The Sewing Place
The Emporia => Patchwork & Quilting ... Welcome to the Darkside => Topic started by: rubywishes on December 05, 2017, 09:15:02 AM
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I have had trouble in the past using 505 basting spray....it never seems to stick or hold very well and I struggle with shift during my quilting. And yes, I follow the directions, and yes, I've watched all the you tubes etc. I have come to the conclusion that perhaps 505 just doesn't work well with my type of batting...perhaps the batting absorbs it.... I just don't know but I'm done perservering with it. So, it's either back to pins or.........Elmers Washable School Glue......lots of people on other quilting forums use it with great success so I'm going to give it a bash with one of the batik tops I've just finished.
So has anyone got any opinions or experience with it? I'm going to dive in and incorporate it with the board basting method and fervently hoping it will be the saviour of all my basting woes. Whatcha reckon huh???
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I'll be interested to see how this works. I have tried Elmers for piecing and binding, but not for basting. How do you apply it for such a large area?
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Can't help there, I've never heard of Elmers school glue (possibly not a UK thing) - is it a pva glue? Do you water it down and spray it?.
Actually, I was just thinking yesterday how well a scant spray of 505 (I had 2 cans that were nearly finished) was holding my quilt together right out to the borders. There was no shift at all when I was quilting. It's got polyester batting and I think some people say that it doesn't work well on polyester.
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StitchinTime, I've read that you just squeeze a light drizzle/squiggle across the surface and smooth out any blobs with a brush or such. Ploshkin, mixed reviews from people who have tried it watered down and sprayed...seems to not hold so well. Yes, I think it does stem from the USA although it is used here quite a bit for piecing tricky bits and also for holding bindings in place. There are several different types of Elmers Glue and you do have to be careful which one you use as the others don't wash out like this one does....supposedly!!
it will be interesting to see how it goes...I shall report back :)
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I've only used it for binding, and holding very narrow seams in place, it works well for those. Never thought to use it for large areas. It will be interesting to see how you get on Rubes.
Jessie
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I've used 505 successfully for basting on both polyester and cotton batting. I also use a glue pen for matching tricky points when piecing but I've never tried Elmer's glue. Have often thought about doing so though, so would be interested to see how you get on.
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Okie dokie...I'll be the guinea pig then! 0_0 I'll let you know how it all went but it wont be for about a week as I have more babysitting and temp work lined up than I can wave a stick at over the next 7 days!!
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Can't help there, I've never heard of Elmers school glue (possibly not a UK thing) - is it a pva glue?
Yup, it's just the most popular and well known PVA glue in the US.
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elmers-E304-118-2-Washable-School/dp/B000Q3KHCM (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elmers-E304-118-2-Washable-School/dp/B000Q3KHCM)
I don't know what 505 spray is - I've had a look at my tin and it doesn't say what it is! Just that it's temporary, repositionable and the application lasts for a few months
Elmer's is a PVA glue (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_acetate).
Washable means that it will survive being washed, not that it washes out.
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I think many people have taken "washable" to mean "washes out" (I had :o).
In the FAQs on the Elmer's site on how to remove the glue they mention that ironing the glue can create a permanent bond, something to consider if using it to hold tricky seams in place.
http://www.elmers.com/about/faqs/clean-up-solutions
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My understanding is that pva glue is very similar to the pva/acrylic binders in acrylic paints and houshold emulsion paint. Water soluable until it dries but then waterproof/washable and pretty permanent once it has dried.
Not the sort of stuff you would want in a regular quilt but it could have a place in a painted art textile piece.
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I've never felt the need to spray baste a quilt. The nearest I've come was sticky iron on wadding that I tried once, and it wasn't that great - it tended to peel off with handling, though it would probably be okay for (very) small things. Safety pins work fine.
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According to other quilting forums, they reckon the "washable" is wash out....other types of Elmers glue don't wash out but this one does? Lordy, now I have the fear of the Gods in me........what do I believe?? Might just have to do a test sandwich and see.
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Washable usually means you can wash it without it deteriorating -<
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A test sandwich sounds like the answer Rubes. I too thought 'washable' meant that it would wash out....
Jessie
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Reading on the other forums heaps of people use it. I'm thinking....."Washable" as in......your kids have spilt it all over their clothes while doing craft but it can wash out when you launder the clothes?? I've made my test sandwich...going to leave it to dry and then wash it and see. I think you just have to be very careful which of the Elmers' you use.I shall report back my comrades!
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Very useful research, Ruby - I'm looking forward to hearing the results of your tests! :)
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I haven't washed my practice sandwich yet....want to make sure it is good and dry first but I did wash the plastic scraper I used to smear it over my fabric. The glue was hard dried on the plastic but just washed away with a bit of warm water, no detergent or heavy rubbing needed. Now I know a plastic scraper is not the same as a fabric sandwich (duh!) but it does seem indicative of a happy ending. :)
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Washable SCHOOL glue? There would have been a riot at our schools if kids had gone home with clothes covered in hard setting glue. It's got to wash out.
