Glue Baste It
 

Several years ago I met with a large "washable" glue manufacturer. I asked about the glue baste it and Elmer glue and how they are made. Basically, after, learning about quality of water and use of some dairy products, the glue baste it is the same as Elmer'a glue. So ladies, save your money for fabric. I bought the first glue baste it for the great tip and have saved lots of dollars by filling with Elmer's ever since. Glue is great for quilting and it washes out. So look for those Elmer'a glue sales during back to school. $11.00 for 2 ounces of glue baste it.....not on sale.......or $2.00 for 4 oz.of Elmers Or less if you buy in large quantity.

Last year, Office Max or Office Depot, I never can remember which, had Elmer's School Glue for $.50 a bottle. I stocked up, but I'm almost out. I used to use it straight from the bottle, but now I dilute it 50/50. Still works great. I'm going to watch for their sale again this year.

I haven't tried glue basting yet but I think I will give it a try. It's getting too expensive to spray baste.

Still have a big tub of safety pins. :p I hand quilt and don't want to mess with the glue.

this is great info... thanks for sharing. i recently bought spray baste... much more expensive than glue

Anything I machine quilt I glue baste with washable school glue. I'm about 15 quilts in and once itnis dey I have no issues quilting. It replaces pin basting not spray basting. It doesn't have to cover every inch of the quilt.

I have a ton of pins too but glue basting is so much easier.

Thanks so much for sharing this tip. It hadn't occurred to me to refill the glue baste-it with Elmer's.

Since the kids have been making slime with Elmer's glue, I noticed it now being sold in quart or gallon size at Michaels on one of my recent visits...and often times, Michaels has great coupons or sales.

I have trouble keeping the glue baste it needle clear of hardened glue. I've switched and bought a separate metal tip for my bottle like the one Sharon Schamber uses. No issues now. I love glue basting, especially seams when I am having trouble matching points or seams.

I saw Elmer's by the gallon it Walmart. Don't know how much it cost. Never saw such a big jug before!

I'm interested in this post! Do you just use elmer's glue full strength? Has anyone tried diluting it and using it in a spray bottle?

I was fascinated by Reba'squilts discovery that Elmers comes in a gallon. If you have refillable containers, and can use the gallon, I found it at Walmart. It would cost under 13 cents per ounce purchased that way.https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=elmer

Where did you purchase the metal tip? I would love to get one, too.

Tried it, love it for basting. Does anyone know how long the shelf life would be?

I use elmer's glue all the time in sewing / quilting. To hold seams more accurately especially when fussy matching patterns or stripes, and to hold applique pieces and to hold seams when doing QAYG and sooooo much more, but I always use the stick glue so much less messy then the liquid.

Shelf Life and spray bottle question.
 

Thought I'd chime in on the shelf life and spray bottle question. My husband (former teacher) bought a gallon jug of washable glue several years ago for his Chemistry class. He quit teaching May of 2016 and I inherited his partial jug...still worked great. So, shelf life is several years at least (as long as you cap it and don't leave it in extreme heat most likely). Also, I have diluted it 50/50 (more or less) and tried it in a spray bottle, still came out in clumps, not a fine spray...so that one doesn't work. I saw a lady on Youtube who says she uses it in one of those metal pumps made for oil (to replace cooking spray) and gets a fine spray. I haven't been able to locate one locally, someday I will bite the bullet and buy from Amazon. I don't spray baste when hand quilting, makes the quilt hard to quilt through. I do use it for basting seams where I have a lot of points that I need to match up. Just remember to set it with the iron so it doesn't gum up your needle.

at on-line JA'shttp://www.joann.com/loew-cornell-empty-plastic-bottles-and-tips-14-pk/10903359.html#q=bottle%2Btips&start=3

I buy my Elmer's washable school glue by the gallon, and transfer it to a "picnic condiment bottle with a cap" to glue baste my quilts. Much easier than squeezing the bottles intended to dispense a little bit of glue that it comes in.

Keep the bottle turned upside down in a cup or holder. No more dried glue in the tip.

Just want to clarify... we want the Elmer's Washable School Glue, not Elmer's Glue All.

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

I do with no issues.

I purchased a small spray bottle (2 oz size) in the travel section at Walmart and use it for my glue spray [50/50 washable school glue and water]. It keeps just fine and the spray is small and controllable. It is not as sturdy a hold as straight glue, but if you are doing a small project {table runner, wall quilt, etc.} it is perfect. It will needle nicely for both hand stitching and machine - doesn't gum up the works.

I use Elmer's Washable School glue all the time. To hold pieces together to make perfect points, to hold binding in place when I roll it to the front for machine sewing, and to just keep fabric in place as I sew.
I have not used it to totally baste an entire quilt. I use a herringbone garment basting stitch and a ton of clamps on a big table.

Thank you, Madamekelly. That is exactly the information I was looking for. Now to get the pool noodles, a supply of glue, and a condiment bottle. Already have a lap throw size quilt ready, just putting off that dreaded sandwiching ordeal. So hope this works. Will post on my results.
Murphy

I think I Need to try this....

I didn't see anyone else answering this, so I will try. Most of us dilute the glue with water by at least 50-50. There is no need to spread it all over the fabric or batt. No need for spreaders either. I hold the bottle a foot or two above the area I want to glue and swish back and forth until that area is done. You can move quite fast if the glue is diluted. Make lines of glue three or four inches apart.

Then I use my fingers and spread it lightly. I just run around with my fingers to flatten it a little. I just want to get rid of blobs. This way it is less likely to soak to the other side.

Then put on the batt (or the top when you get there) and smooth it in place. Let dry or iron dry.

It is so much easier to quilt in your domestic machine this way. You may want to secure the edges first, as they may come loose with all the movement of the quilt during quilting.