Janet's Creations

Janet's Creations
Gemma's "I Spy" hexagon quilt

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Using Elmer's Washable School Glue to baste your quilts

Elmer's Washable School by the gallon is $14.00 on Amazon - cheap  I should be able to do at least 18 quilts with a gallon of glue
vs
505 in the red can $13.00 a can and I can get maybe 3 quilts per can

Read on and see if this method is for you.

My guild President asked me this past Sunday why I would want to use glue on my quilts, I gave a quick answer but will go into some depth here.
I hate pinning - nothing seemed to stay flat and in place no matter how many pins I used.  I would poke my fingers and sometimes get some blood on the quilt that I would have to remove then.  NO blood on quilts as there is enough sweat and tears - he he he do you remember the group Blood, Sweat and Tears :) I spend too many hours pinning quilts either on the floor or on tables if the quilt was small enough - I distinctive remember spending 8 hours pinning my son's quilt for when he passed boot camp for the NAVY back in the day when I only stitched in the ditch.  I hated taking all those pins out again as I was sewing along.
When I found 505 temporary spray adhesive, I was in hog heaven!  The answer to my prayers was at last at hand.  I scoured the Internet to find the best price and by ordering it by the case it was about $13.00 a can for the large size. Now, 505 in the red can comes from Frances but is still the same as the 505 found here in the USA.  I figured I could get 3 maybe 4 quilts out of each can.  Not bad, since it cut the sandwiching process down expediently. I experience no fumes with the spray either,
but there is still is the cost.  This was when I decided to try FMQ on my domestic machine also and I was zipping along in no time.
I had been reading on the Internet at the Quilting Board, that some folks were trying the Elmer's Washable School Glue for basting their quilts together.  I know in elementary school in Canada where I was a support worker that we frequently used this glue on the cloth crafts that the children would make at Valentine's Day.  So I asked if anyone had done a tutorial - no one had so I figured I could do this.
The Elmer's Washable School glue is affordable (I even tried some Playschool washable glue I found at the 99 cent Store) I bought a gallon and a single bottle to put glue in to for around $ 17.00 - I have done 14 quilts and still have a little more than 1/3 of the gallon left.  So for less than a dollar a quilt I have found an excellent alternative to pinning and spray basting.
If kids can eat this stuff at school and we all know that they do unintentionally I know it is safe for my quilts and for the environment.
Yes, it does wash out in warm water in the washing machine.  I take my quilts as a rule to the laundry mat (see that posting here too) as I have an HE top loading washer and it is not the best for washing anything larger
than a lap quilt.

If I use Elmer's I will have more money for fabric :)


Okay everyone!  Sweet Adeline Quilts has perfected the Elmer's Washable Spray Glue in a spray bottle ratio so here you go!  It is as follows: " I played around with watered down elmers in a spray bottle (1 part glue to 3 parts water) and it worked but requires a LOT more ironing."

or

I have tweaked a recipe from a member of the Quilting Board forum that I follow.  Mrs. Beasley posted a recipe that I finally got around to trying yesterday, I modified the recipe to keep in step with my cooking style.  The spray glue mixture sprayed easily out of the bottle and had a nice adhesion to it.
So here we go!

3 cups of water
1/2 tsp salt
8 ounces or rubbing alcohol
clean spray bottle


- In a pot place 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle boil.
- In a gravy shaker (or a jam jar) put 1 cup of cold water and 3 tbsp of flour - shake until the flour and water are combined.
- Whisk the flour mixture into the gently boiling water like you are making gravy and let it cook until the consistency of gravy/egg whites/ thin gruel.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature.
- In a clean spray bottle add 8 ounces of rubbing alcohol and the cooled flour mixture, gently shake and go sandwich a quilt.

*** There was one posting that someone had sprayed a quilt and left for a few months and they had some mold grow.  Since I am not going to leave my two quilts that I sandwiched yesterday that long I can't say for certain that this does or does not happen.  I just wanted everyone to know that this had been reported.
 

