I was on a quest a few years ago to understand fusibles. Many of the row by row kits I purchased were applique and I just wasn't sure. I have tried the following products since and here is what I have learned:
- Steam a Seam 2: Excellent product for art quilts. It is too heavy for bed or lap quilts since they get very stiff where it is used. It has very good properties to allow you to place the piece on the background, it will stick and allow you to move it around while still keeping it's "post it note" properties. You can use an iron as hot as your fabric will allow. Once fused with steam, the fusing is very permanent. If you are cutting up a lot of pieces, I have noticed the glue beads get on scissors, table, etc. When sewing, you will need to clean your needle with alcohol to remove the glue (this was a minor issue for me).
- Steam a Seam 2 Lite: This is also an excellent project for art quilts and can be used on bed quilts. The difference for me was that the Lite version had less "post it note" properties. It also allows a hot iron and is very permanent. I found when I used it on a bed quilt, I used the window method (removing all but 1/2 inch border of the Steam a seam 2 Lite) when the applique piece was larger than 2". Similar but less issues with glue beads.
- Misty Fuse: I love this product for bed quilts. It is very soft. The main difference is that it doesn't have paper on the back that allows you to trace a pattern nor does it have the "post it note" property that keeps the piece in place without pinning. You adhere the Misty Fuse to the fabric by placing it between two nonstick surfaces then cut out your fabric. It also allows you to steam it and stays on great. I didn't use it a lot since I like the paper to trace on, but didn't have glue on my sewing needle.
- Heat and Bond Lite: I used this extensively on a King size quilt. It has the paper backing, but no "post it note" properties, so I had to pin things in place when I didn't iron them immediately. It uses a MEDIUM setting on your iron and quite often the fuse didn't stay when I was sewing. I would have to re-iron the piece. When researching I was told you may be over or under heating - which was not helpful - I just couldn't get the temperature right. I did like the results on the quilt, since it was not stiff (but it wasn't as flexible as misty fuse). I also used the window technique for larger pieces. There was no mess on my table or scissors, but there was glue on the needle that needed to be cleaned periodically.
- Quilter Select Appli-Stick. I received a package of 25 sheets of this free when I signed up for The Quilt Show. I used the whole package on my daughters quilt which had a lot of flower petals to applique. It's not readily available to me at my local quilt shops. This behaved very similar to Heat and Bond Lite - also no "post it note" properties. It uses Medium setting on the iron and sometimes the items would have to be re-ironed before I could sew them down.
My final conclusion is that it's good to have multiple fusibles in your arsenal based on what you need it for.
Hope this helps!