sandwich with Elmers
 

I know this has been posted many times and I tried Elmers on my last quilt and I love the idea but it does not seem to spread good for me. I thought about a small squirt bottle but would have to dilute it. What would be the water/glue ratio to get a good spray? I know I will get lots of responses that you don't dilute it but if anyone does please let me know.
Thanks a million. Ready to put a tumbling block quilt together.

I sandwich all my things with Elmers glue. I had the same problem until I diluted it. I mix about 1 part water to 2parts glue. Works well for me on any fabric. Also I scrap up any big globs that may appear with an old playing card. Hope this helps.

Someone on this board suggested using the mini sponge paint roller to apply Elmer's. That is what I plan to try next time. Might have to thin a little....will experiment with both ways.

I know you are asking about spreading and diluting but you really don't have to do that. I just finished a quilt and all I did was drizzle a thin bead on- sort of in a grid - granted I don't have any issues with holding the bottle upside down and giving it some gentle pressure. If I happened to get a glob (rare) I just used my finger. I let the glue dry and did an all over meander and the needle didn't gum up and the glue washed out. Couldn't be easier. The glue really doesn't have to cover the entire surface. Good luck with it. I hope you can find something that will work for you. To me it has become my favorite quilting shortcut.

I used Elmer's glue for the first time last week - I will be using it from now on. I just put a tiny bit of warm water in the bottle, gave it a shake then hold it up quite high and drizzle it on in a zig zag motion - use very sparingly. I only used about a quarter of a bottle for the whole quilt (single size) and it held it so well. No shifting & no puckers on the back. Yay! If there was the odd small blob I just spread it a bit with a small piece of cardstock. (actually, it was a hexie template that I had used a few times) If you hold the bottle high enough it comes out in such a thin stream you don't have to spread it.

Sorry, Stitchnripper must have posted while I wrote that. We both said the same thing. :)

I bought some Elmer's today: I got both the washable white school glue and a washable clear gel one.

The idea of a spray bottle sounds nice (with the glue diluted)... but is there a problem with it plugging up the nozzle right away? In other words, does a person have to wash out the sprayer right after using it?

I don't cover the whole area in glue when I glue baste. I just use a thin stream in a zig zag pattern and it holds fine. When you pin baste or thread baste you don't cover the whole area in pins or thread. Glue basting works on the same principle. I've never had any shifting or puckers doing it this way. I don't like diluting the glue as it makes it soak into the fabric too much. I put the glue on the batting and then smooth the back or top on top of that. This way I don't have glue leaking through the fabric onto the surface I'm laying my quilt on and the batting is less prone to shifting and wrinkles than the fabric.

To make the glue stream more easily you can put the bottle in hot water to make the glue more pliable coming out of the bottle but spreading the glue around once it's out of the bottle really isn't necessary if you use a fine stream. If you get a few globs then pushing them down with your finger works fine but if I hold the bottle high enough off the surface globs are rare.

If squeezing is hard for you, pour some in a paper plate and use a small paint brush to dab glue on the batting. It just takes a thin smear to hold. I dilute with hot water. I start with a teaspoon and add as needed.