how to thread baste your quilt
If I had unlimited time and patience, I would thread baste all my quilting projects. But, resources (time) being what they are (scarce), I save thread basting for my hand quilted projects.
Another more pragmatic reason? Hand quilting takes time. If I was to pin baste, my pins would be monopolized for weeks, most likely months (sometimes years). By thread basting the project is contained to itself and I don’t get held up from finishing other projects at the same time!
Methods
Before we dive into the nuts and bolts, I want to highlight that there are a couple other ways to baste, including safety pins, and spray. Let’s take a minute to look at each method:
Safety-pins: if I am machine quilting, this is my go-to method for basting. It’s easy to remove the pins as I sew and I love that the pins can be reused! Make sure your pins are large enough to easily get through all three layers of the quilt sandwich, I like the 1.5-inch long ones, but if I had to, I’d go larger not smaller.
Thread: If you are going to hand quilt your quilt top, I would suggest thread basting instead of pins. There are two main reasons for this. First is, because I take my sweet time when hand quilting, I don’t want to tie up all my pins on that project. And second, moving pins around to make room for my quilt is a pain.
Adhesive spray: I’ll be honest, I cannot speak to spray-basting as 1) I do not have enough ventilation in my apartment to make this a viable option and 2) I don’t like aerosols as a general rule and do my best to avoid them. There are a number of quilters who swear by spray basting though, so if you are interested in exploring the method, a good google search will come up with a number of tutorials!
Others: there is also this magic adhesive powder that I’ve played around with in the past. And while it works great, I do find it a bit messy and will only use it on small projects that fit comfortably on my ironing board.
Thread Basting Materials
Quilt Backing
Batting
Quilt Top
Needle
Thread (I use any old standard sewing thread that I have lying around)
Thread snips
How To Thread Baste
Prep
Before we dive in, I just want to caveat this step-by-step: this is the process that works for me. While writing it down, I realized that there are moments of pure inefficiency (and some of pure puzzlement). But, I’m probably going to continue my haphazard approach to basting as it works for me and is practical for my apartment set-up. The great thing about basting is that you can re-do it, so try different approaches and find the one that works best for you.
Clear off the flat surface where you are going to baste. For some, this is the floor, for me, this is a table.
Make sure your quilt backing fabric is large enough to give you some overhang. I like to have about 4” all around, but if I am working on a smaller piece and I can use yardage, even if I only have an inch or two overhang, I’ll make an exception and be extra careful while working. If you have to assemble your quilt backing fabric, you can find my how-to here.
Give your quilt backing fabric a good press to get any wrinkles out
Place your quilt backing fabric wrong-side up on your flat surface and take a moment to get any bubbles out. If you are working on the floor, you can tape your backing down along the edges to secure it. If you're on the table, sometimes I find taping down the longest edge helpful, other times I don’t. But, I do generally find using one of the edges of the table to line up the edges of the quilt sandwich helpful (something to play around with!).
Layer your batting on top, making sure it is centered on the backing and that you have enough batting overhang for the quilt top (again, about 4” all around).
I’ll be real here, I often only unfold the batting package partway and trim one edge down to size while it is still folded up. Invariably, I have to readjust the backing. And yes, I realize I could just measure it out and cut it before laying it down. But, let’s be honest: I never do. All to say, try different approaches to see what works for you and your space! If there are a lot of wrinkles in the batting, sometimes I let it sit overnight and will adjust the batting and backing the next day. I’ve heard that some folks like to use a hairdryer or a warm-iron on the wrinkles to get them out, but I’ve never tried it!
Place your quilt top down on top of the batting and backing, making sure to center as best as you can so that the overhang of batting and backing is equal all around. And if you have a seam in the backing, you’ll want to keep an eye to make sure it’s parallel to the edge of the quilt. And, don’t forget to smooth out all the bubbles!
how-to thread baste
For thread basting, the process is very similar to pin-basting and you’re going to lay out your quilt sandwich as normal, though I would highly recommend doing this on a table with a chair as I find leaning over to sew is exhausting for my back.
You’re going to make a grid across the entire quilt top. I aim to make a 3-4” grid (though I’ve been known to get a little careless and make a 5” grid). It doesn’t matter whether you start with the horizontal lines or the vertical lines, just pick one to start.
You’re going to be starting from the middle of the quilt, so very carefully roll up one side of the quilt sandwich (the one closest to you) so you can access the middle
Thread your needle and make a knot (I just make a messy knot by wrapping the end of the thread around my pointer finger a couple of times and then roll it off using my thumb, pulling the thread taught with my opposite hand).
Note: I am VERY lazy when I baste and will measure out a length of thread to get me across the entire quilt top. This means I spend some time untangling my thread, but I prefer that over shorter threads and having to back stitch, rethread, and start again in the middle of a row. For basting, I honestly don’t think it matters: do what makes you happy.
Slide your non-dominant arm under the quilt top. From the top of the quilt, take your first stitch, making sure not to pull your knot tight against the top (you can even leave ¼” between the knot and the quilt top to play it safe). Take 2”-3” stitches across the sandwich to the other edge, making sure they aren’t too tight as you go (you don’t want pleats or puckers).
When you come to the end of your thread (or that row of stitches), take a couple large backstitches (I like to make a large X) and snip your thread.
Start another row 4” below the first and repeat till you get to the edge.
Continue until you’ve finished one half of the quilt, then either turn the quilt around carefully to access the other side OR just move your chair to the other side of the table. If you have to spin the quilt top around in order to continue working on it, don’t worry! Just carefully and gently roll the quilt top edges towards each other (like a scroll) and spin it around. Before you baste the other side, smooth out the sandwich again as needed.
Roll up this side of the quilt and add your rows to complete this part of the grid
Once you’ve got your horizontal stitches in place, it’s time to do the vertical stitches to make your grid. Follow the same methodology (first one half, then the other) as the horizontal stitches. If you notice any bubbles as you go, you can always take out a row or two or stitches to flatten everything out.
When you’ve completed your grid, the quilt is ready to be quilted. I am much more careless with my thread basted projects than my pin basted ones: I’ve got a couple that I’ve been chipping away at over more than a year and it’s going great. The thing to remember is to NEVER leave your quilt in your quilt hoop when you’re not working on it. And to leave it rolled up (if you have the space) or make sure to refold it in different ways if you’ve got less space (like me!) so it doesn’t get over-creased in one place.
Removing thread basting
The best part about thread basting? Pulling those threads out! I like to snip my knots off, wriggle the backstitches on the opposite end out, and then pull it all the way through, but, it’s better to slowly work around the quilt, snipping at intervals (every foot or so will do) so that you don’t snag and pull at any quilting stitches.
Another option is to remove the basting as you go once a section is quilted. Also very satisfying :)
Next Steps
If you haven’t marked your quilting lines yet, it’s time to do so and you can read more about all that here.