glue basting
 

hello everyone, I have a question, how many of you use glue to baste you quilts? I have used the spray glue and it seens like it gives me a headache so was just wondering about the glue, I have seen many videos on school glue do you water it down thank you love this board so many helpful folks on here

I've used 505 spray many times and like it so much better than June Tailor's spray. That one shoots out such a mist you start coughing right away and it gets onto my table more than 505 and on my floor! sticks but goodness. my son bought the Tailor one because he couldn't find 505. so if you must spray, get that one. use like hair spray, moving across and then down and across and so on. I would love to do this outside but can't so for now, i'm thinking of pinning again. I'm not happy with that thought so time will tell on what i end up doing. well vented place to do this would be nice.

Glue basting
 

I have done the school glue basting and it works OK, but you will need to wash the quilt as bugs love the glue. I think the glue is made out of flour of something like that. I have used 505 spray, but you need to be outside and I get a large box, put the item I am spraying in it, them move it a little more and spray. I am still an old pinner. I have found I do much better on larger quilts if I pin them. Table runner and small quilts are OK to spray or glue.

there is a fusible batting too. you iron it onto the back or front and then put the other side on and iron that one on. washes out after quilted. I had bad luck recently though with Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 which is my main batting. i got fusible that did not fuse well. It was old or made poorly, who knows? Covid plays havoc on all our purchases.

I switched to Heat and Bond spray, it's in a purple and white can. The smell doesn't bother me as much as other sprays. I have glue basted and like that method. Only use the Elmer's with the chalkboard on the label that says fully washable. They have many kinds of Elmer's not all work. I watered down the glue almost 50/50 and used sparingly. I had difficulty waiting for it to fully dry but that is my impatience. I have a friend who plastered her quilt with it and ruined it. So don't plaster it with glue. After I used it, I patted down any thick globs of glue, the dampness will show thru but it dries clear. It's a good method and it works, I just prefer spray and pin.

If I don’t need to pre-mark my quilt design with a water soluble marking pen, I am now using home made spray baste. The recipe is here: https://www.stringandstory.com/blog/...de-spray-baste

The ingredients are flour, salt, water and alcohol. I use vodka, so no smell. It does need to dry overnight.

SuzSLO - thanks for the share of home made spray baste. I am leery of using the prepared spray baste because it sticks to my fingers. I had a friend who did quilting for others and she couldn't always spray out doors. She sprayed hundreds of quilts inside her house and the spray baste got into her lungs and severely affected her breathing. I normally pin large quilts but I will use this recipe for my small projects.

I absolutely LOVE glue basting! Since I learned about this method it is my go-to way to baste on everything except quilts that I plan to hand quilt. As others have mentioned, it must be the Elmers ***washable*** school glue. Sometimes the wetness of the glue will make dye in the fabrics bleed and run, but I have found this comes out completely when I wash the quilt after quilting and binding, using a color catcher to pick up any excess dye. I dilute the glue 50/50 with water, stir it with a whisk, then paint it on between the top and the batting, and between the backing and the batting. You will find lots of great tutorials online showing how to do this. I don't iron mine dry as some do, but lay it out on the floor in an out-of-the-way place and give it at least a couple days to dry, flipping it over halfway through the drying time. While it dries I just turn my attention to another quilt, piecing, cutting, or whatever needs to be done.

I use the Sulky KK2000 spray basting glue. I really like it. It barely smells and I like that it is non-toxic, though safety me, I wear a mask when using it indoors, don't want to inhale the sticky.

I lightly spray my batting, put on the back and then turn it over and lightly spray that side of the batting and put on the front. I haven't had any issues with it coming loose. And when you first do it, it is easy to readjust the fabric is you need to.

Thank You everyone for the great tips and the recipe . as now I am going to make the glue and give it a try again such a great bunch of folks on here

I have glue basted more than 100 quilts using Elmer’s Washable School Glue. I tried other methods, but like the glue basting best because I never get any puckers on the front or back of my quilts. Using this method, the quilts never come out stiff and there is no chemical smell or overspray to deal with.

1. Roll the quilt top on a pool noodle (right side up). This will make it easier to put the top on the batting later.

2. Fill a carpenter’s glue roller bottle with undiluted Elmer's Washable School Glue. Do not dilute the glue because you want it come out of the bottle slowly.

3. Starting at one end, gently squeeze the glue bottle to feed a small amount onto the batting in an X pattern, making sure there are no glue globs that would make the quilt stiff. Aim for a thin line of glue, not a wide strip, about the width of a line drawn with a fine tip marker. 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.

4. I usually apply the glue in a 10” -12” high row across the batting, then begin unrolling the quilt top onto the glued batting a “row” at a time.

5. Remove any wrinkles as you go by smoothing the glued top from the center to the edges with your hands, similar to the way you’d smooth wallpaper on a wall.

6. After the glued top has dried a few hours, flip the sandwich and glue the backing to the batting following steps 1 through 5 above.

7. Let the glued backing dry overnight.

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. Quick and easy to do, no chemical smell or overspray, and no puckers in the finished quilt. Hope these tips help.

