Blog Tagged "Glue Basting" - Purple Daisies Quilting

All About Glue Basting

March 23, 2024 2 Comments

Let's dive in and revisit one of my most read blog posts: Glue Basting Basics

I freshened it up for you and updated links and images - enjoy!

Glue Basting is a game changer and is one of my favorite sewing and quilting tools. It helps me with efficiency and accuracy when I sew, which makes me happier with my results. Most of the time, when I mention glue basting to new quilters, or to experienced quilters who are new to me, I see confused looks come over their faces. But, they change their tunes really fast when they see what can be done with glue basting and how much it can improve their results.

My mom (the amazingly talented Sharon Schamber) introduced me to glue basting when she taught me how to appliqué, 24 years ago. Since then, my love for glue basting has only grown and I find uses for it in almost every sewing or quilting project. Here are just a few of the things I use glue basting for:

Precise Piecing
Appliqué
Curved Seams
Zippers
Bindings
Clothing.
Plus more!

Basically, you can use glue basting almost anywhere you would use pins or clips.

Elmer's Washable School Glue, topped with a MicroFine Glue Tip, is my go-to for glue basting. The Elmer's glue is easy to find in local stores, especially just before school starts, like now. (If you live outside of the US, I sell Elmer's in my shop, and happily ship it to you.) The MicroFine Glue Tips are made especially for my shop and fit perfectly on the 4oz bottles of Elmer's Washable School Glue. They're made from clog resistant plastic, and I find that they clog much less often than other glue tips out there.

There are other products out on the market that can be used for glue basting. I've tried virtually all of them, but the Elmer's Washable School Glue and Fine Tips combo is, by far, my favorite.

The accuracy that I can achieve with glue basting, is addicting. I love when my points match! I know you'll love it too!

Pretty, right?!

Glue basting is so simple:

Simply draw a fine line of glue inside on the inside of your seam allowance. I draw mine about 1/8" from the selvage. The glue shouldn't be right on your seam line.

Line up, or nest, the next piece with your first. Be sure that all edges are lined up, just as you would if you were pinning. Then, heat set the glued edge with a hot dry iron. Heat setting dries the glue completely, and just takes a quick second or two because the line of glue is so fine and thin. The heat setting also prevents any shifting. Awesome, right? Immediately, you'll experience more accuracy in your sewing and piecing.

Then sew as usual. When I piece, I prefer 1.6-1.8 stitch length. After sewing, press to the side.

That's it! Super easy! If you want to see glue basting in action, I have some videos for you to watch on YouTube.

Glue Basting FAQs:

Will the glue ruin my iron? No. Absolutely not. Elmer's Washable School Glue, is water soluble. If any glue were to get on your iron, it washes off easily.
Will the glue gum up my needle? No. Absolutely not. As long as you apply the glue close to the selvage, you wouldn't be sewing through the glue. Even if you did sew through the glue (like with appliqué) it won't cause a problem because heat setting dries the glue quickly and eliminates any gumminess.
Will the glue wash out of my quilt? Yes, it sure will. I always recommend washing quilts with a textile detergent like Synthrapol.
Do I need to pin when I glue baste? No. In almost all situations, glue basting replaces the need for pins.
Can I glue baste if I press my seams open? Yes, if the seam needs to be opened you can easily pull the seam apart or use a sewing stiletto to open the seams.
*My take on pressing seams open: In most cases, I would encourage you to press to the side. Pressing your seams to the side will make your quilts stronger, putting the strength of your quilt in the fibers of fabric as well as in the thread. This protects the seam and creates a stronger hold. When you press your seams open, the strength of your seam is only as strong as your thread. Open seams run the risk of popping with dense quilting, washing, wear and with time. There are times to press a seam open, for example: mitered corners and binding strips, but in most cases pressing to the side is a wiser choice.
Is glue basting faster than pinning, or just sewing and "going for it", without pins at the machine? I believe so, yes. Glue basting may take a bit more time to prep before you get to the machine. But, any extra time is made up by how quickly and efficiently you'll be able to sew everything together. The time that was spent having to unpick and resew mismatched seams will be virtually gone. Sometimes faster isn't better. Sometimes good technique and efficiency is better, especially if you're happier in the end.
Can I use this type of glue basting to baste my quilts before quilting? No. This type of glue basting is not recommended for basting your quilt to prepare for machine quilting.

If you only try one new thing to improve any aspect of your sewing or quilting, please let it be glue basting. I think you'll love it as much as I do!

Here are some examples of my favorite ways to use glue basting:

Glue basting and machine pieced hexagons are a match made in heaven! (Tutorial & Pattern in my shop!)

Prepping my strips with glue basting, before sewing, makes chain piecing more accurate and pretty darn quick.

Glue basting rows together keeps my points matched up, and I never accidentally sew over pins.

