glue experiment

[hanikac]

Has anyone tried putting glue on a finished design to stiffen it? I was wondering what would happen so I tried it on a small piece of leftover fabric after I stitched a little design on it.

It turned out quite stiff, which I liked, but it would be hard to sew through it after if you needed to, and there was that plastic film on the side from laying in the glue. Maybe I'll try this again and see if it's better with some glue brushed on and left to hang. I wonder if the colors would run. They didn't seem to bleed on this one.
Just thought I'd share my little experiment...

[Busy_B]

I haven't tried this, but there is also a product (I think it's still around) that is used for stiffening fabrics. It's Aleene's Fabric Stiffener. I've used it on some lace and string projects. I have not tried it on colors so I don't know if it will cause bleeding. It says that it is a good alternative to starch or sugar-water stiffeners. Here's the product description from the Joann's website.

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp? ... rce=search" target="_blank

[Mabel Figworthy]

I have heard of brushing with white glue (which dries transparent) in order to waterproof stitching -- would this work for that?

Thanks for trying the experiment!

[coffee_freak]

i glue the backs to stiffen sometimes for cards...and also to make sure any loose threads stay under stitching and not poking into the bare fabric.

[Serinde]

What an interesting idea. I've always used iron-on vilene (which comes in different weights) to stiffen a project on the occasions it's necessary. I wonder if diluted PVC (dries clear) would work?

[Becca]

I accidentally dropped some glue on a cross stitch card i was making, you definitely can't stitch through it afterwards, and it makes the colours darker, but it does make the fabric very stiff.

[Rose]

The only thing I would worry about is if it might yellow over time.

[Mabel Figworthy]

Well, I did read about it in Jane Greenoff's cross stitch mag, I suppose she would have tried it first to see whether it "wears" well -- but as she won't have tested it over, say, a 25 year period (at least I doubt that she did ) there is definitely a risk that you can't tell what it'll do in the long run. Definitely not for water-proofing heirlooms!

Edited
As I remember it was suggested as a method of making fridge magnets stiffer and wipeable, so definitely not the heirloom category

[coffee_freak]

if you get acid free glue..what's used for scrapbooking..won't yellow.
at least that's the claim.

and i only glue on the back. the top stays nice and soft..the back is stiff.

[hanikac]

Thanks for sharing the tips, everyone! I'll have to remember all this for future projects...

[crossstitchpro]

Thanks for experimenting and all the input. Very interesting....
I agree about heirloom quality projects...use tried and true techniques with them.
I'm a fiber/sewing person, so I don't automatically think of glue. I think of thread and/or iron-on interfacing and adhesive.

Lori