WOW, I haven't' heard of Mod Podge since the 80's. I use to applique paper to wood or other items being a clear coat. I never would have used an iron on it. Maybe it's a new formula. What is the old saying, everything old becomes new again! :)

I buy it at Walmart.
Sandy

So VERY many of the gluey products are simply a version of white glue! Modge podge, fabric stiffy and others are basic glue with various ratios of water. The new varieties of modge podge have things added to make the satin, matte, etc. You can buy the very basic white school glue and play around with watering it down. No need for several different glues and at a huge savings. I buy it for almost everything. Or I'll buy Aleene's Tacky glue when I can get the huge bucket at a major savings. I use it for all the paper mache things, the applique items, decoupoge and basic tacking of items. I do have either E6000 or Gorilla glue for items requiring super hold or very heavy items, the white glue just doesn't have that strength.

I do not get odors from glue, so I feel a little safer with the glue versus a varnish (as far as ironing goes). I use varnish (water based) all the time on paintings, and very rarely notice fumes/odors (again water based products).

The author has a blog, you could ask her what might have happened.
http://www.buzzinbumble.com/

I have used the technique and had great results, not a fume. The mod podge has to be totally dry. I used a teflon sheet to iron over it. People don't give ironing fusible a second thought and there are plenty of types of chemicals in them. I used mod podge in school safely, as I was an art teacher.

Thank you everybody for your input! Here is an update: It is a fabric issue, not a Mod Podge issue. The FQ that gave off the fumes was from Walmart (Waverley collection) not Connecting Threads as I had originally thought.

How do I know? I applied mod podge to a FQ from Connecting threads, allowed it to dry and ironed it....absolutely no odor or fumes whatsoever. I tried another FQ from Walmart and guess what? Fumes and odors. I tried another FQ from Connecting Threads and just as before, no fumes or odor. So two FQ's from Walmart with fumes/odors, and two from Connecting Threads with zero odor. I can only assume that WM uses some chemicals on their FQ's that reacts unfavorably with the Mod Podge.

Aside from the fume/odor issue, I found the Mod Podge worked excellent for raw edge applique, with NO FRAYING. I definitely will be using this technique again but only on prewashed fabric or fabric that I know will not react with the Mod Podge.

Great of you to give everyone an update. I am not familiar with this technique but have recently started dabbling in hand applique.

I've always washed my fabrics before sewing, this confirms that I should continue to do so. Thanks for the update.

Can you tell us a little more about the technique? Is it primarily for wall hangings that will not be washed, or would it also work for bed quilts that will get a lot of washing?.