Originally Posted by
Lydia_88
Thank you for all the feed back! Two follow up questions: have any of you tried basting guns? In theory I love the one I have, but in practice it leaves obscenely large holes in the fabric which is why I tried to skip basting on my current project. As for the glue basting, do you have to clean or replace your needle more often when sewing on fabric with glue?
I tried a basting gun - I bought one that had "micro" tacks so it was very small. One problem was the gun I got was defective and completely broke before I could get even halfway through the first strip of tacks, so I sent it back. I didn't find it easy to use (aside from the breaking part) because there didn't seem to be a good way to definitely get it all the way through the entire quilt - several of my tacks ended up going just through the top and into the batting and not catching the back. Then I had to peel back the quilt and get those tack ends OUT. Did not like that at all so wasn't sorry to send it back and wasn't inclined to replace it!
I glue baste with Elmer's now and LOVE it. I bought a gallon of the stuff and a large food-prep squeeze bottle that's really easy to squeeze and it's the perfect system for me. I don't start sewing until the glue is completely dry (usually next day) so my needle doesn't get sticky at all - doesn't seem to dull the needle any faster either. The glue goes on in a thin drizzle and then is flattened by the fabric and batting; and it's "crispy" when dry, not gummy or sticky, so the needle just slides right through.
Did you ever smear a layer of Elmer's on your palm as a kid, let it dry and then peel it off? (If not you should totally try it now!) Remember how delicate that film was? Needles go right through that.
I haven't tried spray glue yet. I'm leery of fumes and overspray in the house, and too lazy to move the cars out of the garage! LOL