Basting with Elmer's Glue - - - ugh
 

After reading the rave reviews about using Elmer's glue to baste quilts I tried it. I used this on 2 quilts and working on basting the third one today. I really struggle with the glue bottle!! When I squeeze it onto my quilt and/or batting my poor hands can't take it. I don't know if that means I am old woman with arthritis or if its carpal tunnel.. but it really ruins it for me. I have tried duliting the glue and then it is much, much easier on wrists and hands.. but I am afraid that it will just soak into the fabric and not stick the layers together. Does anyone else have this problem? What do you do?

I don't have your problem but have read here that some people pour it out, dilute, and paint on very thin with one of those foam craft brushes. You don't need a lot of glue. Maybe this will work for you.

I've never used this method but if I understand it......I thought you were supposed to use a GLUE STICK. The school glue stick. Maybe I'm wrong but it might make a difference.

I can relate, arthritis in my thumb makes it hard to squeeze those bottles. Would a syringe type dispenser work better for you, I bought one at Michaels years ago., easy to use, but anytime you are using that thumb a lot, if you have arthritis, it is going to hurt. You have to rest it!!

I actually bought cheap paint brushes and thought about trying the brushing on technique, but had never seen instructions on that. I had never thought about the glue sticks, the instruction that I saw were with the liquid glue in a bottle. If anyone does the duliute and brush on I would love to hear how much water to glue they use

I use Elmer's washable school glue to baste the sandwich. Not glue sticks.

I have carpal tunnel so I can relate. When I use Elmer's School Glue I dilute it a bit.
Saves glue and you don't get those thick spots under the needle. I apply the glue
like I'm writing with the bottle. I put the batting down, apply the glue then apply the
top or backing on it. Don't worry, there's more glue than you think. A little goes a long
way with Elmer's. I would also suggest wearing a wrist brace and taking a few breaks.

I do dilute the glue and use an applicator tip for more precise placement. Then set with a hot iron. Works for me. There are different applicator tips you can use. Below is a link to the ones I use:
http://www.joann.com/sakura-3-d-crys...8&prefv1=false

I always dilute it to half water and half glue, that helps a ton. Make sure it's hot/warm water so it will easily mix. I've never had it wet still after letting it set out for an after noon and over night. If it does happen to still be wet though, you can run your iron over it to dry it a bit.

Next time I glue baste, I'm going to go a step further and try this method:
http://www.ehow.com/how_6598712_make...lue-spray.html

I dilute the glue but not half and half method .... the globs make hard spots on the fabric .... but after reading SemiSweet's reply, I'm anxious to try that method - sounds a whole lot easier and cost saving too.

Yes, squeezing the bottle can be hard on the hands...next time try folding the bottle a bit, bring the top and bottom closer together....it puts more pressure on the glue and you won't have to squeeze the glue out.

Diluting is probably a good plan. I just make my son squeeze the bottle! I'm a bad, bad mother.

What do kindergarden kids do? It can't be easy for them.

I painted the Elmer's washable glue on with a regular wide bristle brush. Worked best for me. I did dilute 1/2 and 1/2. Then hit with the blow dryer and then had fan on it for about hour.

Thank you for your replies, tips and link... I will dilute a little more and use the brush that I bought. I will study that link for next time too :thumbup:

Thanks for this link!!

Thanks for the tip about diluting the glue with water n putting in a spray bottle. Am going to try that.

I tried to dilute the glue and spray it on but it didn't quite work for me. I think I added too much water. I'm going to give it another go. I also didn't add any dish detergent. I was planning to try it out to demo for my guild at an upcoming meeting. I should give it a try and show it off at tomorrow's meeting. I do have a few quilts that could be basted so it would be great timing.

I think the spray way is a way to go if you want to use school glue. I personally would not want to paint the glue on. That sounds like it would take way too long to have to deal with. Spraying it on would be awesome as long as you can handle the trigger squeezing. I am getting arthritis and I know it can be tiring if I'm doing a large quilt.

