Wow, I never heard of doing this. doesn't it gum up or cause any problems with the sewing machine?

I also wondered if you use it for matching seams, has anyone had trouble getting it long armed or quilted. I was wondering it caused the thread to shred?

I, too, am one of the "theys" who use school glue. I buy the kind from dollar General that's 3 bottles for a dollar. I use it to glue my top and bottom to the batting and use it to attach the binding as well. I hate pins and this is so much faster and easier. I've never had a problem washing it out of a finished quilt, table runner, placemat or whatever else I happen to be making. LOVE this method.
"

You won't have any problem with sewing it. Just make sure the glue is dry before you try to sew it. Sharon Schamber has a tutorial on Youtube called "Binding the Angel" that is very informative. She shows you exactly how to do it, even down to perfectly mitered corners.

I use it for matching a pattern for a repeat....works great. Plan to try it with binding next.

I have been using the Elmer's Washable School glue for about 2 years now. I use it for both binding and lining up squares prior to sewing. It works great, cuts down on pins and sticking myself, can be removed easily and repositioned and is cheap. I have never had a problem with it. Also, washes out very easily. Hope this helps.

Regarding "using too much": You have to be reasonable, but it you do use "too much" (and you will every now and then).... well, here is my story: I was gluing the bones on to the membrane of a dragon wing and using a lot of glue (this is about 1 12x24" wing with lots of detailed bones) and a friend said "you sure are using a lot of (Elmer's school liquid) and so I backed off. Less did just as well as more. I pressed it to take out any potential bumps (not sure there would have been some, but....) and sewed, w/o any problem.

I have been using it for years and very rarely pin anything. The secret is to lay a tiny bead of glue within the seam allowance, then place the other fabric on top and 'press' with your iron. it sets it instantly and if you do not like the alignment, you simply pull the two pieces apart and redo. much easier then ripping out stitches. i am also a heavy starch user and to me, elmer's school glue is just another easy to use starch. try it! you will learn to love it almost instantly. Happy sewing!

I use glue all the time for applique. I took an empty Glue Baste It bottle with the needle tip applicator, filled it with glue and baste with a tiny dot of glue. Works like a charm. However, I dont use the higher quality glue like Elmers. I use the cheap white school glue from the Dollar Store. It has a higher water content but is still sticky enough to baste with yet washes out easily and is cheaper than the brand names.

LOL, it's what I asked for Christmas!! My kids know I'm nuts so they didn't bat an eye when I asked for a gallon of Elmer's School Glue for Christmas!!!

What happens in a few years? Does it discolor or harden the area even though you rinse it out?

I belong to a quilting group in southeast georgia. One of our quilters had shown us her technique using the elmer school glue for binding. It is and was an awesome lesson. I use the Elmer's Clear School Glue. It helps me so much then I machine stich to secure the binding in place.I love this method as a Needle and My fingers, Not a winner in heaven. By the way if the quilter who taught this to our group is reading this, WE MISS YOU SO MUCH. YOUR ARE LOVED AND NEVER FORGOTTEN. GENNIE

I too use school glue for holding bindings together before sewing the final seam, whether I stitch by hand or machine. Sharon Schamber has videos to show how to do it. Any washable glue will work. I usually make art quilts and don't bother to wash them. Don't use too much glue, because then your fabric will get stiff and it'll be difficult to hand sew.

You can get it by the gallon on ebay for $15 or so.

I have never changed the tip off my glue bottle. I just purchase a large bottle and a small one and transfer the glue into the small bottle and have never had a problem with globs of glue coming out.

I use glue to especially on the binding..it holds beautifully when I go to sew, the results are great. You should give it a try..

I just finished my first quilt using only Elmer's School Glue for basting my quilt sandwich. Not a pin anywhere and it is smooth, smooth, smooth! Usually, I thread baste because I don't like machine quilting around all the pins I used to baste with. Didn't notice any drag or anything when I went through the glue. I have a 6' banquet table that I baste on, and I did it in sections - glued 1/3 of quilt starting in the middle and let it dry an hour or so. I will DEFINITELY be doing this again...forever! The quilt I just finished is roughly twin size. It's technically a lap quilt, but I like them long enough to tuck under feet and go all the way to my chin, plus tuck around whoever while they're laying on the couch for a nap, LOL. I was making tons of doll clothes in between quilting, so it got moved on and off my sewing table and nothing moved. It was wonderful.

Have used the glue and it really works. Love it! For the first time I can quilt my own quilts as they stay where I put them. LOL

As I've been working on Bonnie's Easy Street quilt, I've been planning on using this technique, just have to finish putting all those blocks together!

No it does not harden or discolor. It is just a thick starch. So when you wash your project it washes out like the starches you use to iron with. I have been using it for a few years now and it truly does just wash out of cotton fabric. I did a few test project before i went 'live' with it. I know i do have pins in my sewing room... somewhere. but my glue is right here! Try testing it out... that is the best way to get converted. remember to use a tiny amount... and then heat set it by pressing with your iron. it makes quilters magic happen! amazing stuff. Elmer's washable school glue

I decided to try the glue basting and so far is working great. I am working on it tonight. My question is what happens if you use too much glue? or can you use too much glue since it washes out? I am reading that it doesn't take much so I am going to cut it back, but when I first started earlier I used that stuff very liberally. I hope I haven't messed up this future quilt......

I love this board. We all learn soooooooo much. I would never thought of using glue for the things y'all do. Thanks for all the great tips about glue.

Who would've thought I'd need Elmer's by the gallon?! Great tips, everyone!