Glue basting makes Paperless Paper Piecing possible. This technique will rock your world!

I use glue basting with Piec-lique to make any type of curve, including inset circles.

When I glue baste my appliqué pieces to the background fabric, I can easily sew them down by hand or by machine. Without pins in my applique pieces, I get no puckers or distortion. Love!

Using the MicroFine Glue Tip with a bottle of Liquid Stitch (permanent fabric glue), replaces the need for fusibles with raw-edge appliqué.

I also glue baste when I make clothing. Here, I used glue basting to attach the binding/strap onto the edge of the bodice of a dress for my daughter.

Quilt bindings is probably the most popular place to use glue basting, largely due to my mom's wonderful binding video. The best part of the video is at the end, when my mom shows you how to do that final join for the binding strips. It's life changing!

When I glue baste my binding, I can stitch it down by machine or by hand, without the need for any pins or clips. It stays in just the right place, until I sew it down. Magic!

If you have the fine glue tips, my favorite way to keep the clogs away is to use the thick end of a price tag holder. Clip off about an inch and put the stick of it into the glue tip to prevent clogs. To make it easy to find on your pressing board, you can color the "T" of it with a Sharpie, or put a washi tape flag on it. (Big thanks to my friend Becca at SewPixie for these fabulous ideas.)

Glue basting can be a life changing tool. It might take a little bravery to give it a try, and when you do, I'll bet you'll never go back!

Thank you for being here!! You can also find me on InstaGram, Flickr, and Pinterest as CristyCreates.

Happy Quilting!

~Cristy

Curved Piecing Mini Class now on YouTube

April 21, 2020

Edited 4/29/20:
My mini class on Curved Piecing is now available to watch on YouTube. Enjoy!

As you're watching, please keep in mind that this video was recorded from a livestream and you will hear me troubleshooting camera angles and sound as we work to figure things out. Also, there is conversation happening because some people watching live asked questions that I answer while filming. I have many other videos on my YouTube channel that are more rehearsed and fine-tuned if this style doesn't suit you.

🥰Hi Everyone!! Join me (Cristy😁) Thursday at 10am PDT for my second Mini Class on Facebook Live!!
🤩I'll introduce to to my favorite technique for sewing curved seams:
Piec-lique (piece-li-kay).
It's fun, simple, and can be used to make virtually any curved seam. 🧵During the mini-class, I'll go over the basic steps for using Piec-lique to create and sew a circle, a Drunkard's Path block, and a custom curvy shape.
🌟Piec-lique was developed by my ingenious mom, Sharon Schamber and was first introduced to quilters in her book:
Piec-lique - Curves the New Way in 2005 (out of print).
🧵Please share with your friends and invite them to join us.
See you Thursday!
Here's a link to my Facebook page and the live video: https://www.facebook.com/PurpleDaisiesQuilting/live/
To join in, be sure to "Like" my page to be sure that you're notified when my video starts. There is also a post about the mini class with a "Get Reminder" button that you can click on to be reminded when the class starts.
I'm so excited to connect with you and to share some wonderful quilting tips and tricks! Come with questions!!
If you aren't on FaceBook, don't worry!! After the mini-class is over, I will upload the video to my YouTube channel where you'll be able to view it.

Sew Home - Corded Throw Pillow & a Giveaway!

September 23, 2016 43 Comments

Land of Magic Quilt Sew Along: The Castle

September 20, 2016 2 Comments

Paperless Paper Piecing + Celestial Star QAL

October 30, 2015 3 Comments

Hi! I'm really excited to be Diane's guest and to share Paperless Paper Piecing with you. It's one of my favorite techniques. I hope you'll give it a try!

I love the precision of traditional paper piecing, but like some of you, I really don't enjoy tearing off all of the papers at the end. Over 10 years ago, my mom, Sharon Schamber, developed Paperless Paper Piecing, an amazing technique that gives...

The Power of Glue Basting - Back to School Blog Hop

September 27, 2015 6 Comments

Welcome! Today is my stop on the Back to School Blog Hop, organized by the wonderful Sam Hunter.

Today I'm going to give you a little "crash course" on glue basting - one of my favorite techniques for getting great results for many quilting and sewing projects.

What is glue basting, you ask? It's probably much like you imagine, but a lot less messy than you fear. Glue basting is a simple techinique...

Hunter's Design Studio Back to School Blog Hop

September 01, 2015

Hello! I'm so happy that you stopped by!

My wonderful friend, Sam Hunter, is hosting a fabulous Back to School Blog Hop, which is kicking off today. As all of our kiddos, and grand-kiddos, are heading back to school, Sam thought it would be great fun for us to head back too and brush up on some of our quilting skills as well as learn some new tips and tricks. Sam has put together a pretty fabulous...

Tiny Geese Keychain Pattern Review

July 09, 2015 1 Comment

Hello!

