I've finally gotten on to quilting my Batch of Brownies quilt. It's been such a long time because I decided that because of the stretchy linen it would have to be spray basted and then I discovered that the supposedly super-awesome 505 spray that everyone talks about isn't the easiest to find here - if you're lazy like me. Some quilt shops carry it sometimes, but not always, and the one online place I found it here wanted to charge some insane amount of postage, and another .co.nz site I found that looked amazingly cheap instead directed me to Fabric.com when I clicked on the 'buy now' button and the amazing price was in US dollars and before shipping - WTF is up with that? There is only so much time I will spend trying to track a product down though, so I kind of gave it up. ANYWAYS, I noticed some basting spray at Spotlight before Xmas and bought it, fully expecting my needle to clog up, or that it wouldn't stick or I'd die of fumes or something. Note to any quilt shop owners out there - there is a definite gap in the market in NZ for 505 Spray and Fix!
Having said that, the Spotlight stuff wasn't too bad! Spraying (on the kitchen floor) was fairly easy and it stuck things together well and the fumes weren't too awful and after an hour or so the quilt didn't smell at all. I haven't even noticed the needle getting sticky while sewing which is a huge bonus. However, by the end of the evening I found the soles of my feet were so sticky I had a coating of dust bunny and whatever else horrible was on the floor throughout the house that was very hard to get off, even in water with soap. Uh-oh. And then Mat started to complain about his feet, and then he started to complain about how sticky the kitchen floor was and then he asked if the glue was going to come out of the quilt! As I mopped the floor I assured him this stuff was meant to wash out and it would be fine - until I looked on the can and discovered that no, it's the 505 that promises that, NOT the Spotlight stuff. In fact, there is nothing mentioned at all about how to get it out of the quilt, or if it ever will. D'oh! Oh well, it may well wash out, and it certainly came off the floor much more easily than off my feet, so I'll see. In the meantime I'll appreciate how much easier it is to sew when spray basted!
lol that would happen to me too - I think if I tryed spraying a quilt my hubby would make me do it on the deck ! - will ask about the 505 this week for you ;)
ReplyDeleteI uses 505 and honestly it is outstanding, I spray baste king size quilts with the stuff and they don't budge and I don't use pins with it, mind you I also get dust bunny feet!
ReplyDeleteI'll have a look at customs shipping as it comes in an aerosol spray and if you want I can send you some over to try out?
Why hello there quilt shop owner! I should have just phoned you I suppose. I thought about doing it on the deck but it was quite windy and I think the layers would have blown about. Next time I'll just mop right afterwards!
ReplyDeleteYour description made me laugh and laugh. Did you know that you can get fusible batting (double-sided)? Robyn has it at PP. I have used it a few times and because I quite like ironing (weird, I know)I find it quite enjoyable 'sticking' the layers together, and its a no mess option.
ReplyDeleteMegan
I'm so sorry I didn't reply to this sooner, I only just found the comment! I have looked into buying the 505 online but NZ Post specifically says no aerosols in the mail so I guess it's a no-go. Thank you so much for the offer!
ReplyDeleteOh that's a great idea - I did actually know about the fusible stuff, just never thought of it for some reason. Der!
ReplyDeleteGot fed up unpicking my quilting stitching this evening after my backing puckered up and decided to search the net for possible reasons for what was going wrong and have been reading about 505 - please let us know if you find it - completely relate to what you said about postage costs, research etc! Also, what batting do you use most?
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely let you know if I find a reliable source - in the meantime the basting spray from Spotlight did work quite well, though I've yet to try and wash it out of the quilt! I'll do that in the next couple of days so will update on how that goes. 505 IS available from some quilting and sewing shops, but it seems to be irregular and expensive. But even if you were able to bring it in from the States by mail, which I gather you can't, I think it would still be pretty pricey. The other option, as someone commented above, is the iron-on batting, which would essentially be the same as spray, just more labour intensive on a big quilt.
ReplyDeleteI usually use the Warm and Natural (I think that's the brand) cotton batting from Spotlight, but it's a bit thin so when I've used up what I have I'm going to try bamboo batting and good wool batting from a quilt shop. The wool from Spotlight was ok, but I'd like to try something else to see if there's a difference.