Pin Basting Quilt Tops Easily.

 Jo B. from ButterZ  blog asked how I pin baste my quilt tops so I thought I would share some photos of my set up.
    I have used many different systems over the years and this current table is working very well at this home. Setting up in an area which keeps me cool in summer and the quilt tops clean is important for me.
  I use a $50 collapsible table from Officeworks and I leave it set up all the time on our back deck as it's also great for cutting large pieces of fabric. I lifted the legs onto bricks to make the table height better when pin basting.  I used to have a table tennis table for basting but found it put a strain on my back to reach across to the centre of the quilt. If a quilt is too large for the table,  I roll a section up and pin the first half and then roll or loosely fold the pinned section and pin the remainder. I did think that I might buy a second table to use with larger quilts but I'm finding that my current set up us working for me. You can buy table lifters and I use a set of 4 to raise the cutting table in my sewing room but the bricks work just as well.

I store a tub of backing fabric under the table and it's easy to measure the tops for sashing, backing and batting there as well. I don't close the pins when basting as I'm not transporting them far and it saves a lot of time,  although I sometimes get scratched by pins when quilting, it's not really a problem. The only thing that I am finding frustrating at the moment is the masking tape I use to hold the backing in place on the table while I pin the top, batting and backings doesn't hold as firmly as it used to. I like to have 4 or 5 basted tops ready to quilt when time allows and often baste one or two tops in the early evening if Jake hasn't slept for long during the day. Having tops basted and ready to quilt means that I can get them done quickly when I  have 20 or 30 minutes of spare time.
Hope this is of interest. I'm sure we all have our own way of working and adapt to suit our working area and age. Basting is the most tiring part of finishing tops for me so I try to do it without too much strain on my back and shoulders .
Hugs, Jan Mac