I'm so happy that you've found you're way here. Last month, I came across a fabulous pattern for a flying geese keychain and just had to make one. After making it, I couldn't wait to share it with you.

The Tiny Geese Keychain pattern is a simple and fun paper piecing pattern by Michael Ann Made. It's available in her pattern shop on Craftsy. Michael Ann includes a full tutorial with her pattern, as well. The tutorial is very well done, with step-by-step instructions and actual pictures of Michael Ann making a keychain right along with you.

After reading through the instructions, I wanted to try out something a little different than traditional paper piecing. While I really do enjoy paper piecing, I don't enjoy ripping off the papers in the end. So, I decided to use the wonderful foundation paper that I carry in my shop, Sharon's Secret Foundation Paper. Typically, it's used for applique, but both my mom and I often use it for foundation piecing as well. When it's used for foundaiton piecing, there's no need to tear it away in the end. The foundation can stay in! Once quilted and washed, the foundation paper loosens up and becomes small fibers in the body of the quilt, adding softness. You can learn more about using the foundation for quilt blocks in my String Block tutorial.

To use the foundation for the Tiny Geese Keychain, I cut the foundation to 8.5"x11" to make it easy to run through my printer and print the pattern. The foundation is really fabulous to print on! In the picture you'll see a piece of foundation cut to 8" for use in foundation piecing, as a reference. In addition to printing on the foundation, you can also draw on it with pencil. Another wonderful feature of the foundation paper is that it doesn't shrink as you sew on it. Often when foundation piecing with other foundations or muslin, you can experience some shrinkage as the stitching and pressing distorts and pulls in the fibers of the foundation. With Sharon's Secret Foundation you'll experience much more accuracy. In the end, the foundation can stay in and acutally replace the need for adding interfacing to the keychain.

After printing, you can follow Michael Ann's instructions for piecing together your own keychain.

Here are a few of my own tips and tricks for foundation piecing with the foundation paper:

1. Apply a bit of a glue stick to anchor piece #1 in place. Heat set with your iron to secure it in place.

2. To help achieve accurate placement of the pattern pieces, fold the piece along the first seam line to create a crease.

3. Draw a line of glue 1/8" (ish) below the crease. Keep in mind that the crease is your actual seam line.

4. Place piece two in its place and heat set. This glue basting and heat setting will keep piece #2 from shifting around as you move to sew at your machine. Don't worry, you're not sewing through the glue. And even if you did, the heat setting dries the glue and removes any gumminess. It's safer for your needle and machine than any fusible webbing.

5. Sew along the first seam line. I prefer to backstitch at the beginning and end of my seam.

6. Trim the seam allowance. This pattern is pretty tiny, so I trimmed my seam allowance to less than 1/4" to help alleviate bulk.

7. Press piece #2 over. Repeat each step for piece #3.

8. Fold along the long seam for the "geese" piece to create a crease.

9. Again, draw a fine line of glue below the crease.

10. Place the "geese" piece in its place and heat set.

11. Sew, trim and press the piece in place.

12. Continue glue basting and sewing each piece in its place until the pattern is completely filled in. Once sewn, there are no papers to tear away. Isn't that wonderful!! Simply trim the keychain according to Michael Ann's instructions, then add the backing and finish the ends as you like. If you use the foundation paper, you won't need to add any interfacing or batting. The foundation will make the keychain stable, but not overly stiff. It will feel wonderful in your hand.

I'm in love with my new keychain. Honestly, I don't make things for myself often enough, and I'll definitely be keeping my new purple Tiny Geese Keychain. I gave away the first one that I made, but I like it so much that I may need to make a duplicate.

I always love to see what you're creating. If you're on Instagram, use the hashtag #purpledaisiesquilting when you post a picture of something you've made that's been inspired from a tutorial here, or a design by me.

Happy Quilting!!
~Cristy

Machine Pieced Hexagon Tutorial

June 09, 2015 1 Comment

Hello! Welcome to Sew Much Like Mom! I'm honored to have you here.

I love hexagons, or as some fondly call them, "hexies". I love them pieced by hand. I love the big. I love them small. I love them in all sorts of colors and prints.

How to Spin Your Seams - Video Tutorial

September 17, 2014 11 Comments

Hi Everyone!

I have a brand new video tutorial showing you how to manage the seams of a block by nesting and spinning the seams. By nesting and spinning your seams, you'll have a block that not only looks wonderful but is strong and will quilt easily.

Glue Basting Basics

July 15, 2014

Easy Steps to Join Binding Strips

June 04, 2014 1 Comment

Have you watched, and tried my mom's amazing binding technique? Whether you love or dislike (maybe dislike a lot) sewing the binding onto your finished quilt, my mom's technique is life changing. My favorite part is the simple way she joins the strips of binding. In essence, the technique she uses is a simple version of Paperless Paper Piecing.

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Glue Basting