 First, I put my Warm and Natural Batting in the dryer for a bit to try and soften the wrinkles.  The I spread it out on my ping pong table (we never play ping pong on it, I use it only for quilting purposes)
 Then I spread my backing on the top of the batting. I arranged it so that there was batting showing underneath all around the edges.  I smoothed it all with my hands to ensure that there were no wrinkles in the batting.
 Then I folded half of the backing towards the center of the quilt, (like folding a piece of paper in half on the long side of the paper.)
 Now, holding the smaller bottle of glue over the batting at about 18 inches high  I began to squeeze out the glue. With constant pressure I swirled the glue about 18 inches back and forth until I had about an 18 inch square swirl of glue.  It dotted and did not lie in a straight line.  I did this the entire length of the quilt.
 I started in the center of the length of the backing and gentle lifted and pulled it towards me.  I then smoothed it down with my hand. Then I did the same thing towards the left of me until I reached the end of the row and then I did the same thing on the right side.
 I made sure there were no wrinkles and hand pressed the backing to the batting.
 I repeated the same actions on the other side of the table with the glue onto the batting, then hand pressing it down.   The I let it dry overnight.  I positioned the quilt so that the center line was on the table's middle so that there was even pressure on the quilt as it dried.
I glued right up to the edge of the quilt!  When I FMQ, I work the FMQing around the edge of the quilt and quilt into the middle of the quilt.  The exact opposite of most folks.  I read that if you quilt was securely basted it didn't matter where you started and ended :)
 It repeated the gluing and hand pressing for the quilt top.  I know you can see ripples on the batting, but once the glue and hand pressing was completed the weight and pressure flattened them right out.  I let it all dry overnight once again and FMQed the next day.
Here is the completed quilt, it is a Turning Thirty for my stepson in the Army up in Alaska.  I made pillowcases to coordinate also.  I washed the quilt in a triple washer at the laundry mat with Purex soap pucks and 2 Color Catchers.  I pieced the back aka Back Art, as it is more of a scrappy quilt.  I am sure he will like it!  Sorry the picture is sideways, I tried to straighten it, but to no avail.

101 comments:

  1. I saw your post on the Quilting Board and was intrigued with the idea of glue basting. I have never heard of this. Thanks for the pictures and explanation.

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    1. You are more than welcome. I will be experimenting with using a spray bottle in the near future :)

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    2. That's just the way I do it, but I do it on my bed. I work on one side at a time. Sometimes I iron the quilt as soon as everything is smoothed out. Then that side is dry enough to move the quilt over and do the other side.

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  2. Just followed your link from the quiltingboard, great tute! Waiting to see how the spray bottle works. I've not had much luck with spray basting. I found that with time the glue shows through the quilt even if its washed after quilting. But if elmers glue works well then I'm sold!

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    1. Hi there,
      I just added a post for some spray basting made from flour and rubbing alcohol that worked like a charm. You might want to try it.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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    2. If there is glue showing through then you literally used 20 to 50 times too much!!! This process should be called "Spray Spritzing" - you don't have to cover the entire surface and a tiny layer is all that's needed.

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    3. I made a sample 8x8" block to try some of these and my luv was nil. The flour/alcohol didn't thicken. Then I used the school glue. It worked on the sample so I started on the real deal, my quilt. First I tried a paint brush, a sponge brush, then a roller. It tore the batting up and just was way to hard to spread, then I watered it down....same thing. So I picked up my quilt thank goodness I only done about 12 inches. The next morning I noticed the glue had gone thru and was all over my floor. Way to much trouble for me.

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  3. What an interesting concept. How big is this quilt?

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    1. Hi Frances,
      The quilt was a very large Queen size, a Turning Twenty quilt pattern but using 30 fat quarters so almost a King size. Happy sewing!

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  4. Interesting. I use the spray basting as well, but you are right at as the glue would be cheaper AND easier to find.

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  5. i think it is brilliant! but your right about trying it with a spray bottle. water it down a little first. since the glue is water soluble, it should work fine when cleaning the srayer!

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  6. Brilliant! I hate paying the price of the 505 spray and this will be a perfect alternative!

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  7. If you use the glue in a spray bottle how much water do you use to water it down?

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    1. Hi there,
      I was never able to prefect the correct ratio of water to glue for a spray bottle but have been using this methiod for about 6 months and love it - I add a dollop of Elmer's glue to the the mix also

      3 cups of water
      3 to 4 tbsp regular flour
      1/2 tsp salt
      8 ounces or rubbing alcohol
      clean spray bottle


      - In a pot place 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle boil.
      - In a gravy shaker (or a jam jar) put 1 cup of cold water and 3 tbsp of flour - shake until the flour and water are combined.
      - Whisk the flour mixture into the gently boiling water like you are making gravy and let it cook until the consistency of gravy/egg whites/ thin gruel.
      - Remove from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature.
      - In a clean spray bottle add 8 ounces of rubbing alcohol and the cooled flour mixture, gently shake and go sandwich a quilt.

