6 Ways to Use Fabric Glue to Save Time

Fabric glue isn’t just for non-sewers who don’t know how to use a sewing machine. Fabric glue can help you make your sewing tasks easier, and it can save you time when you’re in a hurry. The best part is that since you don’t need any special skills to figure out how to use fabric glue, it’s just a matter of testing it and applying it — no how-to videos or tutorials needed.

Here are ideas for how to fabric glue in your sewing and quilting.

Roxanne Glue Baste It

1. Basting

Use glue instead of long stitches for basting and you’ll save time during the sewing process and the finishing process. Glues like the Roxanne Glue Baste It wash right out of the fabric, so you can use them for basting quilts, garments and other sewing projects without having to pin or rip out the basting stitches later. The needle-nose applicator tips are great for tinier spots where you don’t want to overdo it on the glue.

2. Replacing pins

Are you the type of sewer who constantly sews over your pins? If so, you might consider replacing some of the pins with glue. This can be especially handy if you’re using a serger, as sewing over pins with your serger can cause serious damage to the machine.

3. Pocket placement

I recently sewed a dress that had patch pockets on the front. I was battling one of the pockets, trying to get it aligned correctly, but even after pinning it, the pocket was still crooked. I eventually glued the pocket on, then sewed it. The glue helped hold everything in place until I could secure it. It was also easier to sew it since I didn’t have to keep pulling the pins out of the pocket curves.

If you’re using glue to place something like a pocket, don’t worry about getting it right the first time. Glues like the Aleene’s Tack It Over & Over are designed to be temporary so that you can change the placement of the fabric.

4. Quick, temporary hems

It never fails that when you’re in a hurry, you notice hems that need some attention. If you are running out the door and you don’t have time to press and sew a nice hem, fabric glue is a great temporary alternative. You can fix the hem on the spot with the glue, then sew it permanently later when you’re not late for that important appointment.

5. Patches

Whether you find a hole in your jeans or just need to attach a Girl Scout patch ASAP, fabric glue can temporarily hold things in place until you have time to give it the royal treatment. Just be sure to allow a few minutes of drying time.

Yo-Yo Blooms pattern via Indygo Junction

6. Attaching small pieces

If you’ve ever made small projects like fabric jewelry, you’ve probably noticed that some pieces are just too small to sew together. Other pieces need glue to hold things in place temporarily. For some of those situations, hand stitching is a good solution, but for temporary holds you can use glue. The Yo-Yo Blooms jewelry pictured above, for example, includes fabric glue in the materials list for that very purpose.