- A quilt is made from a
top, a middle, and a back. And this is often called a quilt sandwich. So how do you layer them together so that they don't shift while
you are machine quilting? Which might lead to
wobbly seams and creases. Here are six different methods
to make a quilt sandwich. So stick with me, and I'll
show you how to do it. (playful instrumental music) Hi there, I'm Karen Brown
of Just Get It done Quilts. I am so close to 200,000 subscribers. Please hit that subscribe
button and support the channel. I hate making quilt sandwiches, and chances are you do too. It's fuzzy, it's awkward, and let's face it. The quilt burrito that you have at the end isn't exactly Instagram worthy. So this truly is a video
I didn't want to make. While my flimsy pile got
bigger and bigger and bigger. But now I have so many stocked up. I can show you all six different methods. I'm always shocked at how long it takes to make a good quilt sandwich. So be sure to give
yourself plenty of time. To make a good one, you need 3 things. One, you need a flimsy that lies flat. So give your top a good
press before you start. You might have a couple of intersections where the seams don't lie
as flat as they should, and they need extra attention. Second, you need a middle. Most often, this is batting and your batting should be
approximately 4 inches taller and 4 inches wider than your top. This video is not about the
different types of batting that you can use. But if you would like me
to make a video about it, please put that down
in the comments below. The third thing you need is a back, which also needs to be flat. And if you are sending it to a longarmer, it should be 8 inches taller and 8 inches wider than your top. But if you're quilting it
on your sewing machine, which is what this video is about, it only needs to be 4 inches taller and 4 inches wider. I have already made a video
on how to make a quilt back, which I call an afterquilt. And I'll leave a link to
that in the notes below. Find a space where you can spread out. Many of you will be screaming that you only have a
small apartment or condo. Take the time to find a larger space. An office boardroom, your local quilt store, a condo rec room, the basement of a family or friend. I realised during COVID that this will be harder
than normal to do. So plan ahead. With masking tape, tape down your back so that it lies flat. Don't stretch it. If it's too taunt, it will lead to creases
when you remove the tape. Next, lay the batting on top. I personally like to start
from the top left-hand corner. As you lay out your batting, it's not an aggressive
pushing and pulling. Batting can stretch out of shape. So it's more of a gentle negotiation. Be patient. Take your time. If you can't coax a wrinkle out, just lift up the batting again and place it back down, and begin again. And repeat with the top. Again, I like to align my quilt with the top left-hand corner, but I also want to ensure that my strong, horizontal seams in my quilt align with a strong horizontal seam in the back. Now, if I had had a strong
vertical line in my back, I would have done the opposite. Please note that layers
migrate as you quilt. So unless you're an experienced quilter, do not have the expectation of the front perfectly matching the back. And once I finish making
my quilt sandwich, I trim down the batting. There's a lot of fibre that
comes off in the batting. It gets on your gloves,
it gets on your face, it gets on your clothes, and the less section
you expose the better. (playful instrumental music) There are three main ways to keep your quilt sandwich together. The first is tacking. There are two methods for tacking. The first one is pins. And to make the job easier,
use these quilting safety pins. They are simply just size
number three safety pins with a bend in the pin. Normally we just dump a
pile on top of the quilt and tack them a hands with the part. Leave them open. And then when you have a whole area done, you close them all at once. This is harder than it looks. Use a spoon to get under the
pinpoint to make the job easy. But using this tool will make
the job five times easier. A friend lent this to me, and I'm absolutely shocked at how much of a difference it makes. This notch holds the tip in
place while you close the head. You can also use thread or yarn to tack. Just use a tapestry needle
or small upholstery needle that can easily get in
the middle of the quilt. You go up and down
through the quilt twice. Both tacking and pins should
be about a hand width a part. And when you're done, you just snip the thread
in between the stitches. And when you're done quilting, you just snip the middle of the thread and the thread just pulls out. The pros of using this method. This is the least expensive
method out of all of them. Once you purchase the pins, you can use them over and over again. And if you use thread or yarn, you just use what you have. And you are also not adding any additional glues or fragrances. The cons of this method
