Welcome back to the second installment of triangle quilting tips + tricks! (If you missed part one where we talk about vodka….yes, vodka, then check it out HERE.) Today in this glue basting tutorial, we are shifting gears and discussing my favorite method for lining up triangle points.
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I don’t know about you, but I always use straight pins during my piecing process (well, usually…sometimes I’m a rebel without a cause and wing it!) Pins hardly ever fail me; it is sadly usually user error when if my seams are way off. With that being said, the one time I cannot seem (or, seam, ha) to get things to line up as they should when pinning is when it comes to making a triangle quilt. I decided to do some investigating on the inter-webs and found that glue basting might be worth a try. I was a little hesitant about GLUEING my quilts, but don’t worry–as long as you use a washable glue, it really does wash out.
In this super quick glue basting tutorial, I’ll show you step-by-step how I achieve points that look, well…pointy. For this tutorial, I am using Roxanne Glue Baste-It, but you can also just use plain ole’ Elmer’s Washable School glue. Just be extra sure it is the washable kind. If you’re using Elmer’s glue, I *highly* recommend grabbing these bottles with a precision tip. You only want a tiny drop of glue when glue basting triangles, and these tips ensure you don’t get too much glue.
Also, please ignore my interesting color choices for these triangles. I was rummaging around in the bottom of my scrap bin to find pieces big enough to make these. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
After you’ve sewn your triangles together to form your rows, grab whatever glue + precision applicator you’re using. As mentioned above, you only need a teeny tiny drop for each spot you want to line up. A little dab will do ya, if you will.
After placing a small drop of glue onto the point you want to line up, visually line up the points right sides together as shown below.
After getting your points where you want them, press firmly on the glue spot for a few seconds. The one thing I’ve noticed is that Roxanne Glue Baste-It does stick better than Elmer’s Washable School Glue after finger pressing. However, I always set these points with my hot iron so it’s really not a huge deal either way. After pressing with your fingers for a few seconds, carefully move this over to your iron.
Using a hot, dry iron, press over the glued areas. If you’re in the market for a new quilting iron, this one has been amazing. And that gray thing I’m pressing on is one of my all-time favorite tools: a wool pressing mat from Project Wool. It absorbs heat from the iron so that whatever you’re pressing essentially gets pressed from the top and the bottom. This wool mat made me level up as a quilter, I swear. But wait: there’s more! (No, there really is!) Project Wool is so amazing that they’re giving you a discount to scoop up a mat of your own! CLICK HERE and enter the code WREN10 to get your own wool mat at a discounted price. Discount code is good through 5/31/19.
Pin the rest of your row together since there is only glue on the triangle points. There is no need to pin where you’ve placed glue. The glue +heat set of the iron will hold things in place nicely while you sew your rows together. Sew your rows together using a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Press your seams open after sewing your rows together and that’s it! As you can see from the photo above, the points I glued together line up well. I never could get this great of a result from using pins. I hope this is helpful!
Until next time,
XO Rach
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