Fusible Problems

[Karen M.]

I have been doing fusible applique for some time and have tried many different kinds of fusible....for example: Steam-a-Seam 2 lite, Pellon fusible lite and Heat & Bond lite. I like Heat & Bond lite because it rarely comes apart on me and never wrinkles up at odd times. However I find with all of them my BSR skips stitches and when I free motion quilt the needle lifts the fabric up and I get messy stitches. My question is - does anyone know if I am doing something wrong and how do I solve this problem. I have fiddled with tensions, changed threads in different combinations and still have this nerve wracking problem. Is there a better product out there that I am unaware of? Help please. ops: ops:

[Margo C.]

Karen, I don't like the stiffness that I get with fusibles. I'm no longer a member of the Sharon Schamber network, but think it was there that I saw raw edge applique done with Liquid Stitch. She drew the shape on the back of the fabric, ran a bead of Liquid Stitch along the drawn line and used her finger to flatten the bead of glue along the line. She let the glue dry then cut out the shape along the drawn line (which should now have some dried glue on both sides of the line). After positioning the shape on the background, she heat set the shape, causing the glue to bond to the background fabric. In theory, the glue should keep the raw edges from fraying, but they still need to be top stitched. I haven't tried it yet, but definitely will!

[Margo C.]

I've used the SaS2 Lite and the Heat and Bond (your hint on Facebook!!) . I have a more stable product in the Heat and Bond but I like the stickability of the SaS2 lite.

I have just done quite a bit of work with it with no problems, including the portrait of my daughter. I did that the Pam Holland way and used a 60 needle with YLI invisible thread. Have you tried a smaller needle that won't pick up the fabric so much? I didn't use the BSR though but I was able to go a fair speed.

[Karen M.]

Margo...I have seen and used some of Sharon Schambers glue technique in the past....I like that also...works well. But when I do lot of hand painting and colored pencil work I have to heat set things,,,then after a while the fusible gives up and no longer sticks. So I have learned (not soon enough)that I can't over iron over fusible.
Amo....I still like Heat & Bond but see what I wrote about over ironing it above. Lesson learned. And I am going to try to use a finer needle tonight when I sew a bit more on the present piece. Steam a Seam is nice, but when it come apart from over handling it drives me crazy.
Thanks for the comments Gals....I appreciate it lots.

[Teri L.]

Any fusible will come apart with over handling - over heating. It's just not meant for that. I understand that the painting and colored pencils need to be heat set to prevent smudging is there a way to do a majority of the painting first, heat set that then go back and do all of the fusing and stitching.
I know with SaS 2 lite I can temporarily adhere by just pressing with my warm hand, make any adjustments needed, then press the whole thing together.
Have you tried Misty Fuse?

Teri

[Karen M.]

Teri...I haven't tried Misty Fuse ..yet. I have some and when I get going on my next project I will. I agree that the heat setting of the pencils and pens have probably caused the glue disappearance...after much thought about what was different this time....I have simply overworked it with the iron. I think next time I will have to be much more careful with that. Less Iron and more careful. Thanks for your tips....appreciate each one. I'll comment about the Misty Fuse when I get there.

[Karen M.]

I recently used misty fuse and I like the way it feels behind the applique...it is not stiff and unyielding, but, it didn't hold the edges down as well as I thought it should. Drop of glue took care of that though and I didn't get that grab and pull up while stitching over it and I did do some thread painting on that piece. I still havn't found that perfect fusible yet. Sandi in FL

[Karen M.]

That good old drop of glue has helped me out a lot on the piece I am working on right now. Many edges lifted up as I have been stuffing the bulk under the needle to do the thread painting. 3/4th of this work is done and then I can put the fusing thing behind me on this project. Lots of lessons learned on this one.

[Barbara C.]

My favorite is Shades SoftFuse.

http://www.shadestextiles.com


Barbara