??? about Glue Basting a quilt
 

I would like to try and glue baste a smallish (38X58 inches) quilt. I've read a lot of info and looked at several tutorials but I still have specific questions.

1. When people refer to ironing the glue to dry - is this done is sections or can the whole quilt be basted and then ironed. My table for basting is not in the same room with the iron and I don't know if the quilt will shift when moved.

2. If I leave the quilt on the table to dry over night instead of ironing it - it is ok to have a bit of the sides hang over the edge of the table or will this distort the quilt?

3. Some tutes have glue diluted with a bit of water and some just use full strength from the bottle - opinions??

Thank you all for any help and info. I'm a bit apprehensive but I REALLY don't like pin basting!

The only time I've glue basted so far I diluted the glue about half. I found it easier to spread the glue with my hand (which also made sure everything was flat). I just let it sit/hang on the table overnight and it worked well.

In my experience, the only time I glue baste now is if I am doing wall hangings, or putting the binding on a quilt. I found that glue basting sections of a quilt wasn't strong enough to prevent the top from coming apart from the batting or shifting. Didn't work for me, but doesn't mean its not a good idea. I now pin baste starting at the middle of the quilt and go to the edges, pinning about every 6 inches. Worth it to me to have great placement and control of the whole quilt sandwich when moving the quilt at the sewing machine. I do iron the binding after using a very thin layer of glue. If the binding gets placed incorrectly, I can pull it up, use a damp paper towel to wet the binding again, and then iron to secure it. I have never diluted the glue, and I glue a couple feet of binding at a time before I iron it.

Except for wall hangings I don't want to wash, I baste all my quilts with Elmer's Washable School Glue. I've diluted the glue about 50/50 and I've used it undiluted and I haven't noticed any difference in how well it sticks, but it's a lot easier to squeeze out of the bottle if it's diluted. I never iron the basted quilt, I glue the back to the batting and let it dry over night, then I flip it over and glue the other side and let it dry several hours or over night again. I use my dining room table and the quilts usually hang over the sides, sometimes almost to the floor on both sides and I've never had a distortion problem. I only use cotton or 80/20 batting and I've had no problem with it coming apart or shifting. I believe I've heard that the glue doesn't stick as well on polyester batting. There are several good discussions on the technique on this board. Just search on glue basting or Elmer's.

I love glue basting. I don't dilute it but drizzle it in a grid onto the batting half at a time and smooth the fabric over it. Then flip over and repeat. Sometimes it will hang over the table. No problem.

Glue basting replaces pin basting - not spray basting - so it doesn't need to cover every space on the quilt. I've never ironed it dry - just leave it overnight. It has never gummed up or broken a needle for me and I use a dinky mechanical Brother for FMQ.

Mouse the search function - you will get lots of info

Thank you all for your suggestions. I really want to try this. My quilt has a machine applique in each square so I probably will just stitch in the ditch and hope for not a lot of shrinkage.

I just love piecing but the quilting process still instills a bit of "fear and what if's" and I don't want to "ruin" the quilts but it seems this glue basting might make this easier for at least for the sandwiching part.

Quilt board members are the best!

Thanks again - and wish me luck!

I have used elmers glue,I diluted 50/50 and glued in a grid pattern back and batting one day and batting with top next day. I found there was a slight movement in the back as I sewed.i washed after and it looked fine.
I honestly prefer 505 spray as that doesn't move and is quicker.

Why not thread baste? For a piece so small, you probably could baste it and start quilting before you finished putting the glue on the project?