My sister-in-law and I went on our own little Quilting Retreat in January 2024. We rented a cottage, and it had a huge kitchen island that I just had to make the most of.

We had set it up as a cutting station, which worked so well. We both have the Stripology Rulers, so they were out, along with our cutting mats.

I did want to get some footage of me basting a quilt whilst I was at the cottage. I have never been able to do this in the boat, so I took full advantage of all that space. I set up my phone in front of the kitchen island and got to work. Below is my short little video for you to see.

Did you see how happy I was at the end of the basting, lol?

I don’t like to use pins when I baste quilts. My favourite way is to use an adhesive temporary fabric spray. I have tried a few different brands over the years and the best one for me is Odif 505. For best results read the instructions, I give the can a really good shake, and spray the wadding or batting from about 10 to 12 inches away. Use in a well ventilated area

I spread the wadding out first, making sure there are no creases in it. If there are, then I give it a light ironing on a low setting, as I don’t want those creases there when I start to baste the quilt together.

I then place my quilt top on top of the batting and make sure that it is going to sit within the batting that I have cut.

I always start at the top of my quilt, and when I am happy that everything is in place I pull the top of my quilt top back, spray the batting and then place the quilt top over it. I use my hands to spread out the quilt top from the middle outwards and upwards. This ensures that there are no rucks to the quilt top.

Next I lift the quilt top from the bottom, spray about 12 inches of the batting and then gently bring the quilt top back, and lay it over my batting. Again, I use my hands to make sure that the quilt top adheres to the batting, starting in the middle, and spreading out to the sides. I then repeat this until all of the quilt top is adhered to the batting.

Once you have completed the front, then turn over and repeat the steps above.

I had pressed the front of the quilt, and for the backing I had sewn together 2 x 40” width of fabric, and then placed the seam to one side, and not directly in the middle of the quilt. The reason for placing the back seam to one side is - if your quilt is well used and loved, it gets washed and folded up a lot, therefore having the seam for the backing fabric in the middle means that there is a lot of wear and tear on that seam over the years.

This is such an easy quilt pattern to make, and I would definitely recommend it for the beginner quilters out there.

Now - I wish I could baste all of my quilts this quickly.