I purchased slim bottles with fine tips at an art supply store. I could not squeeze the large Elmer's bottles. Then I diluted the glue (not sure if half and half) and it was easy to use. I found some small Elmer's bottles at JoAnn's and tried those which were easier but you would need to refill them a lot.

why not just use quilt basting spray I never have a bit of trouble with that

That's what I do, too. I do find it difficult to squeeze out sometimes but have found if I remove the cap and rinse it out completely with hot water that helps. Sometimes the cap just gets clogged up.

I tried the Elmers Glue basting this weekend. I diluted the glue and used a paint brush to brush it on. My quilt back and batting were on my cutting table but hang over the sides because of the size of the quilt. I did the center portion first and then shifted the quilt to get to other sections. However, I noticed that the backing wrinkled up. I eventually tossed it in the washer and dryer. I will go back to pin basting because I was not happy with the results.

Could someone please post the recipe for this spray glue...my computer is refusing to open this link. Thanks!

I put a gob of glue on a scrap of paper then draw the tip of a pin through the glue puddle picking up just the smallest dot, place dots about three or four inches apart, iron, add more dots, iron all the way around. No heavy build up of glue and I keep the glue in the middle of the binding so I dont hit any when I'm hand sewing it down.

I'm going to try this today. I have a crib quilt I need to sandwich and this seems easier than using the squeezing the bottle. Thanks for the link.

I add a small amount of hot water to the glue, and it streams out with no effort at all. I hold the bottle up high and let it stream out on the batting in a thin line. Like fmqing with glue. LOL. I smooth the backing on, let dry and turn over and do the same with the top. I press it if I want instant dry.

I got the idea of diluting a lot to make stiff starch. The diluted glue burned fast with a hot iron though.

I wondered about the fabric wrinkling...especially after seeing a demo of the canned spray do the same thing. So do the wrinkles go away with the quilting process or in the wash after it's done? Just wondering. Maybe I should try it on a small potholder or something.

Too much glue will draw the fabric as it dries. Don't coat a big surface with the diluted glue. Just a few dabs of the brush will do.

I have trouble squeezing the bottle too, what I do is put the bottle of glue in the microwave for a few seconds and get it warm and the glue will flow quite easily. You will have to be very careful about putting it in the microwave, stand right there and watch it, loosen the top. DO NOT let it get hot and run all over the microwave!

This is a great idea! I do this for fray block where they say run it under hot water for 3 minutes. I put a mug of water in the microwave and heat that up, then put my bottle or tube in to warm it up. Much safer. DO NOT put the fray block into the microwave...only into the mug of hot water!!
As long as the water in the mug stays very warm, I return the bottle until I need another warm up.

Because quilt basting spray is smelly and expensive.

I don't like basting spray at all. The over spray is horrible to clean up and too much trouble to cover all exposed areas in the room. Way too many chemicals to breath too. I tried it outside, won't do that again. LOL. Until something better then washable school glue is found to baste quilts, that is the only way I will baste. I have used thread, covered safety pins, gun tacks, spray, fusible batting, and machine basting. The only other way I will baste if I don't have school glue is with Pinmoors.

Which did you put down first - the batting or the fabric? The batting should always be on the bottom, then the top/backing smoothed on top of it. I use Warm & White/Natural batting and have never had the fabric wrinkle.

lakekids - how much did you dilute the glue?

Annie68 - the microwave!! genius! Thank you for that tip!

me too. That is what i thought. So far, I've not had any trouble. But I can identify with the arthritis in the thumb.

I just tried the Elmer's Glue spray and one suggestion I have is not to use a sprayer that sprays a stream. That's the only one I had so I used it. However, you don't have the overspray using a stream. I found it works just as well but it leaves a heavier covering. I liked it much better than trying to squeeze it from the bottle. The next batch I'll try it with a spray instead of the stream and see how it works.

Did you let the center part dry well? Maybe find a place to lay it totally flat, seems to me the hanging over may be the problem with the wrinkling.

AND you have to worry with over spray.

If you buy the littlest bottles, that they make for individual students, you can put the bottle between your thumb and palm, and squeeze that way, it can be easier on your thumb, or you can hold it with your fist with the nozzle facing down will also avoid thumb pain.

The only Elmer's Glue Spray I have seen is permanent adhesive. It's worse then the basting spray. Have you found a washable Elmer's Spray?