      Good luck and thinks for stopping by my blog :)

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  8. Are these 2 different methods of glue basting that you are talking about? Elmer's Glue and the flour spray?? If so, which do you prefer.

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  9. Hi Stitches Happy Thanksgiving Day! Right now, I use the flour and alcohol spray glue 80 % of the time and the Elmer's or 505 the other 20 %. I don't think I will buy anymore 505 once the last can I have is gone, but it sure nie to use when in a hurry!

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    1. Hi
      I do hand quilting and often use poly batting. but I think I would like to use this instead of pinning. Would it work?

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  10. Sounds great! I am anxious to try this on next quilt! Thanks!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Rose! I hope that when you try either method that you have great success, I ran out of home made spray glue last night and used the Elmer's Washable glue on a Christmas wall hanging - it should be try enough to FMQ when I get home after work :)

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  11. I will try this on some small projects first. I hate to bleed on my quilt tops too.

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    1. Good Morning Debra Kay,
      Either method works well on quilts up to 120 inches by 120 inches (I haven't made anything bigger than that :) You are so right about colors bleeding. I just finished a Christmas quilt with lots of red and blue in it, I used a bit too much homemade spray glue on an area with red fabric (I do not pre-wash) and it turned the white a tad pink, I washed the quilt with Color Catchers and all was fine when it came out of the dryer. I was lucky. Best of luck on trying this method of sandwiching quilts with a future project.

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  12. Thanks for sharing this idea. I had used Elmers glue on small projects and thought of how we use to use flour and water as paste but didn't take the thought any further. so happy to hear that it has been tried and as far as the mold, I expect that an area got a bit too saturated and didn't dry out properly. One could probably after a day or so of natural drying, pop it in a warm dryer to tumble.

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  13. I guess I'm stupid or something.
    Is the recipe for glue? I thought we were using Elmer's glue to baste?

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    1. I'm with you Janet, I'm confused. I thought the recipe would be for a watered down version of Elmer's.??

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    2. Me too ladies. I was looking for where the flour mixture was combined with Elmer's. So could you just water the Elmer's down to where it sprays out of the nozzle easier?

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    3. Good Morning Janet,

      I have also mentioned above a recipe for homemade glue that I use almost all the time now. I tried watering down the Elmer's Washable School Glue and could not get the ratio down so it would spray out of a bottle. So as this post was on using Elmer's and sandwiching I also added the homemade spray glue to the entry. In hind sight, I guess I should have separated the posts more clearly. I am sorry for the confusing. I am always looking for the most economical way to sandwich my quilts so that I can spend more money on fabric.

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    4. Hi Jen Dale,
      I have never been able to water down the Elmer's successfully. So that is why there is a write up about the home made spray glue. Some folks were saying it was too hard for them to squeezes the glue out off the bottles, so I offered an alternative - sorry for the confusion.

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    5. Hi Christy,
      I am so sorry for the confusion, as I have previously stated I can't seem to get the ratio down for diluting the Elmer's Washable School Glue so there is an alternative that works well and is even cheaper than Elmer's Glue. whatever you decide to do the best of luck!

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    6. I too was/am confused :) I just bought some elmer's glue, so now what?

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  14. WILL this work with hand quilting?

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    1. Hmm, hand quilting is something that I have never tried and kudos to all of you that do take the time to finish you quilts so beautifully. As I have never ventured into this area of quilting I can only guess that YES it would work, but as in all new things try something smaller and work your way up. Best of luck to you!

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  15. I have been using the elmers glue to baste for some time. If you don't want to wait overrnight you can set it with a hot dry iron. I played around with watered down elmers in a spray bottle (1 part glue to 3 parts water) and it worked but requires a LOT more ironing. I am going to try the flour based spray and see how that turns out. As a side note, i tried using the rose art brand glue when my local big box store was out of elmers. I do not recommend it as it turned brown when i ironed it and was a real pain to scrub out.

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    1. Thanks for letting us know about the Rose Art Glue, I have tried the Play School Brand of washable School Glue from the 99 Cent Store and was okay to use. Thanks for the ratio on the glue to water. I will add that for other quilters to know. Thanks for stopping by and good luck in all your projects!

