Another wet, rainy day. With
laundry and the kitchen done and clean, respectively, I took today to catch up
on some stuff I’ve been putting off. Namely, sitting around watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes while eating potato chips, but that
got boring fast.
So I figured I’d knock out
the second Three Projects listing - trying out that non-embroidery specific designed
spray adhesive Beloved Hubby bought me last weekend. I was really nervous about
it, because I was more or less trained by folks I don’t talk to anymore to be
very, very afraid of going outside the designed-for products. My previous predilection
for recycling used-scentless dryer sheets as stabilizer notwithstanding. . .
Heck, I don’t even do that anymore. Not because it ever mucked up anything, it
didn’t, but because I’ve found that, yes, the made-for-it products perform
better. And with my knack for buying the stuff on sale and reusing what I
safely can, it’s not that pricey. Plus, I’m not stuck at laundromats for hours
on end anymore.
Read the can and did my research
first. Was repeatedly advised to apply the spray as far away from my
Brody-machine as possible. Made sense. Unlike the Sulky brand spray I’ve only
very rarely used before, this stuff – 3M’s Quick Bond Spray Adhesive, MediumPerformance – is permanent. It’s tacky for a half hour, so I could do any
repositioning before taking it back to Brody-machine, but after that, it was
there to stay. Was much too close when I stupidly sprayed the stabilizer and
the hoop. They’re both still a bit sticky, as is the top of the washer. Now I
gotta research how to clean an embroidery hoop.
Anyway. . . the spray went on really thick because I was
too close, and I actually had to let it dry for a bit. Didn’t want to take the
slightest chance of having it stuck to Brody. Decided to test the design, too –
earlier, I’d removed the bow and waist ribbon part of that swimsuit coverup /
dress design I bought for my felt dolls, Charlotte and Joy. I also narrowed it
a bit more, and added a couple of stitches worth of length.
It stitched up fine, in
fact, I stitched the design a second time using tape to secure the felt, and
there was no audible, tactile, or quality difference. So. I was impressed and
while it’s rare I’ll use it for something like felt doll clothes – tape is
easier and doesn’t make the tear-away harder to tear, plus require cleaning ! –
it was a good test. And most of my design alterations are good, too.
So I moved on to the second
test – main reason I wanted a spray adhesive to begin with is because I hope to
embroider some stuff that’s too big or too easily damaged to hoop. The standard
procedure for that is to hoop the stabilizer and pin or spray glue the item or
material to it. Pulled up my tension test and draped a half-sheet of felt over
the hoop. That first test taught me – spray the fabric, not the stabilizer !
And it also went very well. Soon as the test was complete, I pulled up the
sides of the felt, and they dried a little stiff, but still useable. When I
went to cut out the felt doll dresses, the felt that had permanently bonded to
the stabilizer was there to stay.
In short (waaay, way too
late !), the new 3M spray adhesive works great ! I may get the Light
Performance next, if I ever use this can up. Took me years to empty the 4oz Sulky
can, and I think most of that was Beloved’s doing. 3M Quick Bond is 13.5oz, for
$8. (don’t forget your 10% Veteran’s discount !) – a better value than Hancock
Fabric’s Sullivan’s Machine Embroidery adhesive spray, even with a 40% discount
coupon. Plus, our store never has it in stock.
Well, time to make a
meatloaf ! Hope your Wednesday was fun, too.
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