Laser cut kits

[Angelia S.]

I've purchased my first laser cut kit while on our Cruise in Alaska. I'm attempting to machine applique but oh boy what a nightmare. Really don't want to have to hand sew it. Anyone have any suggestions. Don't know that I'll ever buy another.

[wendy w.]

What's happened, I'd have thought it would be easier :?

[Hannelore N.]

I'm intrigued too. Please, explain.

And I'm sooooo jealous that you have been to Alaska. That's the one place on this earth I really, really would love to visit.

[Hannelore N.]

Yes, tell us what is going on that concerns you and we will try to help.

[Hannelore N.]

i thought it is even more precise then rottery cutter, please explain.
och, Alaska....(i assume only during the summer my dream to be there)

[Angelia S.]

I was excited to realize I wouldn't have to cut the pieces out and that they had the adhesive already. But, you still have to clip them out and the adhesive doesn't keep the pieces attached to the base. Trying to appliqué around the small pieces and there are many is the challenge. Anyway doing my best little by little. I'll try and post a picture.

[Jill B.]

That’s interesting as I was at a quilt retreat in Stroud Australia with Michele Hill who makes and sews patterns from the William Morris era so you have very small and slender pieces (flowers etc), the kit that we were sewing was already laser cut etc, I found the adhesive worked great and we had no problems at all, so it may mean that the fusible they use may not be that good.

Have you washed the backing fabric as I just thought that it may help with any chemicals washed out may then stick together better.

[Jill B.]

When you say 'the adhesive doesn't keep the pieces attached to the base' do you mean it is supposed to be sticky and it's not? So it doesn't stick well? Or do you mean after you have ironed it in place it is not sticking then or peeling up as you are stitching?

Some adhesives have a sort of tacky back that you can use to position on the backing fabric and it will stick a bit until you iron it in place. This lets you rearrange if needed before ironing. Others are just iron on. The temp of the iron and the length of time you heat the adhesive is very important. If the iron is too hot, it can melt the glue and then it won't stick well. If you over iron it, it can lose it's stickiness.

Did yours come with instructions as to how long to iron and at what temp? Does it say what kind of adhesive it is? (Wonder under, Heat and bond light, Steam a Seam, Steam a Seam II, etc). They all have their own instructions for proper sticking.

And sometimes, the kit is old and has been sitting on a shelf along time and the glue has 'aged' and it not quite as sticky as it should be. Hard to know if that is the case, and not much remedy if it is, except to do as you are doing - iron on a few at a time and stitch them down slowly. Oh, just another thought -- you could run a little bit of fabric glue under the edge of the ones that are not sticking. Just a thin line if it's liquid or just a dab if it's stick form. That will hold those edges down while you applique. You might want to check to see if the needle gets any residue on it and wipe it down once in a while. But that might help.

Good luck!

[Susan B.]

Just adding on a bit to Michelle''s excellent answer, I would starch the background fabric to assist with stitching around the pieces, a personal preference. It acts like a stabilizer.

Margo has a great video under this year's BOM, a video under April, that shows different stitches for applique.

If the pieces are not sticking at all, you can fuse them to MistyFuse and then iron them down. Use parchment paper (kitchen kind) to protect your iron and ironing surface.

I'm wondering if you just got laser cut pieces that have no adhesive at all on them. Do you have a company name?

[Susan B.]

How do you know the temperature of the iron? I called the mfg of my iron and they said that the "high" temp could be anywhere in the range of 50 degrees. That's a big range.

[Susan B.]

I don't know the exact temp of my iron but if the instructions say to use Medium heat or Cotton Setting or Polyester setting or High setting etc, then I'd make sure I did that. And they should say how long to hold the iron to it, and whether to use a press cloth (some want wet and some want dry). So following that brand's instructions are important.

For instance, I use Heat & Bond Lite often and have found that if you heat it too much, the glue will melt through to the other (front) side of the fabric you are fusing to, leaving a little shadowing. So I am careful not to exceed the time recommended, which if I remember correctly is about 8-10 seconds. Conversely, if you don't heat the glue long enough, you can see that it's still opaque and not clear, so then I give it a tad more. And if you way over do it, it can have a poor bond. But in general, I think whatever the name of the setting on your iron that corresponds to the instructions would be fine.

[Angelia S.]

Thank you all so much. Ay least now I know I. Not crazy. This is going to be a time consuming project for sure. Will post picture and product name.