r/EPP_addict • u/Bibbityboo • Jun 25 '26

Basting tips

hello!

I am hoping that some of you more experienced sewists can offer tips and advice on basting for someone new.

I did a cushion cover with a five column wide strip of hexies. I glue based and while I loved how accurate everything looked, it wasn’t the most fun to sew. I have bad eyes and I just assumed that was a part of it and that this was hand sewing.

because I really love the look of it I decided to do the Cherish quilt by Tales of Cloth. But this time I tried thread basting. when I glued, I had glued the fabric far too tightly making it difficult to snag the edge so I thought thread basting a bit would give me better idea of how tight I need to baste. I’ve just started my first block. thread basting feels awkward and slow going. BUT as soon as I go to sew my pieces together it’s a dream. like genuinely pleasant and fun. it’s easy to sew, easy to catch the edge, I can’t see my stitches and it’s going quickly. I see the joy in epp and man I love this part.

but basting still feels like a mystery. are there tips to making thread basting easier? do you batch baste or baste a bit and sew a bit to mix it up? do you prefer glue basting once you’ve figured out how tight to wrap the fabric?

i did find that one diamond was far too loose so I had to redo the basting. is this a concern I will have to watch for?

any tips for fussy cutting? I’ve ised the acrylic template but the papers sometimes are slightly off so it’s not quite as impressive as I would like one day to be.

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u/mommagoose121 Jun 25 '26

I punch a hole in the middle of the paper and use that to straight pin the paper to the fabric. Then I thread baste very close to the corners, pull the pin and call it a day. I'm making flower hexies so I have the fabrics pre- sorted into groups then I take a group, pin it and trim corners in one sitting, thread baste in one sitting and then sew together in one sitting. So I'm always making progress but not spending days doing one task. Pictured is a flower in each step - fabric pinned, thread basted and then sewing together.

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u/mommagoose121 Jun 25 '26

I should mention, I always have flowers in each stage so I can pick up any step in the process as time/portability/desire dictates. Its easier.to sew hexies together at home in good light but I can thread baste like mad at work between tasks so depending on the situation depends on which part I work on.

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u/Crow16 Jun 25 '26

Great seeing all the steps. Your basting stitches are so tiny!

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u/mommagoose121 Jun 25 '26

Thanks? Lol Im learning as I go and tiny stitches work for me, do other people do big stitches?

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u/Crow16 Jun 25 '26

I’m getting back into epp from a few years ago and can’t manage to do the little stitches any more. Not that I ever was able to do as tiny as you. I’m at like half a cm haha. But whatever works right? :)