Elmer's School Glue instead of pinning? Do you really do this?
 

Hi...I've been reading here and there about some folks using Elmer's School Glue instead of pinning matching seams. Does this really work? Would it be better to use a basting fabric glue?

I'm interested to see if many of you have tried this and if it works.

you could do a search, and you will find many testimonials. "they" say it does work!

Well to the modern world of sewing! Most will rinse the glue out when the quilt is finished.

Any washable glue will work. Elmer's School glue is super cheap and can be found in every town. It's not really a glue but a very dense starch so it does no harm even when heated. If I have a lot of seams to match I use it. My iron becomes my sewing machine.

i use it sometimes. mostly when making bindings. it helps keep it all together.

I HATE binding. I can't use a needle so have always machine sewn binding to back, turn it and then sew it down on the front. I use Elmer's School Glue to turn to the front doing one edge at a time. I press it to dry the glue working my way around the quilt. I ALMOST don't mind attaching the binding doing it this way. I even used a decorative stitch to sew it down on my latest quilt--a first for me.

I use it all the time for seams, binding, holding down appliqué pieces, and even basting. Works great, never had a problem.

I used the white school glue all the time before I got my longarm and frame...I used the store kind from Hobby Lobby and bought it in the economy pack with the 40% off coupon....worked GREAT!!!

I use it all the time with binding (I use the glue sticks - a bit messier, but dries faster when ironed) and have used it on the last two quilts to baste the layers together (liquid for this purpose)....I have never used glue for matching seams, but it seems to be a time consuming project to glue, match together and then iron dry every seam (I can pin much faster)....I do love the way it holds, specially when basting a sandwich....and then it all washes out with no stains....and so cheap!

I am a "they" who likes it to match seam intersections and also to baste.

Right there with you "Gluebees"..... i use it for seam matching, binding, tacking down applique pieces, sandwiching quilts - any place i might have put a pin in the past gets a dot of glue now !!! Of all the hints and techniques that i've found on this Board- the washable glue has produced great results and saved me the most time and effort - and blood - cuz no more needle pokes ! LOVE IT !!!

This doesn't specifically address the question about Elmer's school glue, but I was recently sewing curves for a Judy Niemeyer pattern. The pattern instructions said to use a glue stick, and I did. I couldn't believe how easily the pieces went together. I'm going to try using more glue in the future instead of just pins.

Kudos to whomever it was who first posted the Elmer's glue basting technique! I have basted basted 3 quilts since reading the thread and I love, love, love it!! The quilt sandwich is so smooth and it stay together perfectly. I'll never pin baste ever again.

Try different methods and see what works best for you. I might love glue basting
but you might hate it or vice versa. Personally, I use Elmer's washable school glue
for binding and I just started using it for basting my quilt sandwich. I still prefer
to pin for piecing because I press my seams open and I think glueing would be
too time consuming for me...unless it's a special project where glue would help
then I might.

I use it for seams sometimes if it's giving me fits and I'm a believer for using it for binding. I love it. I never miss a spot when I machine bind - I don't hand sew at all. There are others who love hand sewing and find it relaxing but I am not one of them. I find it tedious so machine binding is for me and after discovering using washable school glue, I'll never do it any other way :D

I used it up until recently when I got my Bailey. I still use it for basting smaller project that would be a colossal waste of time to load on the frame. It works, it really does and I only had one pucker and that was my fault, not the glue. The latest one I did was 60"x60" Bargello and it quilted beautifully on my little DSM. My LA skills are still weaker than my DSM skills so I keep a healthy supply of Elmer's on hand at all times.

I have used Elmer's glue to baste and it does a great job. I didn't use any pins or basting when I used the glue. But when I handquilted, it was rather stiff and hard to push the needle into and through the material. Also, when I put the binding on by hand, it was hard to go through a spot of glue because it was so hard. Would I use it again? Probably. Sure beats crawling around on the floor!!

I use both liquid glue and glue sticks -- depends on how fast I need it dry. I have used the Roaxanne Glue Baste It and the Elmers -- they seem to work equally well with only the price as a difference. I had a friend who was doing a long strip with tons of intersections, she had the glue baste already and I suggested that she use it since she was struggling with pins. She loved it -- and was able to work much faster with much better results than pinning.

I used Elmers school glue for a table topper at Christmas..I am SOLD!!!!!!! Worked great!! Can't wait till I can try a larger project!

I guess I'm not understanding. Can you use the Elmer's to actually baste a large quilt? If so, is there a way to do it? Are there any tutorials on this.

komammy: There are several thread on here about glue basting. Search for them. Someone had good instructions, better than I can explain, but I'll try. Lay out batting & run lines of glue across it, about 4-5" apart. Center the backing right side up on the glued batting. Using your hands, smooth the back across the batting, starting in the middle and work toward the edges. Turn so batting is up, run the lines of glue across the batting, then lay the top upon it. Smooth this over the batting, starting in the middle. Then I take the sandwich to the ironing board and press on both sides to dry the glue. You're ready to start quilting. By pressing the sandwich, I can smooth out any wrinkles that may have appeared, but I usually don't get any.
I love using glue, much easier for me than pinning and MUCH easier on my hands. I don't have to wait for my DD to come over to pin baste it for me and I don't get those pesky wrinkles in the quilting that I sometimes got when pinning. I've even done a twin size quilt on my dining room table; I just glued in sections. Try it; you'll like it.

