A basting stitch is a set of long stitches that are usually used to hold something together temporarily. For example, sometimes you’ll baste two pieces of fabric together to keep them in place while you sew those 2 pieces to another piece of fabric. Or sometimes you’ll baste an applique onto your fabric to keep it in place while you then sew the edges down permanently. You might baste the most when creating gathers or ruffles. You can baste by hand or set your machine to its longest stitch and do a machine baste. Basting stitch can often be used as a decorative stitch, or as a border around different shapes.