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Go to Sally’s, they have soft squeeze bottles with a small tips for applying hair color.
And the bottles are marked in ozs.
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I use 505 spray and never had any wrinkles when quilting it. I have not used glue for basting but always use it to bind.

No, it is not the stick, but the liquid washable Elmers School Glue that needs to be used. I just finished using this method on a quilt and it's downstairs drying now. Should be ready to start quitling tomorrow. I had to go to Target to get more glue since I ran out and I noticed that the new bottles squeeze out the glue much better.

This is the third time using this method and I do like it.

Ditto! I agree, but I do have a can of spray baste but don't like the smell.

I wouldn't advise anyone to use a paintbrush unless you just do it in grid form or waves.
I "painted" a wall-hanging with Elmer's school glue once and it was as stiff as can be
and very difficult to quilt. Imagine if that was a large quilt.
Draw lines or waves but don't paint all over.

What is the purpose of the dish soap?? Does the mixture mold if diluted?? I don't get it.

Thanks for the link, I use elmers glue a lot and this seems like it would work great. In regards to the glue stick,I use that only for attaching my bindings not basting quilt tops but I don't know why it would not work for both.

I use an adjustable wrench to squeeze my glue bottles! Overkill, maybe, but really saves the hands. I baste on the floor - I stand over the quilt and drizzle full-strength glue right out of the bottle, it's a super fine line by the time it hits the batting. Bonus of using the wrench is it gives me a little more reach too, so I can easily scatter glue in the middle of the quilt without having to walk on it too much. (I do have to walk on it a little bit if it's a queen or larger though - I just make sure to start gluing in the middle and step very carefully in sock feet so as not to shift layers around.)

Sewnoma - good idea! I am going to the garage to see what kind wrenches are out there. I am also wondering do different types of material not stick to the glue as well as others? I am working on a sweatshirt material for backing.. and its not doing very well at all...

What is fray block? I found new tips at Walmart, in the craft section - used for decorative paint. There are 6 tips in 3 different sizes - works like a dream and a very small amount of glue comes out of the bottle.

Hi meyert, I would never baste with glue, correction, I do use spray glue basting, put a tiny dob of Roxannes baste it glue to help in the corners of binding sometimes.I Guess I am an old fashioned gal, prefer to pin and stitch baste. Letty x

Having started using Elmer's School Glue, I am a convert!! When I piece, I always apply the smallest dot to the seams and my seams match beautifully! No more seam creep under the presser foot. BUT, I too have the problem with thumb arthritis and squeezing the bottle. I'm taking a hint from this board and going to place some of the glue inside a small plastic bottle caps and use some kind of implement....maybe an old allen wrench from one of those put your own furniture together kits and use it to dab a small dot onto my seams. The squeezing motion does hurt.
So far, I only use spray basting but I agree, it's expensive and smelly. I think the diluted spray glue may do the trick.

I have found that polyester content is not good....I was trying to glue baste a quilt made from faux suede - which is polyester - and it would not stay glued.

It's a sewing notion that comes in a tube and is clear. The kind I buy on-line dries soft & pliable. I use it when I raw edge applique to stop fraying.

Thanks, this sounds like a practical solution. Hitting my forehead, why didn't I think of that.:o

For those that don't know. Elmer's Washable School Glue is not a glue. It's a very dense starch product. It washes out like starch. When I stream the slightly diluted glue from the bottle it's as thin as thread. I don't open the tip all the way. It dries fast and holds up to pushing and pulling through my machine.

You really don't need the dish detergent. Soap/detergent is used as a surfactant (breaks up surface tension, so that the liquid is absorbed more readily, rather than bead up on top). However, since you're going to pat the pieces together anyway, the surface tension (if there's any) will be broken by that action.

If you do use dish detergent/soap, make sure it's a very mild one!

Wow, I like that. Of course, my favorite part was that it can be used as hair glue. What the heck is hair glue? lol

Here is another economical way to sandwich your quilts.

3 cups of water
1/2 tsp salt
8 ounces or rubbing alcohol
clean spray bottle


- In a pot place 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle boil.
- In a gravy shaker (or a jam jar) put 1 cup of cold water and 3 tbsp of flour - shake until the flour and water are combined.
- Whisk the flour mixture into the gently boiling water like you are making gravy and let it cook until the consistency of gravy/egg whites/ thin gruel.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature.
- In a clean spray bottle add 8 ounces of rubbing alcohol and the cooled flour mixture, gently shake and go sandwich a quilt.