I have been interested in this. Those of you that baste with it, how do you go about that? Do you dot it all over on all 3 parts of the sandwich or do you just do the edges? Or some other way? Can't seem to visualize it.

oops..sorry.. I didn't see the above post...too early in the morning I guess.

I've used the Sharon Schamber method for doing bindings for several years now. Love, love, love it. Won't do it any other way. When I piece backs using a print, I like them to match, so I use the Elmer's glue for that. We can all remember using a pin to match two pieces of fabric when piecing backs and that didn't always line up the way I want. With the glue, I press over a section on one piece, line it up on the other, then press, open it up and sew down the pressed line. Perfect every time. You have to look to find the seams on my pieced backs.

Absolutely without a doubt I do use it. I've posted my tutorial on using Elmer's Washable School Glue many times. In case you're interested here you go.

http://sandyquilts.blogspot.com/2008...nd-quilts.html

Basting the seam joins seems like a perfect use of elmers SCHOOL glue. thats the washable stuff. I am going to give that a try. I use it all the time for bindings I always wash my quilts after I have finished as I feel they get dusty and the cat always seems to find whatever my current project is and nap.
I must stress however you only need a miniscule amount. I take a scrap of paper or fabric out of my garbage can and squirt a pool of glue out. I then take one of my flat head pins and draw a bead on the tip of the pin and place that teeny tiny dot on the binding. I then iron.

a friend told me to try it this way to save time pinning and it works!! just be careful not to use too much or too close to the edge as when it dries it will be stiff and its hard to push needle thru that part of hem. Like some said here put a thin line in and turn bind over and iron it

I use glue now all the time. The best use I found for it is when I sew the binding on the front, turn it to the back and then stitch in the ditch from the front. I used to pin a lot to do that, and really didn't like all those pin pricks! LOL Now I press carefully after the binding is on the front to open that seam as wide as I can. You want to be able to see the "ditch" while sewing. Then turn to the back and glue the binding so that it just covers the line of sewing and iron dry. A very thin line or small dots is fine. Glue the corners, too. Then turn to the front and stitch in the ditch. The last quilt I did like that, I missed about an inch in one spot. I guess I didn't get the binding quite far enough over the sewing line.

When I baste my quilts (on my bed), I iron as soon as I have a large area glued. I don't move it until the whole top of the bed area has been glued and ironed (just a touch of the iron on each spot is enough). Then move it around until another area is available. After that side is all glued and ironed, I turn it over and work on the other side. Works slick.

I'm new to quilting, and became so frustrated when I couldn't get my seams to match. A post on this board convinced me to try the washable glue, and I'll never go back to pins! On my last project I stitched the binding on, folded it over and glued it, then took it on a trip to finish by hand. Not once did I get stuck with a pin, and that binding stayed put! Getting a needle through it wasn't a problem at all. My current project has glued seams, and I glue basted the back & batt to the top. I works great. I'll never quilt without glue again.

You have all convinced me! I HATE using pins, so I'm looking forward to trying the glue. Thanks! :)

The flowers and the birds in my avatar were all done with stick glue. There are a lot of little pieces in those flowers and hummingbirds. Even the grass ends were glued down before sewing. I have been using both stick and Elmer's School Glue for years. Sure beats using that spray stuff that has to be superventilated or used outdoors! I use liquid glue dabbed in small amounts to tack a quit to the batting; it can be lifted and reset, always starting form the center and working out. I just did a very complex "dragon" quilt for a Gson going off to college. He designed it and I had it enlarged to 4 feet high and put it together with liquid school glue, then satin stitched the pieces together. I like the liquid better for small work because the stick can pull at the fabric. With the larger pieces you can dab it in places as needed and the stick works great. I always wash my quilts before gifting so any glue stiffness is gone.

Going to try this ....

I don't use it for matching seams, but I do use it for basting and I won't do it any other way!

I have used Elmers Glue for a table runner. Worked like a charm! Only next time I won't use so much glue:D Make sure you use the washable kind.

Steady Stitching (post #27) that's a great idea to make a pool of glue & use a flat head pin to apply. I have a tendency to rush & use too much glue. I agree - it only takes a small dot.

All the time, it is my favorite way of getting my seams to match, I like the Elmers school glue ad it washes out & it is very inexpensive. I find that pinning alone sometimes distorts my fabric and I can't get good seam matches.

When u glue the binding on, can u then sew it down? Will the needle sew through the glue?

I use a very thin line of glue then set it with a hot iron before sewing. No problem.
Make sure it's washable school glue.

Where do you purchase the tip for the glue as shown in this video?
Thanks