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  16. I never thought of Elmer's. I've bought Roxanne's quilt basting glue, which is kind of expensive but works well. I like gluing as opposed to pinning. And I can quilt right through the glue. I always wash my quilts after so the glue washes out and I've never had any problems.

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    1. Hi Tracy,
      Thanks for coming by my blog, remember it has to be Elmer's or Play School's Washable School Glue or it will not wash out. I have a posting about homemade spray glue also - you might want to check it out also. Best fo luck in all your projects!

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    2. I have used Elmer's glue for years because I bought some Roxanne's and and also found it expensive and since it looked like Elmer's I tried Elmer's, and low and behold, it worked.

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  17. just a thought what if you mixed rubbing alcohol with the glue that is watered down this way the basting spray would dry faster when ironed and still baste like it should just a thought for someone to try. I would but I don't have any of that glue in house and still have to find a place where I can buy it in a big jug which I will be doing because yes I do prefer to glue then to pin and I've been using Roxanne's glue so far since it was the first thing I was introduce to using

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  18. Interesting...I have made my own Spray starch with Vodka...could this be done with Vodka instead of rubbing alcohol.? How long do you need to let this homemade version dry before quilting?

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    1. Hi FLO,

      I too make homemade Best Press with vodka :) rubbing alcohol is cheap at the 99 cent store so I hadn't thought to try and use vodka instead. I think I will stick with the rubbing alcohol for now. I iron my layers usually when sandwiching but it will dry overnight when I have left it to dry naturally. Thanks for stopping by and good luck in your projects.

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  19. What is FMQ I'm just a beginner at this quilting and I started with a queen size. Top is done now I'm feeling overwhelmed by the basteing and quilting ahead of me, but I don't want to give up now.

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  20. Hi Ann,
    FMQ is a method of securing all the layers together google Leah Day or on you tube and she can show you how to get started. Welcome to the quilting world :)

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  21. I hate pinning, too, and never seem to get all the wrinkles out. I can no longer afford to send my quilts out to a longarmer so I am learning to FMQ. I have a baby quilt for Linus ready to sandwich and quilt so I will try this method. I haven't had success with commercial spray bastes, such as June Taylor., so I hope this works for me!

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    1. Hi 5 lilacs (such a lovely smelling springtime plant) I hear you on sending things out to the longarmers - I never did it but I know it is expensive. I hope that you were successful with this method and also check out the homemade spray using flour, water, salt and rubbing alcohol. I loved using 505 spray but the cost was getting up there. Best of luck with your projects!

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    2. At the last minute I decided to use the flour, water, salt, and rubbing alcohol instead and it worked beautifully. Then I tried using full strength Elmers glue to baste the binding. It holds the binding in place but makes the binding and edge of quilt so stiff I could barely hand sew it to the back!

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  22. I tried this method (the elmers glue) and I got lots of hard spots where the glue dried, then when machine quilting my thread would break after going through the glue. I couldn't go more than a few inches without a break. I can't imagine hand quilting through the hard glue I can feel in the quilt. Did I not spread it out enough with my hand maybe? I'm going to try a spray method instead next. Thanks for the tips!

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    1. Good morning Nicole,
      I am so sorry to hear that the hard spots caused your thread to break. I have not had that happen yet, I also have a homemade spray listed here on the blog that uses flour, water, salt and rubbing alcohol that I have had good success with. Also did you use the Elmer's Washable School Glue? Best of luck with all your projects.

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  23. you have such great ideas!!! thank you so much for sharing will the spray with flour to baste the quilt last the same as 505 spray if left in the bottle for like 2 months? I'm slow at getting each quilt done :).Oh I forgot what is the best press everyone's talking about that too uses rubbing alcohol? that stuff is so expansive but I like it better than starch

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  24. So I'm confused. If I'm reading this correctly you glued the back to the batting, then quilted that, then glued the front on and quilted that? That seems odd to me. Maybe its the way my mini pad has formatted your photos and directions.
    Thanks, Susan

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  25. In the pictures, it looks like dots of Elmers, is that correct? Did you try that first then made your own glue, water, flour, alcohol, etc. and put that in a spray bottle for the next quilt. I'm easily confused, lol, but after rereading I think I got it. Did I?

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    1. Hi, I am so sorry that I am late getting back to you. The glue turns to dots after I squeeze it out of the bottle. I do not spread it around, as I am usually in a hurry to flip to the other side and end up ironing that side to hurry the process up. I use either method depending upon my mood and when in a super hurry I revert back to 505. I do not FMQ until the whole quilt is sandwiched and dry!