are it's hard on the hands, and it takes more time. And the pins and the needles
do put holes in your fabric. The next method is to add glue. There's two ways of adding glue. The first is using bonding powder. This is a product by Quilter Select. It comes in a bag inside
a cardboard container, make a snip off the corner of the bag, put it upside down in the
container and let it drain out. Then place the cover on top. Pull back your quilt top
and sprinkle on the powder. I find it easiest to work
in rows toward the edge. It's kind of like
sprinkling on talcum powder. And then you apply heat. You don't use steam. So this method needs
several seconds per spot. It is recommended that
you use parchment paper to avoid getting any glue
on the top of your quilt or on the face plate of your iron. But today my son used the
last of our parchment paper to make breads. So I am just trying to be very careful. It does give excellent adhesion, but not so much so that
if you do make a mistake, it's easy enough to lift it
up and resettle the fabric. Then we repeat the whole
process with the back. So the pros of this method
are you can control the glue where and how much, and you don't need to
worry about any fumes. And it's easy on your hands. The cons are it takes time. You need to glue both
the front and the back. And the powder is like sand. And little bits of sand
fall out of the quilt. So you need to pay
attention what you're doing. The next method is spray basting. And I use these two brands. With this method, we need to back up a bit because
before we layer the quilt, we need to go outside and spray the back to avoid getting glue on
my furniture or my floor. And once I have the
batting all nice and flat, I repeat the process with the top. Pros of using this method
are it's fast and easy, and you can also do this method on a wall, which is great when you
don't have a tabletop to use. And you can see me use this
method in my Stashbuster 4. And I will link that
video down in the notes. And lastly, it's fairly easy on the hands. The cons are, you don't
have a lot of control over where the glue goes, or how even, especially if it's a windy day outside. So I often end up having
to add a pin or two to the corners just to
keep it from coming apart. And a well ventilated area
might be hard to find. And the outside isn't always
available if it's raining or if it's too windy. The next method is with
specialised batting. In my Vlog #4, I used a flannel batting when I made my Meadowland quilt. I laid it out on my bed,
the flannel side down, and I was amazed at how
fast and easy this was. Other than pinning the corners
so that they were secure, I didn't do anything other than that. The pros of this method is
it's actually the fastest out of all of them. There were no added glue, no added fumes. And it added a nice weight to the quilt. Now this could be a plus or minus, depending on whether you
like your quilts that weight. The cons are it's a higher price point, and it's only available by the yard. And again, the weight might
be a disadvantage for you. The final method is fusible batting. This is batting that has been pre-glued. And I'm using a queen-size
batting here from Hobbs. It is an 80, 20 product. With this queen size piece, I was able to make two cuddle
quilts and a crib quilt, and I still have enough leftover that I can use in at least
one more improv quilt. So your sandwiches just
made the same way as before, but at the end, you simply
press with a hot iron, no steam. I use a piece of parchment
paper when I glue the edges so that I don't get any glue
on the faceplate of my iron. And again, this is not permanent. So you can still lift if
necessary and re-glue. The pros of using this method; it's easy to use. And the glue is even and right
to the edges of your quilt. So you don't need any additional pinning. The cons are of course
the higher price point, and it's not available by the yard. It comes in bed sizes and not by the bolt. With all the methods, you need to take another look at the back after the tape is removed, as the fabric can spring
back and create creases. So you just need to take the
time to adjust as necessary. So now I have all these quilt sandwiches. I guess I need to make a
video on free motion quilting. I used a lot of different
products in this video. If you're interested in any of them, I have the links to
them in the notes below. But I do recommend that
you take several of these for a test drive, because you're going to find when you're making different quilts, different sizes, different
levels of precision, you're going to prefer a different method of making your quilt sandwich. If you are looking for a
fast and easy quilt top to take any of these for a test drive, check out my last Stashbuster video, Stashbuster #7. I'll leave a link in the notes below. And also take a look at my
interview with Peter Byrne, the winner of QuiltCon 2020
in Karen's Quilt Circle. If you liked this video,
please give it a thumbs up. Don't forget to subscribe and hit that bell beside
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