Jackie R

That's a good idea about using a condiment bottle because I do have trouble squeezing the Elmer's glue bottle. Thanks for the tip. I do like using the glue.

My time

I have used Elmers School Glue to baste ny last 8 quilts. Like other i use a hot iron to help smooth and dry the glue. I use it straight from the bottle. The downside is you have to wait for your quilt to dry. I usually let it sit overnight. The plus side is it is so inexpensive. About 1 or 2 dollars a quilt. The other plus is you don't have the horrible spray basting 505 smell. I use Crayola markers to mark my quilt as well. Saving money on basting and marking, means more money for threads and fabrics. Were retired. I have to stetch my dollars. When the binding is complete, I wash the quilt. This allows me to check for any boo boos.



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tstraight

Jackie R

Always wash the quilt when completed - that's what I was taught and what most everyone else does too as far as I can see. It takes out the basting (spray, glue, etc.) and whatever else - just freshens it up.

tropit

I'd like to revive this thread. I tried using elmer's school glue to baste and sandwich a quilt. I watered it down so that it would flow smoothly and thinly and put it on my backing fabric and batting. After it dried, it made the fabric stiff...very stiff. I pulled it apart, threw away the batting and washed the backing fabric several times, line drying each time to avoid shrinking. After 5 washings, the backing fabric is still stiff with glue residue. Is my fabric now a total loss? Any other ideas on how to get this glue out? Thanks for all of your help.

~ C

Stitchnripper

i posted up thread about this but Im still going strong with glue basting. Im maybe 25-30 quilts in. Somw
of them queen sized. I do not water it down. I sit the small bottle in a bowl of very warm water which makes it drizzle easier. I just drizzle it in a
thin bead on the cotton batting - I pull down the backing or top about halfway and drizzle - if there is a glob I smooth with my finger and keep a damp
cloth handy. Then I smooth that part over
the glue. It is easy to reposition. Then slide the quilt and go around the table to other side and do the same thing. Drizzle and smooth. Then flip over and do other side. When it is dry it does not gum up the needle.

Are you sure it was the washable school glue? It always washes out of my quilts. Sometimes I presoakl them for 15 minutes. Let me know if I can help more. I have had zero issues with this.

Also it doesn’t have to cover the entire quilt. Consider it a replacement for pin basting. I do a grid or sometimes a big meander.

misseva

It sounds like you used something other than Elmers Washable Glue. I've never had a problem with Elmers not washing out. I use warm water to wash my quilts. I think someone else on this board had a problem like you and they discovered they had used some other type of Elmers. Maybe they have similar packaging making it difficult to tell difference in which kind of glue it is?

madamekelly

I use glue exclusively, even for applique. It is always stiff, so make sure you are leaving room for any hand stitching, and work around it, (I even sew through it on my machine with no problems. Everything washes out the first time I wash it. I wash every quilt before gifting to also check for any “bad spots” so I can fix them before gifting.

nanna-up-north

I'd never used glue until I went to a demonstration at one of the national quilt shows. That experience changed by quilting life. I use Elmer's school glue and only the school glue. It's the washable one. I use it full strength and have a bottle with a very thin tube to apply it. I apply the glue to the seam allowance but never on the seam itself so I'm not really sewing through the glue. That fine tube really helps with that.

I always heat set the glue and if I lined things up wrong, I can pull it apart and reglue it. I've never had a problem with it being lumpy or hard. Mitered corners always match perfectly now. Stripes are easy to match and any seam that has to fit perfectly always does.

EasyPeezy

Tropit, how did you apply the glue? The first time (and last)
I applied it with a brush it was like a large piece of plywood and
definitely not fun to quilt.
Never had a problem watering the glue down. Of course you don't
want it like lemonade. It has to be fairly liquid but not too much.
I like it the consistency of heavy cream. I use a small glue bottle
with the nozzle and just apply it like drawing waves on the
batting. Then I just smooth the excess with my finger. Try it on
scraps until you find what works for you.

tropit

I'm sure that I used Elmer's Washable School Glue. I no longer have the bottle, but I recall that it had a blackboard on the label. I added about 25% water and rolled it on with a bottle roller in a random pattern. I usually start by putting the quilt top down first, but luckily, I started with the backing this time, so I hadn't put any glue on my top yet. I've washed it several times and even let it soak for a few hours. Much of it came out, but it's still stiff in places. I think that I'm just going to trim off the unaffected edges of the backing and throw the rest away. Sad, but a lesson learned.

~ C