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  26. Oops, I forgot to check the notify box so I hope I see your answer!

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  27. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  28. Wow...I feel like a just found a piece of Heaven...while reading all your comments regarding washable Elmers and also the Homemade mixture of flour, etc. I just bought 2 cans of 505 yesterday, so I am really anxious to try your great ideas for basting. Has anyone ever tried adding alcohol to Elmer's to thin it down instead of water, for use in a spray bottle?

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  29. I failed to check Notify me for the above message. So sorry!

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  30. Good Morning Peggy! Thanks for stopping by my blog. No, I have not tried using the alcohol instead water. If you do please let me know how it works.

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  31. Yes, I will be sure to let you know when I try it. Thanks!!!

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  32. This is GREAT. I used 505 on several quilts until I learned that it is Toxic and never really washes out, just "disappears into the fibers of the quilt". I'm working on a baby quilt and sure won't spray anything toxic on it....Elmers, however...PERFECT. Thanks so much !

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    1. Your so welcome! It is always good to have some options when basting quilts.

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  33. The flour mixture sounds interesting and cheap, is there a shelf life or does it need to be used all at once?

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    1. I have never had any go off on me, but I have a tendency to wait until I have 5 quilts ready to be sandwiched and make two spray bottles full and that just about uses both bottles up. You can get the rubbing alcohol at 99 cent only stores for .79 cents so it really is reasonable. :) For quilts with polyester matting I put a dollop of Elmer's Washable School glue in.

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  34. Would adding the watered down glue with a paintbrush work?

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    1. I have read on the internet that you can also do it that way. I have never tried it! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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    2. I tried that but it made the quilt so stiff I felt like I was trying to wrestle with bear to get it quilted! LOL!!

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  35. This is very interesting. I am going to try this on one of my quilts. I generally use spray baste. Cost wise this is very economical! I also live in the LA area. I live in Pasadena. Are you in any guilds? I am in 3 and am joining the LA Modern Quilt Guild next week at my first meeting. Hope too meet you at some point!

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    1. Hi Ellen Ann, I belong to the African American Quilters of Los Angeles we meet on the 3rd Sunday of the month at 1:00 pm at the Water and Power Building near the corner of MLK Blvd and Crenshaw in LA. I also belong to a scrappy sewing circle that meets on the 5th Sundays of the year. Please come by for a visit :)

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  36. Will this work with polyester batting too?

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    1. Yes, I have used both methods above on polyester batting. I do use an iron to help the glue set faster and thinking about it I use a bit more glue. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

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  37. Thank you, Janet, for the awesome tutorial, and also thank you all who took the time to comment. I looove this idea. I want to try it. :)

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    1. Hi Tracey! You are quite welcome, I hope that you try it out soon!

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  38. This sounds wonderful. My main problem in quilting is the successful sandwich process. The glue sounds good. I didn't know that the spray was toxic or permanent.

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  39. This sounds wonderful. My main problem in quilting is the successful sandwich process. The glue sounds good. I didn't know that the spray was toxic or permanent.

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    1. Not all spray adhesives are forever - June Taylor and 505 wash out when you wash the quilt. If I use Elmer's Washable School Glue I nearly always have a perfectly flat sandwiched quilt. Best of luck with the process!

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  40. I would love to try these methods as I am petrified by the idea of atomized spray glue getting into my lungs -- can't be a good thing. Problem is that I live in Hawaii and, due to the humidity, things take very long to dry. I strongly suspect that, by the time the layers would have dried enough to quilt, every roach beetle, and ant within a mile's radius would have come out of their hidey holes for a nibble… especially with the flour version :( It is almost impossible to preserve vintage books here because bugs eat the glue out of the bindings -- they are especially fond of the old glues made with flour. Just putting it out there for other quilters living in tropical climates to consider.

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  41. I would advise ironing the glue dry and then quilting as soon as possible. Then washing and drying the quilt. Then you would not have the problem with creepy crawlers!

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  42. thanks so much!! I'm going to try both methods.

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  43. I am so excited to find your blog! Is there a way to get your new postings emailed to me or an email reminder?

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  44. Well, I've read all your comments and if you're still using the flour mixture after three years it must be worth a try.
    Thanks for the tutorial
    Donna

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  45. Thank you so much for this tutorial.

    I don't always mark my quilting, but when I do, I use Clover White Marking Pen, sometimes Quilt Pounce by Hancy. Both will disappear when wet or ironed. Any suggestions on how to get around this?

