I call myself a "serial glue baster". I am also a disciple working to advance the doctrines proposed by The Church of the Perfect Seam. It meets anytime you are at your sewing station!
For any blocks that you may wish to press open, not a good option. I rarely press seams open, but sometimes not feasible not to on certain constructions. Amazon has stainless tipped glue bottles at a good price. This method is SO effective, that if you are not careful, you may have a block that is glued but not sewn! The speed and accuracy achieved by consistently using this method cannot be overstated. I have never had any problem with my machine or my needles though I have seen some express concerns about this.
Glue basting offers many benefits over pins.
- You can pre-prep blocks for sewing. It may seem like more time up front, but you can sew much more efficiently and accurately. Nothing is going to shift, but you still have to mind the seam.
- Because you have glued v. pinned, you will not prick yourself nor will your blocks stick together.
- Another great benefit of glue basting is that the glue stabilizes biased seams. Impossible for them to stretch during normal handling/sewing.
- Fabric will not be distorted by pins. You can also match all your points perfectly. I take pins and put them perpendicular through what needs to match on my ironing surface (padded), and then glue.
Flying Geese Construction Modification: I recently modified my 4 @ a time Flying Geese construction. (I use Deb Tucker's Wing Clipper and oversize slightly/trim down method). I run a wavy glue line (inside the seam allowance on the diagonal of the big block), and place my two corner blocks on. Then...I slice it on the diagonal BEFORE I sew it. Yep...It makes them very fast to sew with accurate seam allowance. The glue ensures that the bias is stabilized and that your pieces are perfectly in situ from your stack to under your needle. Give it a try on your next project (on a test block). (If you don't do a wavy line, you may not have enough glue on either side of the diagonal to keep blocks in situ. TOO wide, and you will have to spritz to release the 2nd over seam that is glued beyond the thread!
When it is time to add the final block, I run a diagonal wavy glue line again, place the 3rd block and then slice on the diagonal. I can stack 2 at a time accurately and cut them.
I create a large stack to sew this way and then zoom, zoom zoom at the machine. Perfect seams. Perfect trim. Perfect Geese.
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