I recently really latched on to glue basting - and I love it. I tried mixing with water and spraying on and that did work but the quilt got stiff stiff stiff - almost like a board. I will never do that again

I buy the glue by the gallon on Amazon and then I put in the 7 or 8 oz bottles. I found that if I mix about 20% water with the glue it squeezes out the bottle much easier

I like the idea of storing upside down I will be trying that

What great ideas! I had heard about glue basting and recently saw an article in Quilting Digest about using pool noodles to roll and sandwich a quilt. Gonna try that with my next quilt. I wonder how much glue do you use to baste the layers together. A dot or blob every so many inches, like when using pins, or do you kinda spread over a larger area? Definitely don't want to spray anything, which is why I have not used glue of any kind to baste a quilt. Never thought of using Elmers.....duh! learn something new every day. http://quiltingdigest.com/pool-noodl...e-sewing-room/

I'll keep my pins, thank you. I've tried the glue and I find it messy and time consuming because of the need to wait for it to dry.

If you close the lid faithfully every time it will last a very long time. At least a year in my experience. I have glue in the small bottles from 3 to 5 years ago. Still perfectly good. As a former preschool director and classroom teacher, I have "glue experience." I would by glue by the gallon for each of my classroom's. It easily stayed fresh, free flowing and usable from August to August. Yes, I would buy the small bottles during the back to school sales then it was up to my teachers to refill them from there gallon. Terrific cost saver.

here's a way to use Elmers to glue baste from a blog post at Fons and Porter:
Lay the backing down wrong side up. Apply glue to the backing fabric and, using a square piece of cardboard (I USE AN "EDGE"...PURCHASED AT HABOR FREIGHT IN PAINTING SECTION. IT HAS A THIN METAL EDGE BUILT INTO A PLASTIC HOLDER ABOUT 24 INCHES LONGO , NORMALY USED TO PLACE UP AGAINST THE EDGE OF THE WALL TO KEEP PAINT FROM GETTING ON MOLDING) as a squeegee, spread the glue evenly. Place the batting down over the backing and smooth it down firmly with your hands. Apply glue to the batting in the same manner and place the quilt top over the batting. Iron the front and back of the quilt to aid in the drying and to assure all areas are flat. Trim the excess fabric and batting, including the quilt top. Now you are ready to surface stitch. Note: The glue needs to be totally dry before proceeding.

Fill two or three bobbins with your chosen thread color. This amount will usually be enough to finish a wall hanging or runner. Adjust your sewing machine to the longest stitch length. Begin sewing all over the quilt. Stitch back and forth, around and around, swirling and twirling to cover the entire quilt top. Total coverage is important, so go right out to the edges. When you have run out of thread after using up all your bobbins, survey your work. Does it look completely covered? If not, add more swirls and twirls.

Now wash and dry your stitched quilt. This is why using Elmer's School Glue is essential: It is water-soluble and will wash right out of your quilt. After the quilt comes out of the dryer, iron it flat and attach the binding of your choice.

Thank you to everyone for adding to this discussion. For those looking for the metal tips, JoAnn had the. Ask where the basic crafts aisle is. They are sold with small bottles, but they just may fit the Elmer's glue bottles.

Thanks, Jane! I seem to have stopped getting JoAnn promotions, either in mailbox or email box. Maybe I buy too infrequently?

I love to quilt and I am also a taxidermist and have been using a 50/50 elmers glue and water solution to adhear snow, dirt etc to scenery when setting up some of my work... found that the glue and water work equally well when spray basting.

When I glue baste, I just swirl the glue in thin strings all over the backing and batting trying to keep the swirl line about 3-4 inches apart, allow each layer to dry since I have no large space for layout. I use Elmers school washable only, and I use it straight from a condiment ( plastic picnic set) bottle.

can you use the elmers glue on polyester batting