Lol, I wondered the same thing!!

Yeah, I like this recipe even better! That alcohol would dry even quicker than water. Nice!

carslo thanks for this recipe. I don't think it would dry any faster because you have 3 cups water (24 oz.) to 8 oz alcohol would it?

If I want it to dry faster so I can FMQ that day, I iron each section after I spray it :)

PS

I found the recipe from a woman who was making a quilt as you go and she said she had had no trouble. I have been using this method for over six months now and have left the sandwiched quilt for up to a month before I have finished it and washed it. I also read that the alcohol is supposed to deter the possible growth of mold. I live in soCal so not too moldy of a climate here. I really like this method the best of anything I do. I do iron the sections as I go along because I want to get right to FMQ the next day. This method makes the flattest sandwiches ever, good luck your project.

Hah! My high-school boyfriend had a mohawk. He used egg whites to make his stand up! (hmmm...can egg whites baste a quilt? I think I'll stick with Elmers....)

I'd love to see a candid-camera type segment of all of us with our glue bottles, spray bottles, brushes, toothpicks, wrenches, etc. :)

Hah! And of course most of us are probably in very comfortable but not very flattering clothes, covered in spare threads and cat hair...

(Or is that just me? LOL)

Pajamas, night gown, sweats, slippers.....that is about as glamorous as it gets in my house!

Sweats, for me! :thumbup:

This was a great subject. I've been using the Elmer's glue for binding...no one ever mentioned doing the whole quilt!! I love it for binding. Thanks everyone for some great ideas.

Are you spying on me???
 

How did you know about my frowsy house dress then??

I'm resuscitating this thread. It's from 2013 but have any of you had problems using the homemade versions or have any new hints/tips on using it? Or new recipes?

Basting with Elmer's Glue
 

I love basting with Washable Elmer's Glue. Years ago I bought some special tips that make a very fine stream. I just put those on the "blue back" labeled bottle of glue, which has been diluted (about 1/3), hold the bottle high and a very fine stream occurs on the batting. If globs appear, I take a small foam brush and gently smooth them out. I have found that if I weight my backing/batting down with my quilting rulers, mats, that it provides a better contact. I leave these items on the quilt for about 2-3 hours, then remove. Here is the link for the plastic glue tips. Note: these tips only fit the Elmer's Glue Bottles that have the "blue back" label. If the label is black, they will not fit.
https://purpledaisiesquilting.com/co...fine-glue-tips

Happy quilting everyone.

Basting with Elmer's Glue
 

I just ordered these tips but I noticed that is said the back label was PRINTED in blue ink not a blue label. I hope that helps.

If your fabric is wrinkling, you're probably either using too much product or not smoothing it out enough. I most spray baste with 505 and have never had anything wrinkle. I do a lot of smoothing though to keep everything flat and unwrinkled. It doesn't take much to hold the layers.

I love basting with Elmers Washable school glue. I don't have any issues with my hand/arms/shoulders/fingers/wrists with a gentle squeeze of the bottle and drizzle in a grid pattern. I sometimes sit the bottle in some warm water to make it easier to drizzle out. I am 20 plus quilts in, some as big as queen size, and I've never had a wrinkle, or not have it wash out. Once it is dry it doesn't gum up the needle or break needle/thread. If I get a glob, I use my finger to smooth it out. I don't have any sensory issues to prevent this. I don't find the need to dilute, it is very inexpensive, and I don't want to spray it on, because, so far I haven't found a need. I lay my batting down, lay the backing over it (it is just my habit to start with the backing), pull back the backing, drizzle glue on the batting, smooth it up and out and then go to the other side of the table and repeat. Then flip over and do top. I'm not usually in a hurry so dispense with ironing. By the time I am ready to quilt it is dry. I've tried pin basting, thread basting and spray basting. this is my favorite way.

Thanks for the tip SemiSweet. Boy, if that works, I will save a bundle on spray baste!

I use a spray baste from JoAnn's. It does not smell. Back in the olden days, 2019, when my quilt guild met they would all cringe in horror when I whipped out my can of spray but they all found that it did not have that harsh chemical smell that is in some of the products. I just object to paying $18 a can and getting only 3 quilts done. The price has been rising over the years. I started out buying it at $14 per can and in 4 years is has gone up a dollar a year. Like the product but it is pricing me out. Will have to try the Elmer's School Glue method.