How to Build a Quilt Basting Frame

Quilt making has evolved over the years from a necessary practice into an art form. With a plethora of quilt patterns, designs and fabrics available today, many people are learning to quilt as a hobby. Unless you have unlimited space, some of the equipment needed for the quilting process can be a bit cumbersome. A quilt basting frame that is simple and portable just may be the answer.

Things You'll Need

• 2 1-inch-by-3-inch pine boards, 10 feet long
• 2 1-inch-by-3-inch pine boards, 8 feet long
• 3 to 4 yards of flannel or twill (if using scraps, strips must be at least 12 inches wide)
• Sewing shears
• Staple gun and staples
• 4 straight-backed dining room chairs
• 4 3-inch C clamps
• Quilt backing
• Quilter's thumbtacks
• Quilter's pins
• Batting
• Quilt top
• Needle
• Thread

Instructions

Building

1. Go to the lumber or building supply store and have the 4 boards cut. Before purchasing, lay them out on the floor to make sure they all lay flush with each other and do not bow or have any obvious defects or knots.

2. Cover each piece of lumber in flannel or twill fabric. Scrap pieces can be overlapped as necessary.

3. Attach the fabric with the staple gun along the 3-inch width of the boards.

4. Set four straight-backed dining room chairs in a rectangle.

5. Place the 10-foot boards long ways across the rectangle, and the 8-foot boards short ways across the rectangle.

Setting Up

1. Unfold quilt backing and center the short end on the 8-foot boards with the right side facing the floor. Stretch the fabric out along the basting frame. Clamp the short boards to the long boards on both ends with the C clamps.

2. Press the quilter's thumbtacks into the middle section of the quilt along the long side.

3. Pin the backing to the fabric-covered boards using quilter's pins. Start in the middle and insert a pin every 6 inches, smoothing out wrinkles as you go.

4. Unroll batting and lay it on top of quilt backing.

5. Place the quilt top right side up on the batting and pin it to the backing as it lies on the basting frame.

Basting

1. Hand-baste long ways as far as you can reach, then short ways as far as you can reach.

2. Unclamp the basting frame, unpin the long-ways section that you have finished hand-basting, and carefully roll the quilt toward the floor around the board, keeping the board straight.

3. Reclamp the quilt and continue basting, unclamping and rolling again as necessary until complete.

Tips & Warnings

• Fabric-backed chairs keep the frame from slipping.

• If you need to place a clamp over the fabric, be careful when reclamping the basting frame so that the batting doesn't get wrapped around the clamp.

References

• Basting Frame

Resources

• Basting Quilts
• History of Quilting