Embroidery Glue, Ancient Light Pagan, Wiccan store, Oregon Coast

Introduction to Glues

glue pot Why GLUE for goodness sake! If we're doing embroidery shouldn't we be using mostly thread or wool or floss? Yes, mostly, but there are glues used for setting up your work, for making things permanent, for making items of the embroidered pieces, for construction and for mounting certain trims. I’m including under this heading various products that have glue as an integral part (like contact fabric, iron-on vinyl) or things that are of the same materials like wash-out basting thread that is made from a wash-out glue.

General guidelines

If you find a product that you like, let me know and I’ll add it. I’m only one person and haven’t had time yet to try them all. I’m also fallible. I make mistakes, too. I’ve tried to give accurate information here, but, as the car guys say, "Your mileage may vary"!
Something exists somewhere to fix every problem! There are a HUGE number of various fastening materials out there on the market. Keep looking.
Patch test EVERYTHING! Don’t just assume that the glue that works perfectly on one material works on them all. e.g.Fray-Chek yellows some linens, some spray glues don’t stick to all fabrics and some glues that are supposed to wash out turn the fabric color odd when you run them through the dryer. Use a corner or a scrap.
READ THE DIRECTIONS! The fine print on little bottles is a PAIN, but the information is there for good reason and magnifying glasses are cheap.

Hot glues

These require a glue gun or glue pot. Buy a glue gun and a stand at the same time, and also get a high-temp mat to catch drips for either gun or pot, or get used to a nasty mess that is a fire hazard. These usually are found in the vicinity of the glue guns in craft shops. Practice before you trust your good fabric or embroidery, as these take some time to get used to. You can also use these to fasten muslin down first and then stitch your good stuff to the muslin (my preferred method). Glue guns can cause lumps under fabric if you are not careful to smooth them out. Good ventilation is helpful, as these get stinky, in fact, I usually work with these outside.

High-temperature – These are cheap and readily available. They are a good construction glue for people who are careful. These glues work best for crafts that use wood or fabrics and some plastics. Don’t use these on plastic canvas, for instance, as it melts, as do some “silk” flowers that are actually polyester. They will occasionally melt other fabrics, too, although it depends a little on the user. They do not hold on metal, glass or glazed ceramics.

Low-temperature – Much of the same information as for hi-temp glues applies, although these are a little more expensive and can usually be used on any fabric or plastic and many shells. I recommend these for silk flowers.

Iron on – These are actually found in fabric departments along with the iron-on interfacings and such. Watch for sales when they are cheaper by the yard than in packages. Most of these are paper backed. The general method is to iron from the paper side onto the wrong side of the fabric and when it is generally stuck, flip things over and iron again. You can draw shapes on the paper and then cut them out and peel off the paper. Once the paper is gone you place the pieces right side up on the right side of whatever you’re trying to stick to and iron again. If you screw up, iron a lot more and the glue will melt far enough into the fabric that you can peel these back up. They leave a residue, though. This invention has made appliqué not only possible, but easy!

Hi-temp – If you're going to stitch through your appliqué, use this. Stitch-Witchery is a good brand.

Lo-temp – Don't try to stitch through these with a machine as the friction of the needle will cause things to heat up and the glue will "lift", gum up your needle and the thread will break. These are great for things that don't go through the dryer, like curtains, or for delicate fabrics. You can permanently fasten the edges of these down with fabric paint or washable glues. Heat-N-Bond is a good brand.

Iron-on fabrics – fabrics that already are glue-backed and just need to be peeled and ironed on. In other words step one of the above is done!

Heat-set liquid – Aleene's® has a new Liquid Fusible Web product that looks promising. It is a brush-on that you let dry and then set with a hot iron. I’ve had good results so far.

Tapes – These are just narrow strips of either of the above, used for fastening hems, ribbons and trims and small things where you don’t want to bother with a big chunk of fabric, or even to fill in that spot on the edge where you missed!. Sometimes these are paper-backed, sometimes not.

