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