I got my April/May 2012 Quilting Arts Magazine in the mail yesterday, and quickly flipped through it to find my “Quilt Queen.” Rather self-centered, I know! But, I confess, it is always fun to see something you’ve done in print. Now that I’ve seen for myself that it’s really there, I can take my time to read the rest of the magazine. There are always such terrific articles and such amazing artists! And this particular issue focuses on one of my favorite topics: color.
I had so much fun while making Quilt Queen. I set a goal for myself to make the entire quilt without using any fusibles or even straight pins. I actually used this as my excuse to experiment with several different glue sticks because I wanted to see if there was one that I liked better. In addition to Lapel Stick, I chose Dritz Fabric Glue Stick and Fons & Porter Water-Soluble Fabric Glue Stick. Since I hear of people using regular glue sticks intended for paper, I also included Crayola Washable Glue Stick and Avery Permanent Glue Stic. Due to space limitations, my article focused on just Lapel Stick, so I’ll go a little more into the comparisons here.
All of the glue sticks were about the same consistency and generally seemed to work equally well, but the Avery Glue Stic seemed to be “goopier” and did not hold as well as the fabric glue sticks.
The Fons & Porter product is tinted blue, and the color disappears in about five minutes when the glue has dried. It has the added benefit of being slimmer, about 3/8” diameter instead of 5/8” diameter. It is also refillable.
One issue I wanted to explore was washability. With the exception of the Avery product, all of the others are labeled as washable. I interpret that as meaning they are temporary adhesives, which just hold things in place until everything is permanently attached in some other way. I was also curious about what would happen if they were ironed, so I heat-set half of my sample for 60 seconds, and threw the whole thing in the washer and dryer.
I was pleased that all of the products completely washed away and the two pieces of fabric separated just as expected. On the heat-set side, however, four of the five products discolored the fabric ever so slightly wherever the glue stick was directly applied to the backside of the fabric. The front of the fabric was unaffected. Most of the marks were faint but the Crayola glue stick was definitely was the most noticeable. Only Avery Glue Stic did not change the fabric color. So, be sure to test your product first if you will be ironing your project. Every product seems to have advantages and disadvantages.
Flipping through the magazine some more, I laughed when I saw that they used an image of Quilt Queen next to my profile in the front of the magazine.
And I want to thank Eleanor for writing a letter to the editor about liking my review of fabric markers. Thanks!
Comments
5 responses to “Product review: Lapel Stick”
I think there’s a similarity between you and Quilt Queen. Don’t you think? You would have blue hair if you could wouldn’t you?
It’s true! If I wasn’t such a chicken, I would dye my hair blue 🙂 I don’t do the make up and fake eyelashes, though!
I had the magazine on my desk but hadn’t looked at it yet so of course I had to read your article right now. And now I can’t wait to try using this product as I do a lot of fusing and it does take time.
And I did notice that your hair (and face) are blue in your self portrait.
I guess I had an earlier delivery of QA, read your article several days ago, and already have a question. Did u purchase any Lapel Stick locally? If so, where did u find it? I have been using Roxanne’s Glue Baste for many years with great success. Made a great gift for several friends . I’ve glued a lot with it on many fabric/ fiber surfaces. I hate putting in zippers , so Glue Baste them onto the fabric. Pins kind of move as u stitch and give u a wobbly line, but not with this. It is great to applique with and affix 1 fabric to another and get perfect points. A tiny drop is sufficient. Have even used it to hold batting to fabric. A bottle lasts for years.
For the article, I got my glue sticks directly from Lapel Stick, but since then I have heard that they should be available through JoAnn Fabrics. Sounds like I’ll have to give Roxanne’s a try, too!