Originally Posted by
costumegirl
I guess my questions were not as understandable as I wished - ....
"Does one work better than the other for different sewing?" I meant, Are there circumstances where the glue stick may be better to use as opposed to using the liquid? example - Would you use the liquid to "pin" down a smaller piece of fabric as in applique and perhaps use a glue stick for "pinning" lengths of fabric as in borders, or binding?
"Does anyone use it for applique instead of starch?" In applique, where the edges are folded under and then sewn, it is common to use liquid starch and apply it with a brush or Qtip to the under turned edges so that they "stick" underneath. This makes sewing easier and quicker whether by hand or by machine especially for smaller, finicky pieces. I was wondering if anyone has used the Elmers glue for this purpose and possibly make the process easier and faster than using liquid starch.
I am thinking that since the glue is concentrated starch and if only a little bit is used that it could possibly be used for smaller pieces when doing applique not only to hold the edges but also to hold in place.
Okay I understand better, thanks for clarifying. I think there are circumstances where the glue stick is better: I use a glue stick to adhere applique shapes to the background, and anywhere where precision isn't required. I use starch to press the appliques in shape, then I use dots of glue to temporarily attach the applique to the background. The great thing about this technique is the glue isn't permanent, you can pull the glued pieces apart and re-glue them if needed.
I've used it a lot on things that would ordinarily be curved piecing, such as clamshells, apple cores, and circles. Is that cheating?
And to clarify something else you said - Elmer's glue is not concentrated starch. I think it used to be, years ago, but no longer. The Elmer's MSDS sheet available on their website states that it is PVAC (polyvinyl acetate) based.