how high batting prices at JoAnns have gotten!

Here is a link that might be useful: Heat Press Batting Together
tuppermom
12 years ago
I have a qayg project sampler quilt to finish as well. Great tip!
I saw a demo for that fusing tape as well but looked at the price of it and said "No".....I have 2 bolts of lightweight fusible interfacing that I bought to make T-shirt quilts and have been saving the cut-off pieces of that. I also have lots of strips of batting cut off quilts so have been piecing my battings for a while now. Perfect for baby and lap quilts!
jennifer_in_va
12 years ago
Fabulous idea!

Stitch witchery is a fusible web sold for hemming garments. It comes in 1/2" wide rolls, and I think maybe even thinner... If so, then there would not cutting fusible web to fit, just unroll it the length you need.

And as I write this, I remember a teacher do a demo using a 1/4" wide fusible from a roll...will have to dig out the instructions to find the name of that too.
vasu_texas
Original Author
12 years ago
Donna,
Actually it did take very little time compared to what it usually takes me to do the basting. I am not very good at hand sewing.

Jennifer,
I used stitch witchery once to "hem" my skirt in a hurry. You have to get both fabric and the tape all in place before ironing. With the fusible web used for applique, you can fuse one side at a time.
I was going to use the steam-a-seam fusible strips that I used for my Celtic quilts but I ran out. They are 1/4" strips but a bit stiffer than the heat'n bond lite strips I used.

I use pieced batting too for smaller projects but I just put them close together and use a few extra pins to hold the sandwich together.

Vasu
K8Orlando
12 years ago
Excellent! Thank you for sharing this idea!
Suzette Simmonds
10 years ago
I don't know how old this thread is, but I thought I'd chime in. I like to take stitch witchery and cut it into bits. I mean TINY bits. I fringe it in maybe 1/8" fringe...and then cut across the tips of the fringe to make tiny little pieces. I will do this over the course of a few nights of TV watching to get a good-size jar full. Then, when I'm ready to "baste, I lay down the batting on a big table and smooth it all out. Then, I take my tiny bits of stitch witchery and just scatter it over the batting - not real heavy, but a generous amount of bits. Then I top with the backing and get it all smooth. Then iron it. The backing is now tacked to the batting. I flip them over and repeat the process with the quilt top. It takes just a few minutes and works really well. The bits of stitch witchery are so small that they can't be felt through the fabric - yet they do a pretty good job of holding everything all together.
grammyp
10 years ago
Sounds like a wise use of resources to me. I agree you deserve an award.

beverly
geezerfolks_SharonG_FL
10 years ago
crimsicle, That stitch witchery idea is pretty neat! Thanks for sharing!

SharonG/FL
littlehelen_gw
10 years ago
I really like the idea of the stitch witchery; if there is one thing I dislike is the sandwiching in prep for quilting.... This has got to be a better result than all those pins, or the hand basting. I'll be trying this very soon...Thank You!
V.