I'm seriously considering using some glue as I put together the rows of "Easy St." Sooo many seams intersecting on this baby, and it seems like they are going every which way. Some nest, some are pressed open, some are more layers thick than I'm happy about (stacked flying geese next to another pieced patch). Maybe a dot of glue will help me to get things lined up more easily - when I pin, no matter how careful I am, I end up with the bottom piece not always being where I think they're going to be...

Go for the glue and let us know how it works for you. I am a convert.

I have used the Elmer's clear school glue instead of pins, and it does work beautifully. I like it for nine patches and for circles. My accuracy on matching the seams increased by being able to have one fabric on the bottom and matching the seams with the fabric on top. If you want to press the seams open, then there's a problem obviously because the two quarter inches are glued together.

Yes, yes, yes, I use Elmer's Glue to match my seams. I've always had trouble with matching seams before even when I used pins. I found the pins would distort so my seams would either be off or rounded for lack of a better term. I just put a small Trip Around the World..........going only one direction with leftover blocks using only glue and no pins. My seams matched perfectly. Sure it may be an added step but if it gets me the results I want, I'm all for it. I need all the help I can get. I also use it when I attach my binding. The video shows working on one side at a time, going back and forth between the iron and machine. I can glue the entire binding on up to where the two ends meet before going to the machine. I sew the two ends after glueing them together, go back to the iron and finish glueing the rest of the binding before I sew the entire binding on in one step.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it............:-)

Suz in Iowa

Schoolteacher, I had the same problem with getting the needle to go thru where the glue was. I found I was using too much glue with the regular Elmer's Glue bottle so I found the small tips you can get so you can direct the glue exactly where you want it. I find using just a pin prick of glue holds the seams, bindings, etc. for me and its no longer a problem. I clean the tip after each day's work so its ready for the next day's activities.

Suz in Iowa

What technique do you use for your binding that you can glue the entire thing until you get to your ends? I miter my binding and don't see how I can do that, any information on making an easier binding will be greatly welcome, I am not a die hard for mitering if someone has a better way I will try it. And I always use school glue on my borders and sometimes on my seams. It started several years ago when I was making a memory quilt for my daughter from my grandsons out grown clothes and there were so many different types of fabric from knits to receiving blankets to sweatshirts etc that I had a hard time getting my seams to match and I decided to try using school glue. I was at a quilt retreat at the time and was dubbed the glue lady as no one had ever seen this before and thought I was out of my mind. I had never heard of it either but was willing to try almost anything at the time. Now I always have a bottle handy.

I absolutely hate using toxic materials and now only use Elmer's School Glue for putting my sandwiches together. NEVER USE GLUE STICK ON BATTING! I simply put the fabric on top of the batting as evenly as possible and then lift up a corner and, using a big S movement put a thin line bath and forth onto the batting and carefully put the top (or back) down onto the glue. Then I do the rest of the quilt the same way. If it is a really big quilt I may do the gluing more often, beginning at the center of the quilt and going to one end, and then repeat on the other side. After you are done, press it to dry the glue.

Then turn the whole thing over and put the back on (or the front, if you did the back first). All of the glue comes out when it is washed (I always wash a newly made quilt).

When I first started with Elmer's glue I overused it (I was putting a large applique onto a black background) and it was so messy looking!!! But I used less as I went along and satin stitched it all and it came out great! No problem about the messy glue... it was never to be seen after the "hand washing" my machine did. Can you tell I am a convert!!!

So glad I found this thread...I'm binding my second quilt (first quilt didn't require binding as it was a rick-rick edge). When I sewed the binding on the back, and then folded to the top, I didn't like how puckered it looked with all the pins!! Will be glueing the binding on tonight!!! After all the trouble to make the quilt look nice, it would be a shame for the binding to make it look bad! :thumbup:

I saw an episode of Sewing with Nancy where Nancy Zieman showed a technique she called "fuse basting" with fusible web. It was really fast. Here's a link to a video showing how to do this.

http://www.nancysnotions.com/category/video+demos/basting+quilt+layers.do

I saw that too. My question with that is - will the fused spots show on outside? I used some fusible web on a shirt placket once and it was visible from the front.

I haven't used it for seams but will only use it for basting the sandwich!

I don't know if it's the same stuff, but I used to use fusible web, for garment sewing (facings, etc.). Worked great, until the item had been washed/dried several times. Eventually, it would separate from the fabric and end up as a sort of "web" hanging from the seam line. That was years ago . . . but I would try it on a sample and wash/dry it several times, before using it on a frequently washed/dried quilt.

This week I used the liquid form to make my sandwich. I was very disappointed that it didn't come out in a spray, but rather a stream, so I had to take my hand to smooth it out. I even tried two different spray bottles, thinking it might be the nozzle, but not so. When I was ready to quilt it, I found out that most of the edges were not glued down. But I love it for bindings - that makes the final stitches a breeze. So, I might try it again, but at this point I like the Dritz adhesive spray for the sandwich.

I use a glue stick by Fons and Porter and I really love it. The Elmers was a little too messy for me. Here is a link to see the pen. http://themarshstore.blogspot.com/20...-glue-pen.html. Now I use the glue pen on the seams and just pin the ends of the pieces I am working on. It works so much better than pins.

When you use Elmers glue on applique, do you use glue only for the fusing? I'm getting ready to start
a rose applique quilt with raw edges stitched down.

I was thinking that when I saw the show, but then she's so good at what she does I figured she wouldn't advise doing it this way if it showed. I'll experiment and post about it.