Thursday, January 8, 2009

Basting with Sharon Schamber

Just because I have plenty of time to get my quilt finished before the deadline (Yeah, right!) I thought I would try Sharon Schamber's method of basting a quilt sandwich using boards and the table. Sharon has a free video on her website that explains the method much better than I can, so go here to see her excellent demonstration.

The advantages I see are that:

1. I don't need to get down on the floor - this is a biggie reason if you are me :-)

2. I can check for stray threads as I roll up the quilt top and backing.

3 It doesn't add weight to the quilt, unlike safety pins.

4. I can baste a quilt on my own, on my table, without needing a large surface (although because this quilt is 2.3 metres square I did put 2 tables end to end.)

The disadvantage is that it takes a lot longer than pin basting would, although I could easily have used pins with Sharon's roll method.



Really, I guess, it is a bit like having a machine quilting frame, without the frame, if you see what I mean.

I haven't started the quilting yet so I am not sure how the thread will go but Sharon says to clip the area you are working on. I will let you know how it goes.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved this post. Thank you for sharing the link and info about her basting technique which is fabulous. Great!

Narelle said...

I've been following the progress of your quilt and think it's absolutely gorgeous.

I justed watched the video and am very interested to see how you go with it.

meggie said...

I use a method I found on Keryn Emerson's blog. I will certainly try this method some time, as it looks so manageable. I use Sharon's tips to get a neat binding with excellent mitered corners.

sewkalico said...

I have watched her video several times in the past and think it's wonderful. I keep meaning to try this, but I need to finish a few more projects first!