There are no quilt finishes today – However, I do have a quilt glue-basted.
I had a couple of inquiries as to how I baste with Elmer’s School Glue, so I thought I’d show you. A few years ago, I saw a post that someone sprayed with diluted glue to baste their quilts. I tried it. Well, it didn’t work for me … the sprayer got plugged up and by the time the glue was diluted enough to go through the sprayer – it was diluted too much and wouldn’t stick. Then, I was at the dollar store one day and saw a jug for paint and a 4″ paint brush. I bought them and tried it out. I dilute the glue (1 part glue / 4 parts water) and paint it on. If it’s not diluted – it’s like a rock to sew through. 1 to 4 ratio seems to be just about perfect. Enough glue to stick – but not too much.
Here’s my process:
- Place flannel sheet on top of the bed (to protect the bedding)
- lay out the quilt (bottom, batting, top)
- fold top back by half
- lightly paint the batting
- press with an iron
- repeat on the other side
- repeat on the back
- Quilt when it’s dry. (I usually let it set for at least 12 hours).
The above pictures were taken with flannel. 
You don’t see the glue or moisture when you use flannel. When using cotton, it shows up – big time! You can definitely see where the moisture comes through. This is OK. It usually disappears by the time it’s dry. If the glue is super heavy or not diluted enough – you’ll still see it after it’s dry. This is OK – just take your time quilting it and it’ll wash out. (If you don’t wash your quilts before giving or using them, then don’t use this method.)
This process makes the quilt quite stiff, which is actually very nice for quilting! However, as the quilt is manipulated through the machine, it does loose it’s stiffness.
I have not used this method on any quilt that is larger than 50″x 50″.
Link-ups
To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:
- Can I get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
- Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts
- Finished or Not @ Busy Hands Quilts
- Let’s Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts
- Happy Needle and Thread @ My Quilt Infatuation
Happy Quilting
Gail
And when I attempted to sew them together, even when I pin – the joining sides end up looking like this the picture to the right.
together! Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s put a dent in my 2″ square box. Hmmm, I think that what they say about scraps having sex and multiplying must be true!
While I was quilting my Kansas Troubles, Irish Chain, I ran out of quilting thread … the spool you see in the picture was emptied and I had less than 1/2 a bobbin … groan … I asked a bunch of friends to find out where I could buy it. I usually buy it from the Canadian distributer (Carola’s) when she has a booth at quilt shows. The local stores (within 75 km) that sell Aurifil didn’t have this colour. {Although, one did contact me later to say they did have it.}
I was away for just over a week. Went up into the interior of BC. There are over 120 wildfires burning in the province and I had to take detours in order to get there and back home. The detours added between 2 and 4 hours to the 12 hour trip – one way. Mostly because with the longer drives, I need to stop more often.
And I’ve almost finished a smaller machine mat. I need to buy a pair of scissors and find the button so I can attach the thread catcher. All the sewing is done. And yes, it’s the same material as the larger one, except I used purple instead of yellow on the flange binding.
Not a lot to report. No fabric shopping. I did finish the large sewing machine mat. I have a smaller one in progress. Using almost the same fabrics. Am thinking about using purple instead of yellow for the binding.
Quilting Gail 