I HAVE ORGANIZED/ARRANGED 28 BATS

HERE ARE SOME TIPS AND INFORMATION TO HAVE A SMOOTH RUNNING BAT. WE HAVE HAD THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATE CHANGE YEAR TO YEAR, BUT WE ALWAYS HAVE AT LEAST 40 PARTICIPANTS.

THESE ARE THE COMPLETE STEPS USED BY OUR CHAPTER.  YOU MAY NOT CARE ABOUT PUBLICITY OR HAVING PEOPLE OUTSIDE YOUR CHAPTER SIGN UP OR FOOD.  IF NOT, JUST SKIP THOSE ITEMS.

Best of luck!

Miriam Siegel, Vice President
FORMER Home Group BAT Chairperson

STEP 1 – LOCATION PLANNING 9-12 MONTHS OUT IF POSSIBLE:

  1. Select a BAT committee
  2. Pick date/time and secure a place to hold the BAT.(check to see if you can “set up” the night before)
  3. Assign a team to get the word out about your BAT; newspapers, radio, make flyers and drop at Fabric Shops, etc.

STEP 2 – 4 MONTHS OUT, IDEALLY

  1. Have a press release or flyers for local quilt shops, bulletin boards, crafters newsletters to tell them of the event and get people interested in signing up for the event.  Get their phone AND emails AND addresses to keep them in the loop for other events.
  2. Try to find someone/restaurant/company to sponsor food for the lunches, breakfast pastries, coffee, drinks, etc.  Many chapters do pot-lucks too.

STEP 4 – SPONSORSHIP AND COUPONS

  1. If you are sewing, you’ll need batting and backing.  Usually there are enough people willing to donate stash and scraps, but you need the big backs.
    • Contact local area hotels – nice ones – for sheets. They are always washed when they are donated and are VERY soft. Perfect for tie-dying too. Scouts love to do this!
    • Contact local area businesses to see if they’d be willing to send a team or sponsor the event by donating food or batting.
    • Ask volunteers for coupons – you can get batting 1/2 price most of the time if you plan ahead.

STEP 3 – ONE MONTH OUT

  1. Make a diagram of your floor plan, taking into consideration the location of your electrical outlets and blowing fuses!
  2. If you are having food, (lunch) make sure you have enough paper goods for all. Include an RSVP, so you will have an accurate headcount
  3. DO YOU NEED SIGNAGE?  MAKE POSTERS OR HAVE A BANNER TO DIRECT PEOPLE TO YOUR EVENT.  THIS IS A GREAT TEEN PROJECT – CHEERLEADERS ARE WONDERS AT POSTERS.
  4. You may have a lot of binkies that day.  Are there particular agencies, shelters, etc. that will be receiving them?  Perhaps you can arrange for a representative to arrive towards the end of your event to take the binkies.  This would be one less item to worry about during clean-up.
  5. You can also make the no-sew fleece binkies – but you need to get your fleece ahead of time or ask your volunteers to bring it that day.  Great way to handle younger volunteers and less crafty folks. for instructions.
  6. Confirm with sponsors and have your supplies ready, including fabric.

STEP 4 – DAY OF OR DAY BEFORE

  1. We set up “stations” around the room, divided as follows.
    1. Strip cutters
    2. “top sewers”
    3. pinners / sandwich makers who match up the tops to the bottom and get batting in between. http://youtu.be/L9boeEsd2TE to see how it’s done.
    4. “edge sewers” – same as the top sewers.
    5. ironers – we ask for 1 iron per 7 machines.  More for non-sewers to do and helps make smooth seams for the tops (optional).
    6. baggers (great for kids! along with trash clean up, pins returned to pinners)
    7.  Fleece blanket stations if you have fleece at your event – SUPER EASY. You can do an entire event with these no-sew binkies, if you prefer, but they ALL need labels.
  2. Send this out to your volunteers who have signed up or have it as they walk in and get name tags. (newcomers BAT doc)

STEP 5 – DAY OF YOUR BAT

  1. If you are having food, (lunch) make sure you have enough paper goods for all. Include a RSVP, so you will have an accurate head count.
  2. Offer coffee in the a.m., if convenient. (We supply bottled water for all)
  3. Draft the “to do” list on the morning of the BAT and assign jobs to people:
    1. put up banners/signs
    2. set up sign-in area, pens, name tags,
    3. set out labels
    4. tape small brown bags to each sewing spot(secure with masking tape) used for catching loose scraps/ thread
    5. arrange the “count and bag” area
    6. make sure pins, needles, misc.supplies are out
    7. Have tables for fleece cutting and pinners. The floor is tough for a lot of people. They’ll need options. Warn them they may want to bring a cushion or Girl Scout “Situpon” for the event. We’ve had some wear knee pads.

Ironing helps the sewers. They take a lot of power, so make sure your space can handle that and all the machines.

Sewers make the tops, and can finish the backing. They can also sew on the labels if you don’t have people to hand sew them on.

Binky “sandwiches” are a bottom, top and batting cut to fit the top. We use 90″ wide batting we buy on sale. You can use nicer stuff if it’s in your budget.

Pinners spend a lot of time on the floor. If you can have big round tables out, it’s helpful for them to bring their sandwiches to the table to pin for the sewers.

Pinning teams are helpful. Tip: Pin the opposing sides first to work out any wrinkles. A few pins in the middle help secure it. Then the other sides. Good luck on the corners.

Fleece blankets are super popular because it’s EASY. Just need scissors. Friends like doing them together because they can visit while making the binkies. We’ve even taught them how to hand-sew on the labels in the corners.

Bagging them up at the end of the day is so much fun. We do a count throughout to keep everyone motivated. Use CLEAR bags so they look special, rather than trashy. 10 per bag is easy for counting. Big and medium mixed? Or separate by size. It’s up to you.

Be sure to ask for setup time before your event. We bring things the night before. And, leave time for clean up. You can ask for volunteers just for set up and clean up. Great way to get more people involved.