Carpenters’ glue roller bottles are available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Horn-1904...%2C191&sr=8-23

I use Elmer's school glue. I use a paint brush and brush it on the back, then add batting and press until dry. Then brush the top put on top of the batting and press. Dried glue won't stick to the needle, it hasn't so far. I do it in sections using several folding tables or as many as I need. I buy the fold up in the middle tables so they are easy to carry and store. I have six of them in the laundry room closet, two on the right , two on the left and two in the back. My husband has several in the garage and his workshop. We can set up for a banquet if needed. LOL

I use 505 Spray with no problems. I found a good price at https://www.wawak.com/Garment-Constr...ive/?sku=GLU29 .

Bonnie: Thanks for the detailed explanation.

Because you are using undiluted glue, are you able to pre-mark a quilt with a wash-out marker? I have good success with the home made spray baste (‘though the Vodka is not quite as cheap as the Elmer’s), but it is too wet to use a quilt with markings.

Once I started glue basting I decided there was no other way! I love it, love it , love it. I do small sections at a time pressing as I go. Then turn and repeat the process. For me t here is no going back to to pins or sprays.

Bonniejp Thanks for the tip about the Glue Roller. I ordered one. Should be quicker then using a brush.

I use chalk, rather than wash out markers, so I really don't know if your washable markings would disappear. You are only spreading lines (like you would with a marker) so worst case scenario, you might have "skips" in your markings. You could try it on a scrap and see what happens to your markings or you could mark the quilt after the glue dries.

Bonnie, thanks for your detailed instructions. I ordered a roller. I like glue basting a lot but I think this way is even better.

Does the glue basting work well regardless of the way it is quilted? For example, DSM or hoop frame?

Thanks. I will try it some time.

I'm still using purchased commercial spray baste, but plan on trying glue basting.

It is my understanding that the glue works better on cotton battings like Warm and Natural than the fluffy poly batts I typically use. Can anyone comment on that??

I quilt on a DSM and it works well.

I use the school glue too. I buy a gallon of it and a I buy smaller bottle of it that I can refill as the smaller size is easier for me to hold on to. I squeeze a thin line on it and use any kind of stiff plastic I have laying around to use as a spreader and spread the glue as best I can. I don't want the glue to dry in lines (maybe 10" apart) and be lumpy. I worry about the spray glues. I don't know of any that says it'll wash out, and I don't want the chemicals to become a problem years downline. I don't know of any studies that exam how those spray glues affect the cotton over time. I glue both the front and the back before I quilt it.

The glue roller bottle was delivered today. I think it will be a great time saver. Thanks again for posting about it.

I am about 30 quilts in with Elmers Washable School Glue. I don't use any special products and don't dilute it. I spread the batting down on a table. Then either the backing or top, doesn't matter, just if you use the kind of cotton batting that needs the dots on top, do the quilt top on that. If it is winter, I put the glue bottle in a cup of water for a while to make it flow better. Then I pull back the top about halfway and drizzle a kind of grid pattern on the batting. I can usually do maybe almost the first half. Then pull it up and smooth it all out. It is respositionable at this point. I can keep smoothing it out and if I have to, lift it up and pull taut. Then slide the quilt so that I can pull down the other half and repeat. Then flip over and do the other side. I have never had a pleat/buckle, or anything. I usually let it dry at least overnight because I'm never in a hurry. When dry it will not gum up a needle. I don't use a pool noodle, paint brush, roller, or anything. Easy peasy. This is supposed to replace pin basting, not spray basting, so it isn't necessary to cover every square inch of the quilt. I try for at least a 4-6" spacing. I sometimes practice a free motion quilting pattern. Good way to practice meander or wiggly grid. For me it has always washed out easily. It has not (for me) ever messed with the dye on a fabric.

I do a LOT of charity quilts that use polyester batting and the glue basting works perfectly. I've never had a problem.

Just jumping in to say that I've solely glue basted for the past 8 years and I love it. Last week, I just glue basted a super high loft Hobbs Cloud Loft poly batting and it worked wonderfully (phew!). This time, I used full strength glue and as I hoped, the thick glue sat on top of the batting more and adhered the fabric to the batting superbly. I did drizzle in a much tighter grid than I normally do (about 2in apart this time) with cotton battings.

I had tried glue basting Hobbs PolyDown twice before with watered down glue 50/50 as I normally do for cotton and that did not work very well at all. I think thinning it caused the glue to sink into the batting too much and by the time it started to finally dry, there wasn't much glue surface left for the fabric to grab on to.

Full strength glue (or close to it) for poly works great!

I have tried all of the above but always go back to using pins - just works better for me. I lightly pin it working on the floor, then transfer it to my large dining room table. Then I pin the center quite well and quilt that. Next I bring it back to the table and repin the rest which takes care of any problems with it being nice and flat.

Before I start pinning I find the center of all 4 sides and then match the backing, batting and top at the marks. It works well for me. Of course, getting the quilt ready for quilting is the part I like the least but once it is under my needle on the DMQ, I love the actual quilting process.

Do what works for you and enjoy the process.