Using fusible batting for a whole quilt

[Juliet W.]

I am about to use fusbile batting for a quilt for the first time. What I have is Hobbs Fusible batting. Obviously I know it has to be ironed on but I am wondering if anyone with experience of this has special tips. Surely it is awkard to do it on an ironing board? So perhaps I should cover my quilt table with towels. Do I have to make a quilt sandwich, supposedly yes or the other side will stick to another surface that is not my quilt. Maybe I should use huge stitches to attach both top and back then iron it on my ironing board? See? I have no idea how to go about this! HELP!

[Diana L.]

I use Hobbs 80/20 Fusible all the time. I love it. I have a large table to work on. I iron the backing on to the batting first. It doesn't stick to my table. Then I turn it over and iron the top on, making the quilt sandwich. I do safety pin around the edges but it doesn't have to be close, just enough to keep the edges secure. It's probably not necessary. That's just my personal preference. If you make a mistake, get your layers crooked, iron in a pleat, it's easy to correct. Just pull the fabric off the batting and start over. Hope that helps.

[Juliet W.]

That's very helpful, thank you. I never imagined you could do one side at a time! How hot do you have your iron, I have to dig my batting out of the top of a closet but whatever the instructions I am interested to know what you do?

[Diana L.]

I put my iron on the cotton setting and I use steam. I haven't looked at the instructions in a long time. I use so much that I now buy it by the roll instead of individual quilt size packages. I was wasting too much and it's more economical cutting just what I need off the roll. Something to keep in mind if you think you'll use it a lot. Good luck. Let me know how it works for you.

[Juliet W.]

More and more interesting! Steam - I am surprised, what a good thing I put my question out there. Thanks so much for all the helpful info.

[Diana L.]

I decided to try not using steam this time to see if there was a difference. It fuses much better. Then I remembered the trouble I had with my old iron. Because the selection dial would no longer move, I left it on cotton setting with water in it for steam and had to unplug it to turn it off. I would have had to dump the water out every time I wanted no steam. Now I have a new working iron so I have options. I was using the steam with the fusible batting out of habit until you asked the question. Thank you.