Part 1: Basting

Part 1 - Basting

Basting is taking your backing, batting, and top and making them into a quilt sandwich.

In this lesson, you will need:

Batting

Quilt top

Masking tape

Cotton Darner

Quilter's pins

Contrasting thread

Quilt backing

How to construct and layer your quilt

Once you've constructed your quilt top using patchwork or appliqué, you will construct your quilt by putting the three layers together and building your quilt sandwich.

Your quilt backing can be made in plain fabric, or you can piece fabric together to make a piece large enough to cover the back of the quilt.

1. Prepare your quilt backing. It should be 5–10 cm larger than your quilt top.
2. Lay the right side of the backing fabric down on your work surface, and check to make sure the backing fabric is larger than your quilt top.
3. Secure the backing at regular intervals using some masking tape. Smooth the fabric down.
4. Using your quilt top as your template, cut your batting (or wadding) at least 5 cm wider than your quilt top.
5. Centre the piece of batting (or wadding) on top of the backing fabric.
6. Trim your quilt top, and lay it on top of the batting.

Tip: if you are doing a larger quilt, you might want to put masking tape at more frequent intervals.

Basting your quilt sandwich

#### Thread basting

I'd recommend using a thread in a contrasting colour, so you can see the stitches. The threads are going to be temporary and will be removed later. Use a length of thread that is wrist to shoulder-length.

All three of your quilt layers together is commonly known as a quilt sandwich. You want to secure the layers with stitches or pins. I prefer to do thread basting, but you can also use quilting pins.

1. Cut a length of thread from wrist to shoulder length.
2. Thread your needle, but don't tie a knot at the end.
3. Using your needle and thread, start in the centre of the quilt and stitch outwards. Make sure your needle is going through all three layers of the quilt sandwich. Use large basting stitches across the surface of the quilt, with a gap of about 5–8 cm between the stitches in a herringbone diagonal effect.
4. Once you reach the end, take one giant stitch and trim the thread.

Tip: we are stitching diagonally to create a stitch that has a little bit of movement. When you're pulling your thread through your fabric, you don't want to pull it tight, but you do want it to be secure. The herringbone thread means that your fabric can move slightly but is still secured together as one piece of fabric.

#### Quilt basting

1. Starting in the centre of your quilt and working outwards, pin your fabric.
2. Space your pins 10 cm (4 in) apart from each other.
3. Form a grid of pins across the quilt. They should not be further apart from each other than 10 cm (4 in) – any further apart and you will get shifting layers. An easy way to measure this roughly is the width of your hand. Keep adding pins until you feel your quilt is nice and secure.

Tip: alternate the direction in which your pins are going.

After quilting, you are ready to hand quilt, which is where a running stitch is used to sew the layers of the quilt together permanently.