One more point of clarification. When spreading the glue, you should aim for a THIN line of glue - not a wide strip. It would probably be equivalent to dribbling a thin line, but I find the roller an easier way to control the glue amount and distribution.

How do you aim for a thin line when using a roller?

Hard to tell you how much to dilute. Some say they don't need to while
some do. Probably depends how long your glue has been sitting on the shelf.
Try a little less water? I think if you apply the glue in grids or waves with
the nozzle then wipe the excess with your finger it won't be so "cardboardish".
Don't open the nozzle too much. Anyway, experiment until you find what works
for you.

The roller bottle has a tiny hole to distribute the glue onto the roller. If you don't dilute the glue and you squeeze the bottle gently, you'll only get a narrow line, not globs of glue. If it looks like there's more glue than I want on the batting, I stop squeezing the bottle and just use the roller to "spread" it.

In the past I tried using glue sticks, drizzling and spreading with it a paintbrush, watering the glue down and dabbing it with a paintbrush or sponge, etc. I found using a carpenter glue roller works best for me, but everyone must figure out what works best for them.

(Pouring us both a big, glass of Pinot.) I had the same problem and I'm 99.999% positive that I used Elmer's Washable School Glue. I threw away the bottle, so I can't double check, but I know it had the chalk board on the front label. I diluted my glue about 50/50 and rolled it on thinly. It dried very stiff. Luckily, I was able to peel apart the sandwich. I threw away the batting and tried to salvage the backing. Thank goodness I had not put the top on the sandwich yet. I soaked and washed that backing fabric for many hours, over and over, but the glue never came out. I finally had to throw it away. It set me back some serious time and money. I know that many quilters here love using glue for basting and piecing, but as for me, I'll never use it again. Perhaps Elmer's has changed their formula.

I SOLVED MY PROBLEM!!!! Narrow drizzle on the batting Did not spread it. Pressed the top/bottom. Took a nap. Dry and supple...the quilt not me...lol

Thats how I do it. I don't anchor anything. I don't dilute anything. Sometimes I sit the bottle in a cup of warm water to make it flow. If I remember. I've never had a problem. I'm 20 plus quilts in with glue basting. Largest is queen sized.

Got it. Thanks for the explanation. https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png

Glad your problem is solved. https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png

I drizzle the glue over the sandwich sides. I never thought to dilute it and use a brush to apply. With drizzling I only on a rare ocassion run into a hard spot and that can quickly be softened.