by Carrie Schutrick

Created on: April 09, 2009

Once you have a quilt top, batting and backing ready to go, you'll be aching to get on to the actual quilting. It's the last big step before your creation will be complete. But how to make sure that the layers stay neatly aligned while you're working on them?

First thing to do is put the layers down. Start with the backing, wrong side up, then the batting, then the top, right side up. Make sure they're centered properly and that all three layers are smooth. And from there...to be honest, as long as you're careful you can probably get away with relying on the friction of the cloth itself. Batting generally has a reasonably fuzzy surface, which will grab the fabric of the top and backing almost like very low-powered Velcro; you might be able to just slip the quilt sandwich into the hoop or frame and work from there.

But some of us prefer a little more certainty, and there are plenty of ways to get it-plus, some people like to do free-motion quilting on the sewing machine, and that's aided quite a lot by a bit of basting. No matter which method you're planning to use, it's best to start from the center and work out, at least when fastening; it helps ensure that you can tweak any irregularities before they can cause a large, visible problem that will require miles of tearing out to fix.

The simplest method of "fastening" your layers is to just roll two parallel edges of the sandwich towards the center, leaving yourself a big enough stripe to be worth quilting. The bonus of this method is that it requires no extra equipment and that it's very easy to undo as you work. But by the same token it can be tough to manuver the rolled quilt around without it UNrolling, and you may introduce an irregularity that's hard to detect until it's too late.

Next on the simplicity scale is quilt clips. They're largish plastic items, shaped rather like a chip-bag clip, that are meant to do exactly this job of holding the layers together for quilting. They aren't cheap, however, and they can be hard to work with in the center of a quilt.

Last but not least is basting. You can baste with a needle and thread, either by hand or by machine, or using a special tool that shoots little plastic bits through the layers. Basting with thread, especially by machine, is something of a pain in the neck because you essentially have to handle all the problems of keeping the layers even while you do it, but the results are often worth the effort. The basting tool, meanwhile, will probably set you back a bit, you have to keep buying replacement plastic tabs, and the tabs are ruined when you cut them out-not very environmentally sound. But it's top-notch for ease of use and speed.

In the end the technique you use on your quilts should be the one that works the best for you. If you can get even layers by holding them together with your teeth, go for it!

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