I'm interesting in doing more art quilting/applique. I read many positive things about Misty Fuse, and I thought that I would give it a try. I bought ten yards of it (20" wide). Seems like alot, but it is gossamer! So it it comes in a smallish package that is still light as a feather.
There are many things to like about it as was reading on line. And while many use it for art quilting and applique (and indeed that was the genesis of my interest), all I could think about was..."Hmm, this would be good for quilt basting." I followed up with doing a search.
I found one blog where there was an older post, where the blogger used the entire package of Misty Fuse on a quilt. The Quilt Skipper, wrote a thoughtful post here. This method uses squares placed fist width apart.
💡My own idea *hypothesis* about it was to cut 1/2 width strips and ladder them. I had 4 baby quilt tops made that needed to be sandwich-ed up! I use a homemade basting spray (HBS) that I originally found on California Quilts. It is inexpensive and pretty effective. I cannot compare it to the commercial basting spray, because I'm too cheap to buy such.
Using the HBS, I spray the batting, and then I iron to dry it. Occasionally, I'll 'reinforce' with some dabs of Elmer's washable school glue. It takes a lot of ironing to dry it out. It is time consuming.
I decided to give my Mistyfuse quilt basting hypothesis a test on the baby quilt tops that I had fastened to my design wall. (All 4 of them). I cut my strips 1/2" wide. Beginning at the edge of the quilt top, I laid them out lengthwise with each subsequent row about 3-4" below the next.
While Mistyfuse has "Goddess Sheets" that are teflon-coated fiberglass, I elected to get the cheaper ones from Amazon. I got 10 large sheets for $16--a fraction of the cost of one Goddess Sheets. I found these sheets to be perfect for my intended use. They also make a great regular ole pressing sheet. They are NOT waterproof, which means steam will go through them. (But you don't use steam with misty fuse).
My quilt top was easily secured. I did same with the back. I then quilted my quilt. My batting allows a 10" gap between seams. My blocks are 6" finished, so I just quilted in the ditch. These are baby quilts meant to be cute and functional. So I don't spend a lot of time doing any fancy quilting.
Using Mistyfuse allowed my quilt finishing to be both quick and enjoyable. Because of its gossamer qualities, the feel of the quilt is not altered either for your hand or your sewing. Because of its gossamer properties, it can float about, and it is hard to see!
Binding: I do not hand sew my quilt binding. Rather, I attach the binding to the back, and then pull it around to the front. I then use a reversed blanket stitch. I really like the look of it and it beautifully holds down the edge. I adopted the method after tiring of binding on the back not getting caught etc. Sewing on the front, I KNOW that all of the edges are perfectly stitched down. I used Mistyfuse to adhere the binding onto the front. It took time, but I had a much more satisfactory effort. The binding attached flat and securely.
I've plenty of product left. But I did spring for a 100 yard roll! I was so delighted that I was able to complete 4 quilt tops without any muss or fuss. The 10 yard roll cost 30% more than the 100 yard roll. I'll take that $70 savings, though it is an expensive outlay initially.
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