Iron-on tapes and patches – These is such a variety of these on the market that I can’t keep up with them. These range from the patches that Grandma ironed onto the knees of your jeans and appliqué shapes, to hem tape and seam binding. Some of the hem-tapes (Wrights is good!) make tailored hems a breeze, even if you stitch them as well, since they take the place of basting.

Iron-on vinyls and fabric laminate – Iron-on clear vinyl is a wonderful thing for making craft items that will stand up to kids or weather. Fabric laminate makes great quick and protected things like bookmarks and covers for recipe cards. Heat-N-Bond makes a good brand.

Room temperature glues

White glue – White glue is the same stuff that we used in school. It dries clear and washes out of fabric after soaking. It doesn’t stain or yellow fabric (usually) although after several years, some yellowing does begin to take place. This is an all around glue for all kinds of purposes. It can be diluted, too. Elmer’s School glue is the usual one that you find, but Alene's tacky glue® is also good for purposes that require a less runny glue.

Glue sticks – These are good for paper stuff or quick layout type purposes on fabric, but the glue sometimes will clump and/or not wash out. I've had different results even with sticks out of the same box, so I don’t know how to predict this.

Wash-out glues – White glues wash out after soaking, but there are some glues that are intended specifically for this purpose and don’t even take soaking. Watch for yellowing, particularly on nylon and glues that “lift” when the humidity is high.

Permanent washable glues – These glues stay put when they are run through the washer and dryer.

Fabri-tac® – This is a quick drying "contact cement" for fabric. It yellows some fabrics and when what's in the bottle gets old you might not want to use it on white.
Gem-tac® & Alene’s Jewel-it® – These are intended to hold sequins, rhinestones and other such embellishments to fabric. These are, essentially, a puff fabric paint without the pigment, and have all the problems associated with fabric paints, i.e., they will crack and peel when washed if not properly applied. They will also do this over time when washed and dried.

Fray-chek® – The stuff is a counted thread embroiderer's friend. Since proper embroidery in this style doesn’t require knots, it helps to have something that will "nail down" the thread ends and prevent them turning into miniature pompoms with use and to keep ends from "walking" out from under the stitches. This is a dilute glue that works for this purpose. Don’t use it on most linens as the spot where it is applied will yellow noticeably. Also, do any necessary laundering before application, as this will set stains and make dirt and grease permanent where-ever applied.

tacky stuff – Contact cement still works best, although there are hundreds of brands. Some of these are special purpose, like Tandy Leather Co.’s leather glue.

Spray glues – There are large numbers of these on the market. Most of the "spray and lift" variety work fairly well, but read the labels. Most take GOOD ventilation to be non-dangerous.

Stiffening – Of course, the traditional stiffener for fabric is boiled starch. I grew up doing this for our family ethnic costumes and I can tell you I’m glad that there are other products out there, now! Hot and messy is the word on this, but if the piece that you’re stiffening is going to be worn, you're going to have to wash it, and this works better than anything else I've tried, if you need to have something very stiff. It washes out clean and gets things to the consistency of shirt cardboard. Stiffy® is another product that get things really stiff, but I've had mixed results with washing it out. Of course, if you're making something that won’t be worn, go for it! Of course, diluted white glue has been used for years, (I made cheesecloth Halloween ghosts with this in 1st grade!) but it isn’t a stiff as Stiffy® and it takes longer to dry if you get it a little thick. Spray starch works for light stiffening. There are all kinds of brands out there, though Stiffy® and the new Alene's Stiffen® are two of the most accessible.

Metal glues – I've been told E600 is great for this, but I've never tried it! If you have, let me know what you've found. I also found a product called Crafters' Goop that looks promising so far.

Post-it type glue – Did you ever dream about turning fabric into a Post-it? Alene’s Tack-it Over and Over® does this!