Glue
 

I see posts about using glue. Is this the standard Elmer's white school glue? Exactly how is it used....full strength? What about ironing your pieces? Does it create any problems when sewing ie gum up needle/machine? Do you have to wait for it to dry before a sewing? Does it make the item stiff? How do you use it to sandwich a quilt? Thanks in advance for you feedback.

I love elmers washable school glue. I use it all the time for basting the quilt sandwich. It you type it into the search up above you will get a lot of information. I drizzle it on full strength in a random grid pattern on the batting and smooth the fabric over it. I lay the batting down and center first the backing. Then pull down the backing about half way or so depending on the size of your quilt. Drizzle on the glue. If you get a blob just smooth it out with your finger. Then pull up the fabric and smooth it out from the center. Repeat with other half. You can slide the sandwich around at this point if you need to have space. Then flip over and do the front. Let dry. Once it is dry it will not gum up or break a needle. I have done umpteen quilts this way. No clamping. No taping. No boards. Remember it replaces pin basting not spray basting. You don't have to cover every inch of your batting. Sometimes I practice meandering with the glue. When you are done quilting and wash your quilt it will all wash out. It has revolutionized my process and I have never had a pucker doing it this way. Try it on a scrap sandwich. And remember to use the washable stuff. Any brand seems to work for me.

Worked great on my doggie donated quilt. 36" by 36".

Thank you Stitchnripper! I have been wanting to try the glue method and didn't always quite understand how to do it. Your post makes it abundantly clear. I will be trying it on my next quilt. grammasharon

I mainly use it full strength to add my binding onto the quilt before stitching it down. I have the small tip so I can control how much comes out. I also use it when I don't want to use pins but need to have my seams match up perfectly or as perfectly as possible. I try to add the glue to the seam area so I'm not stitching thru the glue. All my quilts are gifts to others so the quilt is washed before I hand it out.

If you do a search here on QB you will get tons of info to help you out, Stitchnripper's method plus others. Like everything in quilting there are multiple ways and it's nice to read about them all so you can figure out what works best for you. (not putting off sitichnripper's way just letting you know there are other ways too because some people have trouble squeezing the bottle or things like that)

I want to add a caution - be sure to use only WASHABLE glue. The regular Elmer's Glue is not washable. You want Elmer's Washable School Glue. There are probably other brands too, but I'm not familiar with them. I love glue basting and would never baste any other way.

No, I use fabric glue sticks from either a LQS or JAF. Sometimes it just seems smoother and faster than pinning.

Right now I am using elmers washable school glue, with the small metal tips bought at JoAnns, diluted 50% with water to "baste" down hexey flowers tossed randomly on a butterfly quilt, then heat set with a hot iron to dry the glue. I will applique them and embroider the stems and leaves. Pins are ouchy and annoying.

I am a big fan of glue basting. In addition to Elmer's brand I've also used Dollar General brand which is 2 bottles for $1. You can't beat sandwiching a quilt for 50 cents! I use the same method as Stitchnripper. I also have the fine tip to use for bindings and seam junctions but here would rather use clips or pins.
Remember however you need to wash it out so if you're making a wall hanging or something that isn't going to be washed you should use another method of sandwiching your layers.