Once Upon A Time
When preparing our quilt sandwich we once used safety pins. In putting a queen sized quilt together we'd use 300-400 pins. The backing needed to be secured down with bulldog clips or sticky tape, then we'd add the wadding and quilt top, then pin. It’s was a chore which took hours of time.
Once the pinning task was complete it was time to start machine quilting. Unfortunately all those safety pins added a lot of extra weight, tended to catch on things and stopped the quilt from moving freely. And all those safety pins that were put in, now have to come out as you quilt your quilt.
The Newer, Smarter, Easier Way!
That is all in the past because a wonderful product has come along, that makes it possible to temporarily attach top and bottom fabric to the wadding just by ironing, eliminating the need for basting. Hobbs has taken their best selling batting, Heirloom Cotton (80% cotton / 20% polyester) and added the convenience of making it fusible. With Hobbs fusible wadding you don’t have to waste time pinning your quilt sandwich together. Your hands and back will thank you. And this wadding quilts like a dream.
Hobbs uses state of the art technology to apply a light fusible to the surface of the batt. The fusible is light enough to re-position and re-fuse, should you need to, but heavy enough to allow you to fuse your layers, thereby reducing the time consuming task of basting. The fusible layer washes out when the quilt is laundered. It is receommended that the first wash be done in cold water only with no added detergents.
How To Use Hobbs Fusible Wadding
When you purchase the wadding, you'll notice that it's folded. Just get your hands between the layers and split the layers. Lay it out flat and let it rest for a few hours before you actually do anything with it.
To make your quilt sandwich, lay the backing on a table, no stretching or taping is needed. Then lay the wadding on top of the backing and smooth it out, then lay the quilt top on top of that. With your iron set on a dry cotton setting, start from the middle and iron to the outside edge. Use an even circular motion and keep the iron moving to avoid scorching the quilt. Once the right side is finished, flip it over, straighten the backing if necessary and iron the other side. You are now ready to quilt.
Helpful Tips
If it doesn't stick, it means that you're ironing across the surface too fast.
If you have to reposition everything on the table make sure to keep everything flattened out.
As you've been ironing the front, some of your backing may have stuck to the wadding. If you find it has and you've got any little puckers in it, just get your hand in between the layers and split them apart and flatten out the backing. The fusible is light enough to reposition and refuse if you need to. When you've done that, if it's a really big quilt, put a few safety pins around the outside edge. Then just pick it up and go straight to the machine.
First, anchor down all your sashings and borders by machine stitching-in-the-ditch. Then you can move anywhere over the quilt surface.
Why Would We Use Anything Else?
This soft and flexible wadding won't pill through your fabric, quilts up beautifully and you'll find it's warm in the winter and cool in the summer. You save time because you don't have to pin and with no safety pins there is a lot less bulk to move about while quilting. It can be repositioned and ironed again and again.
Fusible Wadding Vs Fusible Sprays
When we discovered Hobbs Fusible Wadding we got rid of those cans of smelly, sticky sprays which we never quite came to like anyhow. Recently we read some new research about the long term effects fusible products may have on fabric art work, such as quilts which has made us very glad we don't use the sprays.
Experiments were conducted at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln to find out what effect fusible sprays, webs and battings will have on quilts over time. Using various methods to accelerate aging they looked for occurrences of discoloration, yellowing, strength loss, bleed through, stiffening and color changes. Major brands of fusible products were studied including Hobb's fusible wadding.
It was very reassuring to read in the report that fusible batting products did not deteriorate or cause deterioration in quilts and it was concluded that they were safe for even heirloom quilts that you expect to be passed down through generations. The results for fusible sprays and fusible webs were rather disturbing. The fusible sprays were deemed unacceptable while the fusible webs that were evaluated were said to be okay for quilts intended to last for 10 to 20 years, but could not be recommended for quilts intended to be handed down from generation to generation or for studio art quilts intended for sale.
You can read the full report here.