Free moton+Glue basting...hard as a board
 

So when the glue dries, the sandwich is stiff like a board. Too much glue and not enough water? Ratio I'm using is 1 pt glue
3 pt water. Lots of issues trying to free motion...WHERE IS THE WINE?

Gosh I never dilute my glue. I drizzle Straight from
the bottle in a thin grid. I use it to replace pin basting not spray basting. I love the glue.

How did you apply the glue? With a paint brush?
I've never had problem diluting the glue...from a little to a lot
(when I was short on glue). I've had my quilt looks like a piece
of cardboard when I used a paint brush. Now I either "draw" the
glue making waves or grids but no more paint brush or rollers.
Then scrape any excess with my finger.
Leave it overnight. It might soften.

I have wine at my house! And chocolate. 😊 I have only glue basted a couple quilts and had small parts that were stiff like a board. It was where I had too much glue. I quilted them anyway going slowly but I’m not sure that helps your situation.

i had another thought. Are you sure it is Elmers a Washable School Glue and not glue-all?

Washable Elmer's School Glue. So I thin out the glue about 1:4 ratio. Drizzle it over the batting. Spread it with a thing similar to what you use to scrape windshield in the winter. Pat it over the batting and press again.

I have glue basted dozens of quilts. I've tried other methods, but like the glue basting best because I never get any puckers in the front or back of my quilts. The quilts do not come out stiff after I've glue basted them using this method. There is no overspray or chemical smell. I put Elmer's School Glue in a carpenter's glue roller bottle and just roll it onto the batting, then smooth the quilt front onto the batting. I let that dry a few hours, then do the same with the quilt back. I do not dilute the glue. I gently squeeze the glue bottle to feed a small amount of glue onto the roller then roll on the batting in an X pattern which spreads the glue so there are no glue blobs that would leave stiff spots on the quilt. Carpenter's glue roller bottles are available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Taytools-5000...3634054&sr=8-1

I wash the roller thoroughly with warm water immediately after using it to glue. The roller can be easily popped out and I just rub it down with my fingers under warm water to remove the glue and any accumulated fuzz/threads. The roller is a made from a hard rubber. As long as you clean the glue after every use, the bottle and roller should last for years. There really is nothing to wear out.


This is the easiest way I have found to glue baste my quilts. The glue is cheap at $10-$15 per gallon and will glue numerous quilts. Hope these tips help.

I really appreciate all the suggestions from you guys. Nagging question...do you guys still "anchor" the backing?

Don't know about glue, but would have thought dots rather than 'painting'. I do know about the wine, and sorry, it's all gone.

I'm glue basting in my living room on top of a painter's canvas drop cloth placed on top of an oriental rug, so I do not "anchor" the backing. I do the basting in 2 separate steps - first the top onto the batting, then after that has dried a few hours, flip the sandwich and glue the back onto the batting. Both times the glue is rolled onto the batting, not the fabric.

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.

I just pin my sandwich layers with large safety pins. They never get hard or stiff.