MaryAnnMc

When I posted my latest quilt last week, I mentioned my new Best Friend Forever, Elmer's Washable School Glue. I discovered this pinless method of quilting right here on The Board. What an amazing place this is! Many of my commenters asked about how to use the glue. So, all in one place, I'm inviting all you gluers to post your tips. Here is how I use it:

Be sure you are using WASHABLE school glue. It's really a thick starch, and washes out beautifully. If you don't leave globs, it won't be hard to stitch through even by hand, it won't gum your needle, and you will be a very happy camper.

1. Instead of pinning pieces, I add a thin line of glue, lay the second piece on top, and hit it with a hot iron to set. Once I'm sure it's lined up properly, it goes in a pile to stitch.

2. To match seams, I line up the edges, and line up the seams. Again, glue and press. Here's the best part: I can check to see if the seam (or points, whatever) are lined up and meet BEFORE I stitch the seam. If not, just pull them apart and try again. You will need to add more glue. Once it's pressed dry, it won't budge.

3. Same thing for blocks: line 'em up, glue, press, check, stitch. DONE!! On my first quilt, a nine-patch, I could not get the seams to line up and I was so frustrated. About a third of the way through, I read about the glue method. Of course I had to go back and rip those blocks apart, and after gluing they were all matched and I was very happy.

4. When it comes to glueing the sandwich, I'm still working on the perfect way to do this. This last time I pinned my backing to the floor, drizzled glue and then spread it with a damp paintbrush, and set the batting on top. I ironed it right there on the floor. It's important to take a damp paintbrush and swipe the glue so there aren't any globs. I was not happy, as there back seemed very puckery to me, but once I'd ironed the glue, I couldn't get it apart without tearing the batting. So I stitched it up and hoped for the best. Happily, it stitched up just fine, and looks great.

Next time, I'm going to lay the batting down and put the backing on top and iron. I'm sure this will give me a nice smooth back since I'll be able to see it. Then I'll flip and do the top.

As long as you didn't leave any globs, you'll have no trouble quilting, and the top won't slide. No pins to work around!! No broken needles!!

5. Binding: here's the best part of all! Once I stitch the binding to the front (you could glue here, I don't bother), I fold & glue the binding to the back of the quilt. No more tangling my thread around pins, and no more pricking myself and bleeding on the quilt! I packed an unfinished quilt and traveled with it, and all I needed was a needle to stitch with, and no worries about losing pins.

Wash the quilt to remove the glue, and you're done!

If you have any tips, please share!