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Member since 6/17/12
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Posted on: 1/23/21 2:29 PM ET
So a few months ago I posted asking for techniques to help with the curved hem on a Jalie Marie-Claude knit top. I used wonder tape back then.

FFWD to present, and I am having a bit of a Marie-Claude fest at the moment, it’s such a great pattern and fits so well and I have realised how much cosier a turtle-neck is. In the meantime I have had a small dabble (yeah, very small, that itch has been scratched now...) in english paper piecing and have been using a fabric glue stick to baste the hexies. And OMG, does that thing make shaping a curved hems a total breeze! I wouldn’t want to use it for everything but for smooshing and fixing a small tricky area it is fab!
  
Member since 3/24/04
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Posted on: 1/23/21 3:20 PM ET
In reply to FatMog
I use the liquid, white (PVA) Elmer's school glue rather than glue stick for this sort of thing -- you might want to give that a try, too.
  
Member since 3/24/04
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Posted on: 1/23/21 3:20 PM ET
In reply to FatMog
duplicate
-- Edited on 1/24/21 at 8:35 PM --
  
Member since 6/5/20
Posts: 1873
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Posted on: 1/23/21 6:49 PM ET
In reply to kayl
If you have posted this as a tip on PR, would you please show a link. I've heard about using school paste or white glue but don't know much else. Thank you
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Muslins are the sketches of sewing. I sketch a lot... and now I finish things, too.
Learn something new every day.
  
Member since 3/24/04
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Posted on: 1/23/21 7:18 PM ET
In reply to Rima
I haven't. I got one of the early glue sticks, and it was probably dried out, because it left little lumps of glue and also distorted cut edges. So I reached for a bottle of Elmer's School Glue and decided I liked it better. I think the first thing I did with it was turning a narrow, curved hem... that did not go so well until I got my iron, set to very low heat (about "nylon") involved. Open the schnoz of the bottle enough to get tiny drops of glue, and space a line if dots about 1/5-1/4" apart on the hem to be turned for about 6". Turn the hem over, and place the iron over the turned section, then do the next, sliding the iron along as you work, which dries the glue.

I also used it to replace a curved zipper in a tent... someone had ripped the old zipper out, and I wanted to make sure the new zipper set right, so I glued all 6 ft of it in with School Glue, then stitched it. Didn't want to have to rip that puppy out and start over.

Also useful for gluing down trims before you stitch them, or glue-stiffening ribbon for machine embroidery... I used to make my MILs nightgowns and robes, and would embroider her name on satin ribbon labels in the back neck.

The other big use I have had for School Glue is as a temporary stabilizer for things like buttonholes... I've just smeared it on plackets and worked it into the fabric with my fingers and let it dry, then made the buttonholes. Haven't had to do that since getting my Juki F600, but it helped keep me frustrations down with my old Viking.

Perfect Sew fabric stabilizer is pretty much the same idea as School Glue, but more $
https://www.palmerpletsch.com/product/perfect-sew-fabric-stabilizer-combo/

  
Member since 3/2/15
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Posted on: 1/24/21 11:24 AM ET
In reply to kayl
Interesting use of Elmers. I have the try the ribbon embroidery technique you described.
  
Member since 2/9/04
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Posted on: 1/24/21 5:24 PM ET
I have used Elmers washable glue sticks for 15-20 years and swear by them. I went thru a ton of them this summer making pleated face masks. No pinning, so no pins to remove while sewing. They are great for "hoopless" machine embroidery instead of the spray adhesive that goes everywhere and never comes off the doorknobs, etc. Zippers are so easy with glue sticks. Affixing buttons when using my machine to sew them on. The list goes on. I really should buy stock in the company. LOL
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iPad's auto-correct is my enema.
  
Member since 10/28/20
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Posted on: 1/24/21 5:35 PM ET
In reply to kayl
That's really interesting, especially the bit about stabilizing buttonholes. It never would have occurred to me, but now I'm going to have to try it. I've experimented a bit with Elmer's, mostly on cotton wovens, but have been hesitant to try it on anything else. Are there any fabrics you wouldn't use it on? I'm concerned mostly about it staining and/or not washing out of more delicate fabrics
  
Member since 4/21/13
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Posted on: 1/24/21 5:41 PM ET
In reply to Doris W. in TN
I use them when sewing knits, such as glue the hem first, then sew it with a double needle. I stock up during sales or at "back to school time" when they cost about $2 or $3 for a pack of 7.
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So many books, so little time; and even more fabric, and even less time
  
Member since 3/24/04
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Posted on: 1/24/21 5:43 PM ET
In reply to Threecentsworth
I don't work with many delicate fabrics, but I would use it on anything that's going to do in the wash... so not woolens, or specialty silks that have to go to the dry cleaner, but just about anything else.
  
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