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I never thought about it, but "washable" glue is such a misnomer or misuse of the word! (And I just checked my Elmer's glue stick and it totally says "washable") I think more accurate term is "wash-away."
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WooHoo! My practice sandwich, which was beautifully dry and stuck together is not a sandwich anymore! (quick note here...to stick my sandwich I drizzled little zig zags of glue across the two pieces of fabric and smeared it out with a plastic spatula before sandwiching with batting). I put that little sucker in a basin of tepid water and wooshed it about for a few seconds and the glue just dissolved right away....have got the 3 pieces now drying and will wait to see how the fabric and batting feels once it is dry but I am very impressed let me tell you!
Please note that this little experiment is enough confirmation for me to try Elmers White Washable School Glue to baste my next quilt but if anyone else is contemplating it....you need to do your own tests, make sure you purchase the correct type of Elmers White Washable School Glue as there are several types and make up your own mind. I'm not swearing this is "the go", I am just simply reporting that I am happy to use it and to "run the risk" if I end up proving myself wrong. 0_0
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Okay, I spoke too soon. I have just retrieved my little fabric pieces from the clothes line where they were drying and you can still feel some stiffness in the fabric afterall. Hmmmmm, so I've brought them in and am now washing them in a basin with the same detergent I would use to wash my completed quilts, perhaps just soaking in water "unsticks" the layers but doesn't wash the glue out. I probly was being a bit unrealistic to think that just water would do the trick.
If the detergent doesn't wash it out then "it's all gone to hell in a handbag" as my Nana used to say. I'll know by tonight.
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Is this useful, Ruby? It popped up on fb this afternoon.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKA9oHK6swM
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What a shame, Ruby - it was all looking so promising too. :S
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Thanks Pearl......good link 0_0
All is not lost Kenora! After a gentle wash in the detergent I usually use for my quilts the glue did indeed all come out, my fabric pieces drying nice and soft so I have happily gone ahead and basted my 70 x 60ish quilt. I did it in conjunction with the board basting method and I couldn't resist throwing a few pins in as well because I'm such a worrier! I am now waiting for my new ruler foot for the Juki to arrive before I can start quilting but as the glue has to be completely dry and we have a couple of stinking hot days coming up, I'm quite happy to wait for the foot. Still tossing up whether I should do the usual grid stitching that I do to stabilise my quilts before quilting.....not sure that it is needed with this one...hmmmmmm
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All is not lost Kenora!
Glad to hear it, Ruby - keep up the good work. :D
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So it seems my Bernina (why am I using the Bernina when I love my Juki? read on.) doesn't like sewing through the glue baste.....dragged at my stitches, got stuck in some spots and generally made a nightmare of it. It took me a few minutes (equivalent to about a fr%##@@ mile of stitching) before I realised it was not going to improve. To make matters worse, I couldn't unpick the stitching...it was stuck tight and mean. I've only had one choice besides binning the whole wretched quilt and that is to dunk it in a bath of warm water to dissolve the glue and then unpick the stitches as they loosen. And that's what I've spent the last hour and a half doing. I don't think the top has frayed too badly...I was as gentle as I could be with it...it remains to be seen once the 3 pieces are dried whether it is at all salvageable and I can iron and re-baste (with pins this time). :'(
And to make matters even worse, I've damaged the Juki by lowering the needlebar whilst the ruler foot was still up. And you know how that happened???? I was fri@@#$%ing putting a sticker on the Juki just above the needle down button to remind me to not lower it whilst the foot is still up.........and I ##@@%&& bumped the wretched button whilst sticking the sticker on......BAM....broken machine.......won't be back from repair shop until well into January. :'( :'(
I'm feeling wretched, despondent and mightily fed up. :angry:
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Life's b****r sometimes! Why does it always take 10 times longer to undo something than it does to do it?
Maybe you better go and watch the cricket and cheer yourself up :devil:
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Oh Ruby - you're not having a very good time at the moment, are you? I'm sorry to hear about your Juki - it's sod's law in operation again. :S
Sounds as though the glue experiment is over. Thanks for being the guinea pig on this one - you've saved those of us who were considering using glue a whole lot of hassle and unpicking, and for that we'll be eternally grateful. :) I've got a Bernina which I use for most of my quilting, so I suspect it would have refused to play ball too.
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Kenora, there are so many quilters who successfully use the glue....I'm just the unlucky bunny who's had a bad experience with it.
Who knows....it could've even been something about how I used the glue (my error), or even my forgetting how to set my Bernina up for fmq...it's been so long since I used it...but anyway I look at it.....my fault or not......I won't try the glue again. But so many people love it I'd say try for yourself but make sure your test sandwich is not only done for testing washability but also done for you to test how your machine likes it. Perhaps my Juki :'( would've been fine with it...who knows but the boat has sailed as far as I'm concerned, I'm back to my 500 quilting safety pins.
I don't want to discourage others from trying it...( do read up on it in the forums etc to make up your own minds...plenty of happy results) but I did feel obligated to let you know of my experience.