Washing school glue out problem
 

I recently used washable school glue to baste a quilt and loved the ease of doing it and working with the quilt sandwich while I machine quilted it. When I washed the quilt after it was done however not all the glue came out. I can feel some spots that are still stiff and I also washed some scraps of fabric that was glued to batting that I wanted to reuse and the glue didn't come out of those either. I was using Elmer's brand of washable school glue and cold water in a high efficiency washing machine. I didn't use any detergent. For those that have used glue basting how do you get the glue to wash out?

I'd wash it again in warm water. High efficiency machines don't use very much water.

I agree about the warm water. Will help dissolve the glue faster than cold. Also, does your machine allow you to manually set the water level? If there is more water in the machine for your quilt to float around in, it should help. Maybe even let it soak a bit, submerged in the water.

I glue baste all my quilts now. I have an auto soak on my machine and use the hand wash cycle. I use hot water and Tide Pods. Washing machine hot water never gets as hot as you think. Check the temp when the washer is full to be sure. All the glue washes out. I dilute the glue with a dollop of warm water first, it streams out in a very thin line much easier.

I always use warm water and detergent. Have never had any problem, removing the glue. Does your washer have a setting for bulky items, like bedding? If so, use that setting for more water.

I used glue for basting the binding on my last quilt, and most of it washed out, but when I added a hand sewn sleeve (for a quilt show) I found that some of the glue was still in there, and it was stiff in a few places. I'm hoping a second washing will remove it all. I did use warm water in a top loading large capacity machine.

I washed with cold water and detergent.. I didn't notice any glue left behind.

Warm wAter and detergent will do the job. It sounds as if you put too much on. Try next time very small spots, the size of a pin head.

There needs to be enough water and enough time for all the glue (starch) to dissolve. High efficiency washers don't use much water, so you may need to wash it for a longer period of time.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I rewashed the quilt in warm water with some detergent and it appears that all the glue came out. Sure do love the ease of glue basting and now that I know better how to get it out it is my go to method.