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.

Looked at JoAnn's for years for the glue tips. Finally found them at a LQS but had to buy the glue. Pricey. Will keep it with my adhesive box.

I am intending to make a handkerchief quilt by simply attaching the hankies to foundation, creating the blocks and then hand quilting it. I plan to use the blanket stitch on my machine to attach the hankies to the foundation but will be hand quilting this. Can I use glue to fasten the hankies to the foundation to get it attached? And then how does the glue behave when being hand quilted?

No need for full strength glue. In fact, it is almost impossible to squeeze it out full strength. 50 / 50 is plenty strong. I have even added a little more water. That way the glue comes out easier and you can swish the bottle a foot or two over the quilt and get the glue on a quarter of the quilt in a minute or two. Then I smooth that out with my fingers so that there are no big blobs.

I lay the quilt out on my bed large tables at the library, church, town hall or wherever. Make the sandwich as you want it and put some pins across the center line.These are the only pins you need. Lift up the top piece to the pins, swish glue on the batt about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way from the center pin line. Smooth with fingers. Lay top piece down and smooth that. I iron the glue dry now. Then lift the top piece up again as far as it has been glued and put glue on the next section. When that half if finished, go to the other side and repeat. When that side is dry, with iron or time, turn the whole thing over and repeat for the other side. When everything is dry, take out the pins and you are ready to quilt. I usually tack down the edges with pins or basting so that they don't come apart with the pressure of the quilting.

I am a hoopless hand quilter, it is wonderful to work with. Just remember to smooth out any blobs!

Sallys beauty has dye bottles with small tips on them for $3 I think is what I paid, the tip screws right onto the glue bottle.

Just wanted to add...use the glue full strength. I buy it by the gallon and dispense it from a plastic condiment bottle like they sell for ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. Works great, and the little cap attached keeps the leftovers from drying out. The glue will show through in spots, but a quick warm water wash when the binding is finished will take it right out. I even use this glue to hold appliqués in place while I hand stitch them in place. See my tutorial under "the appliqué tutorial I promised"

(I did try to post a link, but could not find the tutorial, some help?)

I have never tried this method before. I might need to on the next quilt I am doing. It is a UFO that is bigger than what I am used to quilting. I am tempted to try glue to see if it works for me.

I use glue for Sharon Schamber's method of attaching binding. Look up her Youtube video. My bindings have never been better!

Watson

wow so many ways of using Elmer's washable school glue! I don't have any hand/wrist/shoulder issues and it is no problem for me to squeeze the little bottle. I think of it as a good exercise (remember I don't have any issues that some of you might have) and don't find it necessary to thin it out. It is so inexpensive and easy to do, I'm very happy with it. I don't need it for my bindings. I don't pin them either, just smooth them out as I go along. I can do a pretty nice binding now.

One poster on here reminded us that it is to replace pin basting, not spray basting, so it doesn't have to cover every s inch of the quilt. I have had great success. I don't iron anything because since I quilt for my own pleasure I am never in a hurry. So I leave it overnight.

Check out Sharon Schamber on UTube for her glue basting process!

You can purchase a gallon of Elmers washable school glue on Amazon for $13.95 - very economical. I refill my glue bottles from the gallon container but I think I'll take a tip from madamekelly in the future for basting - great idea!

Also, for the finer applications like bindings and precise piecing, you can get the micro fine dispenser tips from PurpleDaisiesQuilting.com. They fit right on top of a regular elmer's bottle. I find them indispensable for bindings.

I use a tiny fine line of washable school glue to "baste" pieces in a block rather than pinning before sewing. I can chain piece faster without worrying about hitting a pin. The pieces don't slip like pinned ones do and are much more accurate. You do have to let them dry. I run the glue inside the seam allowance, so I'm not sewing through it. I glue baste while watching TV, etc.

The off brand, purchased from a teacher supply store, by the gallon is cheaper and works just as well. I dilute it about 50/50 for sandwiching a quilt. In my experience, it is NO FUN to hand quilt through, so now only glue baste for machine quilting.
For glue basting pieces, I bought the fine tips from Sharon Schamber's website. You can screw them on to the little bottle. I save the small bottle and refill it with the gallon jug. When basting pieces, I don't dilute it. Always iron to set/dry it before sewing.