Long time no blog post! If you've been keeping up with me on social media, you know that I've been busy as heck this holiday season, with a big pop-up shop at Gallery Boom, moving my studio to a new city, and the launch of a new branch of my business, Ponderosa Design Co. In 2019, I hope to have a more regular blog schedule, complete with posts that you're used to from me and guest writers, with helpful how-to's + product reviews and everything you need to be your best creative self. Let me know how I can best serve you in the new year-- comment below or send me an email! Don't sleep on it, I'm making my content calendar real soon!
Anyways, here's a big blog post all about QUILT BASTING. You know, sandwiching your quilt layers together before topstitching and binding. This is THE most requested topic here at the wild sweet pea and I'm FINALLY going to tell you all about my process. AND I want to teach you how to make this super simple chic table runner I made for my studio coffee table.
A little over a month ago, I reached out to June Tailor Inc. They carry my favorite basting spray ever. It sprays smoothly and doesn't fill the air with haze (super important when having a toddler around and sharing an office, like I do). This spray doesn't clog-- you can actually use the whole bottle, unlike other brands I've tried. With each can of basting spray, I can usually put together 4 throw quilts. And, best of all, this basting spray DOES NOT GUNK UP MY MACHINE! I highly recommend it. Joann's is the best place to find it, with a coupon.
There's a million quilt basting tutorials out there already, trust me, I know. I've read them. There is basically no one right way to baste, and there's plenty of ways to do it wrong. Quilt basting becomes a system of preference, as with sewing quilt binding, making a sandwich, naming your kids, so on and so forth.
My preferred method of basting is SPRAY.
June Tailor Inc. was kind enough to send some pre-adhesive iron-on batting to try, but I am just so into spray basting that I couldn't get the hang of it in one try... I actually tried the fusible batting when running on a deadline finishing up a quilt for Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine's spring issue. Trust me, try a new basting technique on a project that doesn't have a deadline. When you are in a hurry, use the method you can do quickly, without fault. Keep an eye out for a thorough tutorial for how to use June Tailor Inc.'s fusible batting, as a follow-up to this blog post! For this time, we're just going to go over spray basting.
You can use the following ten steps to make a table runner, like I did; but these basic principles apply to basting larger quilts.
TABLE RUNNER TUTORIAL
STEP ONE: Cut two pieces of linen 14" Wide by 54" Long. I used oyster essex linen.
STEP TWO: Apply some June Tailor Inc. Starch Savvy to your table runner front and back linen pieces. This product is most comparable to Mary Ellen's best press, but without the funky smell and uneven spray. I love it!
STEP THREE: Iron your pieces, with steam. Let the fabric fully dry and semi-cool down before moving to the next section, so that you don't set in any new wrinkles.
STEP FOUR: Cut a piece of scrap batting to be 20" Wide by 60" Long.
STEP FIVE: Lay out your batting on the floor. Square up one of your linen pieces on top of it, then roll up the linen into eight inch or so segments.
STEP SIX: TIME TO SPRAY! This is the important part. Using your June Tailor basting spray, spray about eight inches in front of your rolled up linen, onto the batting. Unroll the linen onto the sprayed area, and gently smooth and hand-press. Repeat with each roll of the linen: spray, unroll over, then smooth out. Repeat until you've basted the whole piece of linen to the batting.
STEP SEVEN: Repeat step six for the other piece of linen. Make sure to line up the piece of linen to the edges of the previously basted piece so that they match up. Take your time-- the entire look of your tablecloth depends on how smooth + straight it's basted.
STEP EIGHT: Once your tablecloth pieces are basted together, it's time to quilt. Take to your sewing machine. I quilted lazy channel stitching with a vibrant pink on the top and a gray variegated thread in the bobbin. I wasn't too worried about making sure that all of the lines are perfectly straight-- I love the organic look.
STEP NINE: Trim your batting flush with the edge of the linen and square up if necessary. You can do this now, or before step 7 if it makes it easier to line up the two pieces of linen.
STEP TEN: Make and attach binding. This is the method I use, by Suzy Quilts, except I machine stitch the binding at the end. Like basting, there are a million ways to bind a quilt. Bind as you see fit!
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this super easy project. For me, adding the table runner to the coffee table really tied the room together.
Last but not least... if you've read this far, I would love to GIVE YOU a box of June Tailor goodies for your crafty new year!
Find the image below on instagram, and comment with your 2019 goals + dreams to enter to win a box full of batting, quilt-as-you-go projects on pre-printed batting, a bottle of Quilter's Starch Savvy, and more. Check out the instagram post for more details!
also, check out my new graphic design subsidiary, Ponderosa Design Co! I offer branding + collateral media projects.
More about this new project that is all of a sudden my full-time job: Ponderosa Design Co. is an unapologetically feminine, woman-run, earth-centered design subsidiary. We embrace the power of raw emotion + human connection and stoke the fire within to encourage authentic brands to thrive. Ponderosa Design Co. is for the bold yet soft. For the creative and motivated. For the eco-conscious. For parents working tirelessly to create a better world for their children. For those who value home, family, and equality. For those who are into being kind, good people and spreading joy with others. Ponderosa is for genuine people who seek to use their platform and public image to make the world a prettier place but may not know how. That's where we come in. Read more here.
byeeeeee!