Erin Underwood Quilts

Finally, I have proven to myself why I don’t want to use basting spray in my quilts.  I have a can of basting spray, June Tailor’s Quilt Basting Spray, that I bought at JoAnn’s a year ago for a class. So we used it in class – or I should say, out in the back yard. We took our fabric and batting outside where there was a table covered with newspaper, laid everything out on that and sprayed away (following the manufacturer’s instructions, of course). Then we trekked back in to finish the project, which was a sweat shirt jacket, by the way.

So when I’m teaching Machine Quilting 101 this is the only experience I can truly talk about although I do state that I am not confident about using it in my quilts. Another tidbit I pass on to everyone is that I have heard that Sulky’s basting spray with the green cap will not gum up your needle – overheard that in a class somewhere, I think.

But the other day, my husband and I were trying to fix a most unusual problem with his over-driven, over-aged truck. The fabric on the ceiling was drooping in the center of his truck ceiling. In addition, it was coming unattached at the windshield, falling down and blocking his view. The particularly odd thing about it all was as he drove along and the cab of the truck warmed up, the fabric would retract, lifting back into place on the ceiling.

I had the great idea of taking this basting spray and spraying it up between the layer of fabric and the formed fiberboard that provided insulation between the cab and the metal top of the truck.  I know, I know, its basting spray, right, so it probably won’t be permanent but I wasn’t telling him that. I was just hopeful that it would stick!

We peeled back the fabric a bit and attempted to spray between the layers. When that was not too successful, I actually held the fabric away from the ceiling and my husband sprayed. This technique enabled him to get a good coating on the fabric as well as my hands!! We stuck the fabric to the ceiling – it felt rather damp but it stayed well enough to see where we were going for the day.

But here’s what convinced me that basting spray is not for me. I went inside to wash my hands since they were covered just about as well as the ceiling of the truck. I rinsed with warm water. I used dish soap. I used the scrubby thing for pans. Nothing worked! In order to get this stuff off my hands I had to resort to Goo Gone which was probably just one step up from the fingernail polish remover I was contemplating using next.

If you go to the June Tailor site for this stuff, it specifically states that you can wash this glue out of your quilt in the washing machine with detergent or you may have to dry clean your quilt if it isn’t all cotton. There were no instructions on how to remove it from skin but hey, if laundry detergent works,  shouldn’t  Dawn Dish Soap?

They have not been completely honest with me about this so I’m not ever using it on one of my quilts! That sweatshirt jacket is finished but its too ugly to wear so I don’t have to worry about the glue in that thing! My husband’s truck – well, it didn’t last. It is basting spray after all. I think it couldn’t handle the temperature changes so we just stapled the fabric up – worked like a charm!

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