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    1. If you are marking your quilts before you sandwich them - I have no suggestions. However, if you can wait until you have finish sandwiching your quilt and let it dry - then you could do your marking on a dry quilt top.

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  46. I am interested in knowing if there is as much of a problem with the spray floating onto other areas besides the quilt with the home made spray versus the can of spray. I just don't want a sticky mess to have to deal with. Thank You...

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    1. Hi Brenda,
      Thanks for stopping by my blog. Personally, I found that with the homemade spray there was no over spray like the canned. As it is a liquid coming out it was much easier to direct than an aerosol. If by chance you spray off your quilt it would be handy to have a damp rag to wipe up the excess. Flour and water are not hard to clean up but could require a bit of elbow grease if hardened to a surface. Good luck if you chose to try the homemade spray and happy sewing adventures.

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    2. When using the flour mixture, must it all be used right away or can leftovers be stored until the next quilt is ready to be layered?

      Also, with the flour mixture and the elmer's glue mixture, do you clean the nozzle after each use?

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    3. I stored mine in the refrigerator and yes I cleaned the top off the glue bottle and the nozzle I would run under very hot water if plugged.

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    4. Do you always wash your quilts after using the Elmer's glue or the flour spray before using the quilts?

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  47. Do you spray the batting or the quilt top/backing?

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    1. Spray the batting and then lay the top over it hand press it down or if in a hurry you can iron it. Good luck!

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  48. Has anyone ever tried using a glue stick and dot it in areas that you would normally pin baste a hand width apart.

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    1. Good Afternoon Shirley - thanks for stopping by my blog. I have used glue sticks for applique and also bindings but never for a quilt. In theory, it should work but I would not try it on anything large than a baby quilt to start. Happy sewing adventures to you!
      Janet

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    2. I've been thinking about trying a glue stick. On my next quilt, I'm going to use the glue stick for the center. If that holds good, it would be easy to do the rest.

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  49. I came to this site to read about the glue basting but then read about your own concoxion and I have now used it on 3 quilts successfully. I love it!! Works like a dream. Also beats the cost of spray bottles and the bad fumes that puts out. Thank You!!

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  50. Hi there,
    Thank you for stopping by my blog! I am so glad you found out about using alternative ways to sandwich a quilt. Now you can buy more fabric :)

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  51. Anxious to try both the Elmer's and the spray recipe. I have emphysema and am unable to use the commercial spray baste b/c of the fumes....hopefully this will enable me to be able to baste w/o pins!!! Yay!

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  52. I tried the Elmer's glue and water and I use a small craft brush to LIGHTLY spread the glue on my fabric. Works like a charm. Thank you for the idea/recipe.

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  53. I am using tapioca flour as that is what I have on hand and I think I will add some glue (aleenes what i have here) when i add the vodka to the mix. I am sure this will work out great! I make my own laundry soap, deodorant and tooth paste. So this is spot on for me. Thanks!

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  54. As a curiosity, I'm wondering if corn starch (v. flour) would have the same properties. I may donn my mad scientist's hat and have a go at an experiment.

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    1. I used the corn starch, and it (and your recipe) worked beautifully. After the first quilt, I added some Elmer's washable glue--to the remainder after using mixture on first quilt. It was a wee bit stiffer...and I would recommend that as a try. I sprayed with a high volume sprayer, and I ironed...and stitched right away. I used the 91% alcohol, and it dried very quickly with the iron. I love Elmer's glue, and use it for my binding too. (I need all the help I can get)

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  55. I want to update my comment after having used this method on several quilts. I use cornstarch v. flour. I'll say that it does not matter which one is used. Regarding clogging: I've had NO problems with the clogging. Regarding sprayer: The finer the mist, the better. Regarding adhesion: Adhere in sections. I use a teflon mat so that I can get my iron super hot without fear of scorching. This fine mist with the creates a wrinkle--free sandwhich. I've not used the pinning method as I'm a new quilter, and I adopted this basting method prior to trying any other. Note that the super hot iron (and alcohol content) ensure that you have a dry, but fully adhered sandwhich. Further, there is NO (none, none none) stickiness on thread nor needle. Mold? Not noted any. I'm unclear how mold could grow with the alcohol or the salt. I've had a bottle for about 60 days with no noticed problem. I'm so grateful that you posted thisd.

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  56. Can vinegar be used in place of alcohol?

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