Ok, shame on me for not posting until now. It has been a crazy week around here and it’s only Wednesday. First, I would like to say congratulations to Gwen! She was the first to guess my age correctly!
Gwen said…I’ll guess that you are 37 years old…? 🙂 Whatever your age is, I hope you had a wonderful day today and that the coming year is very, very happy!!! 🙂 Thank you for sharing the happiness! 🙂
Gwen is the lucky winner of 5 fat quarters! I’ll be letting her decide if she would like batiks or prints. Congrats again Gwen!
Let’s talk Iron On Adhesives. I’m a Steam a Seam gal through and through. Granted, I don’t do much appliqué but when I do, I always use Lite Steam a Seam 2. I buy the 9″ x 12″ sheets sold in packs of 5.
I’ve recently hatched a plan for a quilt that has tons of appliqué {what was I thinking}. And for some reason, I designed pieces that are larger than 9″ x 12″ {again, what was I thinking}. I wasn’t excited about having to piece the Steam a Seam so I decided to try a new product, Heat n Bond Lite. I found it in sheets of 17″ x 1.25 yards. This was perfect for my project. It’s easy to use and very similar to Steam a Seam.
~Here’s how to use it~
Cut a piece of fabric that will become the appliqué piece. I’m using Amelia by Me & My Sister.
 |
Fabric laying right side down |
|
 |
Heat n Bond on wrong side |
|
 |
Iron Heat n Bond to fabric |
|
Once the Heat n Bond was ironed down I used my cardboard template to trasnfer the appliqué design to the paper backing on the Heat n Bond.
 |
Cardboard template used to mark design |
|
 |
I will cut along the pencil lines |
|
 |
Next Template |
|
 |
Now I have 3 cut lines drawn |
|
 |
Last Template |
|
 |
I now have 4 pieces to cut out |
|
After I get all my templates transferred to the fabric, I’m ready to cut. For this particular pattern I used my 28mm rotary cutter to cut a small opening for my scissors.
 |
I used my scissors to finish cutting out the pieces. |
After all pieces were cut out I was ready to iron them onto my white blocks, mix & match of course.
 |
I put the pieces on the white block |
|
 |
I decided to add one more piece |
|
 |
Time to iron them down to the white block |
|
|
Overall, this product is very similar to the Steam a Seam products. However, I really think I’m still a Steam a Seam gal. I was a little disappointed when I adhered the pieces to the white blocks. It seemed to take a long time for the fabric to bond. And I had one block that was a total pain. I had to peel two pieces off and start completely over. They just would not stick. I’ve never had that problem with Steam a Seam. Maybe it’s because I used Heat n Bond Lite but I’m not sure. I was thinking about not sewing around the edges and just using an all over quilt design but I don’t think that will be a good idea. I’m afraid the pieces will peel up if I don’t stitch them down.
I can’t wait to get the blocks finished and put together to show everyone. It’s going to be a very cool design.
Have you used Heat n Bond? What did you think? Please tell me if I’m missing something. It was my first time using this product.
Happy Sewing!
Vicki
I use heat n bond light all the time. I use a very hot iron and only press for about 5-7 seconds. The thing is if you press too long it loses it’s stick. I have had that happen a few times. I buy it by the role at my local wal-mart.
I use Heat & Bond Light all the time too and buy it in rolls. I agree with Margaret….press too long and it doesn’t work. I still like to stitch on the seams to make sure it will hold.
I use a ton of it. And ditto the ones above me! I sometimes do a satin stitch but sometimes I straight stitch just inside the edge. The heat n bond stops it from fraying.
🙂 BIG smile on my face!! 🙂 Thank you so much! And happy birthday again! 🙂
The fat quarters arrived in the mail yesterday, and they are SOOOO beautiful!! The perfect choice!! I love them!! Thank you so much!