I absolutely hate using toxic materials and now only use Elmer's School Glue for putting my sandwiches together. NEVER USE GLUE STICK ON BATTING! I simply put the fabric on top of the batting as evenly as possible and then lift up a corner and, using a big S movement put a thin line bath and forth onto the batting and carefully put the top (or back) down onto the glue. Then I do the rest of the quilt the same way. If it is a really big quilt I may do the gluing more often, beginning at the center of the quilt and going to one end, and then repeat on the other side. After you are done, press it to dry the glue.

Then turn the whole thing over and put the back on (or the front, if you did the back first). All of the glue comes out when it is washed (I always wash a newly made quilt).

When I first started with Elmer's glue I overused it (I was putting a large applique onto a black background) and it was so messy looking!!! But I used less as I went along and satin stitched it all and it came out great! No problem about the messy glue... it was never to be seen after the "hand washing" my machine did. Can you tell I am a convert!!!

So glad I found this thread...I'm binding my second quilt (first quilt didn't require binding as it was a rick-rick edge). When I sewed the binding on the back, and then folded to the top, I didn't like how puckered it looked with all the pins!! Will be glueing the binding on tonight!!! After all the trouble to make the quilt look nice, it would be a shame for the binding to make it look bad! :thumbup:

I saw an episode of Sewing with Nancy where Nancy Zieman showed a technique she called "fuse basting" with fusible web. It was really fast. Here's a link to a video showing how to do this.

http://www.nancysnotions.com/category/video+demos/basting+quilt+layers.do

I saw that too. My question with that is - will the fused spots show on outside? I used some fusible web on a shirt placket once and it was visible from the front.

I haven't used it for seams but will only use it for basting the sandwich!

I don't know if it's the same stuff, but I used to use fusible web, for garment sewing (facings, etc.). Worked great, until the item had been washed/dried several times. Eventually, it would separate from the fabric and end up as a sort of "web" hanging from the seam line. That was years ago . . . but I would try it on a sample and wash/dry it several times, before using it on a frequently washed/dried quilt.

This week I used the liquid form to make my sandwich. I was very disappointed that it didn't come out in a spray, but rather a stream, so I had to take my hand to smooth it out. I even tried two different spray bottles, thinking it might be the nozzle, but not so. When I was ready to quilt it, I found out that most of the edges were not glued down. But I love it for bindings - that makes the final stitches a breeze. So, I might try it again, but at this point I like the Dritz adhesive spray for the sandwich.

I use a glue stick by Fons and Porter and I really love it. The Elmers was a little too messy for me. Here is a link to see the pen. http://themarshstore.blogspot.com/20...-glue-pen.html. Now I use the glue pen on the seams and just pin the ends of the pieces I am working on. It works so much better than pins.

When you use Elmers glue on applique, do you use glue only for the fusing? I'm getting ready to start
a rose applique quilt with raw edges stitched down.

I was thinking that when I saw the show, but then she's so good at what she does I figured she wouldn't advise doing it this way if it showed. I'll experiment and post about it.