What bothers me is that there are probably no studies even showing that Elmer's washes out. Many quilts are washed on delicate and then dried. My own are agitated manually, ala Harriet Hargrave, then rinsed and spun a few times on low speed. How can we know that when the glue washes out of the top, it isn't still in the batting?

charlotte

the way I tested it was to make a sandwich of scraps and not bind and then wash it in a laundry bag and in my experiment it washed out. Sometimes in my quilts there is a stiff part where I got a little too ambitious with the glue once it dries it doesn’t affect the quilting process. Those quilts I give a little presoak and the glob disappears. Maybe others have different experiences.

That's great to know - thanks!

charlotte, tending to overthink things

I never knew it was still in my quilts until I saw and felt it on the inside of tshirts I had used it on - even after they had been washed a couple of times. Obviously, it's in the quilts whether we see it or not, unless you have them dry cleaned. There's no way I'd do that. I wouldn't want dry cleaning chemicals in baby quilts either. From now on I'm pinning or using spray baste that says it will launder out.

505 specifically says to use dry cleaning to remove it. I use very little of it on my embroidery projects, precisely because a little holds very well, and still it does not come out in a couple of machine washings, and I'm not babying these t-shirts. I usually would use a gentler cycle with quilts than I would with t-shirts.

I glue baste these days. It's really easy. I just stream a little all over the quilt. You don't have to saturate it at all.
I suppose you could dilute it too but I haven't. I heard about it right here on the board. Elmer's Washable is good stuff and cheap.

I prefer diluted Elmer's school glue as well. I liked 505 but you sure don't get much for your money. Plus the smell was really awful. But people make sure it says school glue. I bought some white craft glue at the dollar store and the results were hard clumpy lumps.

Thanks for this information. It makes me realize that some of the t-shirts I've been embroidering have some polyester in them and they may not react the same with 505 as cotton quilting fabric. I plan to do some testing before using it again.

This catches my attention because one reason I prefered 505 over some other brands I have tried is that I don't smell it! I know there's at least one other that not only smelled bad but gave me a headache every time I used it. Now I can't remember which one that was, just that it definitely was not the 505, which I've been using for a few years. I have not been patient enough to wait for the school to dry, but probably should rethink that.

Not any more! June Tailor has changed it's formula and now requires dry cleaning, is very sticky and has strong smell. I'm now looking for an alternative.

I use a cheap paint brush about 2 inches wide to spread the glue after I drizzle it on the fabric and then I get no lumps./