Wednesday, May 25, 2005
The Glue Stick
I have all types of sewing "handy helpers". Some, I have not used more than once, others I use a lot.. but the one that tops my list for multi-purpose, quick-fix, life-saver, is the Glue Stick! I buy them by the dozen from Nasco. No joke. I have them all over the house.
I remember the days before Glue Stick came into my life the things I would try...
Pins: That is all I knew about when I first started teaching myself to sew. Of course, I still use these..I think I have about ten different kinds in the drawer. My favorite are long silk glass head, they are hard to find but soooo worth it. Anyone who has melted a plastic pin head with their iron will tell you... get the glass.
Wash away glue: in the bottle... ah no. Oh I have some of this. And I have used it... think about kindergarten when it was fun to have to roll the glue off your fingers and someone else cleaned up after you. It is so much quicker to pin and hand baste than to use this stuff.
Permanet fabric glue: good for hats, not for clothes.
Stitch witch: It came in a roll like tape, it was fuseable webbing, you can get it in the sheet now. Get it on your iron and you will be sorry. I'm still not sure what this stuff is really good for.. it shows up on the outside of your fabric and it doesn't really hold. You save more time just sewing whatever it is.
Tape: clear, masking, double sticky, the tiny kind that is only 1/4 inch wide... All still good, but my iron hates it and machine needles don't like it much either, and you have to remember to remove before washing. Which, I never forgot to take off before washing until I got used to using the Glue Stick and ran out of it.
Wash away thread: Now this IS a nifty item.. If you get some, don't forget to keep it in a zip baggie, even moisture in the air is bad for it. The down side... you are still sewing the extra step and if sewing by hand you can't lick to thread or to knot. Also, you can't wash it away on fabric that can't be washed. What's it good for? Think hand gathers, multiple layers and quarter marking elastic.
Then there is the Glue Stick: It's Cheap, dries fast, dries clear, and washes out. You can get it in most stores. If your kids or pets eat it they won't get sick. Between two layers of fabric your dry iron won't even know its there. If your forget and steam it , it washes off your iron with water.
The sergers friend. It'll make you like putting zippers in, even long and invisible ones. Pocket placement, lace overlays, bias tape and blanket binding, interfacing, ric rac, and strap placement. For fabric that is not pin friendly try the glue stick. For little pieces that are hard to pin, glue stick it. Glue Stick will hold just about anything sewable long enough for you to sew it down,on, or together. Oh, I could go on and on.
Ok, so it won't solve world hunger, and you will still have to hand baste and pin. But it will save you time. Get a stick and see what it will do for your sewing.
I remember the days before Glue Stick came into my life the things I would try...
Pins: That is all I knew about when I first started teaching myself to sew. Of course, I still use these..I think I have about ten different kinds in the drawer. My favorite are long silk glass head, they are hard to find but soooo worth it. Anyone who has melted a plastic pin head with their iron will tell you... get the glass.
Wash away glue: in the bottle... ah no. Oh I have some of this. And I have used it... think about kindergarten when it was fun to have to roll the glue off your fingers and someone else cleaned up after you. It is so much quicker to pin and hand baste than to use this stuff.
Permanet fabric glue: good for hats, not for clothes.
Stitch witch: It came in a roll like tape, it was fuseable webbing, you can get it in the sheet now. Get it on your iron and you will be sorry. I'm still not sure what this stuff is really good for.. it shows up on the outside of your fabric and it doesn't really hold. You save more time just sewing whatever it is.
Tape: clear, masking, double sticky, the tiny kind that is only 1/4 inch wide... All still good, but my iron hates it and machine needles don't like it much either, and you have to remember to remove before washing. Which, I never forgot to take off before washing until I got used to using the Glue Stick and ran out of it.
Wash away thread: Now this IS a nifty item.. If you get some, don't forget to keep it in a zip baggie, even moisture in the air is bad for it. The down side... you are still sewing the extra step and if sewing by hand you can't lick to thread or to knot. Also, you can't wash it away on fabric that can't be washed. What's it good for? Think hand gathers, multiple layers and quarter marking elastic.
Then there is the Glue Stick: It's Cheap, dries fast, dries clear, and washes out. You can get it in most stores. If your kids or pets eat it they won't get sick. Between two layers of fabric your dry iron won't even know its there. If your forget and steam it , it washes off your iron with water.
The sergers friend. It'll make you like putting zippers in, even long and invisible ones. Pocket placement, lace overlays, bias tape and blanket binding, interfacing, ric rac, and strap placement. For fabric that is not pin friendly try the glue stick. For little pieces that are hard to pin, glue stick it. Glue Stick will hold just about anything sewable long enough for you to sew it down,on, or together. Oh, I could go on and on.
Ok, so it won't solve world hunger, and you will still have to hand baste and pin. But it will save you time. Get a stick and see what it will do for your sewing.
