BonnieJP

I have glue basted more than 80 quilts with Elmer's Washable School Glue. I tried other methods, but like the glue basting best because I NEVER get any puckers on the front or back of my quilts. Using this method, the quilts never come out stiff and there is no chemical smell or overspray to deal with.

1. Roll the quilt top onto a pool noodle (right side up). This will make it easier to put the top on the batting later.
2. Fill a carpenter's glue roller bottle with undiluted Elmer's Washable School Glue. Do NOT dilute the glue because you want it to come out of the bottle slowly.
3. Lay your batting on a flat surface and starting at one end, gently squeeze the glue bottle to feed a small amount onto the batting in an X pattern, making sure there are no glue globs that would make the quilt stiff. Aim for a thin line of glue, not a wide strip. (Think of a line about the width you'd get with a fine tip marker.) If it looks like there's more glue than I want on the batting, I stop squeezing the bottle and just use the roller to spread it.
4. I usually apply the glue in a 10" - 12" high row across the batting, then begin unrolling the quilt top onto the glued batting a "row" at a time.
5. Remove any wrinkles as you go by smoothing the glued top from the center to the edges with you hands just like you would smooth wallpaper on a wall.
6. After the glued top has dried a few hours, flip the sandwich and glue the backing to the batting follwing steps 1 through 5 above.
7. Let the glued quilt sandwich dry overnight.

I wash the roller thoroughly with warm water immediately after using it to glue. The rollwer can be easily popped out and I simply rub it down with my fingers under warm water to remove the glue and any accumulated fuzz/threads. The roller is made from a hard rubber and as long as you clean the glue after every use, the bottle and roller should last for years. There is really nothing to wear out.

This is the easiest way I have found to glue baste my quilts. The glue is cheap at about $12/gallon and will glue numerous quilts. Quick and easy to do, no chemical smell or oversparay, and no puckers on the finished quilt. I hope these tips help.

Here's the link to a carpenter's glue roller bottle on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ref_=pd_gw_unk