Advice sought for fabric application/gluing problem please.

Hello, I want to apply some irregular shaped poyester fabric shapes to
a tee shirt without sewing.

The polyester shapes would take far too long to hem and sew on so I
want to find a way of cutting them so they don't fray and then apply
them to a tee-shirt where they will be secure, not lift at the edges
and be washable.

I've tried Vilene Bondaweb and followed the applique guidelines but
it just isn't strong enough for the job. Any ideas would be most
welcome please. I don't have any dressmaking or fabric craft skills so
if you could keep you answer non-tech I would really appreciate it.

Very many thanks.

almon wrote:
Hello, I want to apply some irregular shaped poyester
fabric shapes to a tee shirt without sewing.

The polyester shapes would take far too long to hem and
sew on so I want to find a way of cutting them so they
don't fray and then apply them to a tee-shirt where they
will be secure, not lift at the edges and be washable.

I've tried Vilene Bondaweb and followed the applique
guidelines but it just isn't strong enough for the job.
Any ideas would be most welcome please. I don't have any
dressmaking or fabric craft skills so if you could keep
you answer non-tech I would really appreciate it.

I am not familiar with Bondaweb, but I have used
Wonder-Under to place appliqués on sweat shirts and
T-shirts. However, I *always* stitched around the outer
edges with a narrow zig-zag (satin) stitch to secure
everything. I doubt Wonder-Under alone would stand up to
washing.

http://thesewingplace.com/browseprod...der-Under.html

Beverly

Thanks Beverley but I haven't got a sewing machine and the shapes
would be a bit fiddley if I had. The Bondaweb said it was wash and dry
cleanable but it doesn't stick well at all. I wonder if it's because
the shape is polyester (man made) and the tee shirt is cotton
(natural). Perhaps someone will come along and know?

salmon wrote:
Thanks Beverley but I haven't got a sewing machine and the shapes
would be a bit fiddley if I had. The Bondaweb said it was wash and dry
cleanable but it doesn't stick well at all. I wonder if it's because
the shape is polyester (man made) and the tee shirt is cotton
(natural). Perhaps someone will come along and know?

Not to mention that your t-shirt is a knit, and the polyester is woven?
There may be fabric glues that work, they seem to use them in
commercial garments. Aleene's advertises an "OK to Wash Fabric Glue"
and that line of products is generally good. I don't have experience
with this product, though. Try it on a sample first.

Here's a selection: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/fabricglues.html I
am not familiar with this site, and can't recommend it one way or the
other, but post it only because it has a wide selection of fabric glues
and information that might help you.
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/

salmon wrote:
Thanks Beverley but I haven't got a sewing machine and
the shapes would be a bit fiddley if I had. The Bondaweb
said it was wash and dry cleanable but it doesn't stick
well at all. I wonder if it's because the shape is
polyester (man made) and the tee shirt is cotton
(natural). Perhaps someone will come along and know?

It's possible the different fiber content contributes to the
problem, but not sewing the edges almost guarantees failure.
You may be trying to do the impossible.

As for fiddly bits, one of the contributors to alt.sewing
makes fabulous designs and appliqués them for her daughter.
Here is a URL to some of her pics of a very complicated
appliqué project:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLan...omshare&U x=0

So, it *can* be done, but you really need to stitch around
the edges if you want it to last. shrug

Beverly

salmon wrote:
Thanks Beverley but I haven't got a sewing machine and the shapes
would be a bit fiddley if I had. The Bondaweb said it was wash and dry
cleanable but it doesn't stick well at all. I wonder if it's because
the shape is polyester (man made) and the tee shirt is cotton
(natural). Perhaps someone will come along and know?

I think the fact that your shapes are woven and your T-shirts are knit
will stymie you. Unless you're able to stitch around the edges, that is.
Why don't you blanket stitch (or needleturn) around the shapes by hand?
It doesn't take long! Once you get into a rhythm, it's surprising how
relaxing it is and how fast the work progresses.

For my money, whatever fabric glue you use will fail as soon as the
person inside the T-shirt moves. The only way to neaten the edges of the
polyester and be absolutely certain they will stay put is to sew them
down. IMHO. For extra insurance, I'd use both methods: heat'n'bond them
down and then stitch around the edges as well.

(NB. Am I going mad, or do I recall seeing a special version of
heat'n'bond for applying wovens to knits?)

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Adhesive wouldn't be my first choice (far from it!), but try this method of
fusing -- it works well for interfacings and might work here

1) Prepare your ironing board. Remove any of those metallized board covers
and replace with plain cotton muslin, duck or canvas.

2) Prepare your press cloth. Dip plain muslin in water, and wring out by hand
till the fabric is moist, not dripping.

3) Prepare the iron. For most household irons, set it to "dry" and "linen"
(that is, no steam, high heat). Preheat for at least 5 minutes.

4) Place the t-shirt on the ironing board. Add the adhesive backed
appliques. Cover with the wrung-out press cloth. Press (straight down, with
force, not sliding back and forth in an ironing motion) for 15 seconds. Move
the iron and press again until all the appliques have been pressed on.
Press cloth should be dry but not charring.

5) Now comes the hard part: DO NOT MOVE THE T-SHIRT UNTIL IT IS COOL.
No, cool, as in room temperature. Get your fingers off the edge of that
applique. Cool. Completely cool. Ok, now you can try to lift the
applique.

If the applique lifts, try again, increasing the dwell time of the
iron in 5 second increments until it stays. If the polyester melts, try
a cooler iron or a shorter dwell time. If the adhesive strikes through,
choose another with a lesser amount of adhesive. The keys to fusing
fabric are heat, steam, getting the fabric dry and then cooled without
disturbing it. Household steam irons don't produce enough steam to
do the job thoroughly, and the aluminized ironing board covers seem to
keep the fabric both too wet and too hot for good fusing.

Kay (who thinks it'd be a lot easier to just do a corded raw-edge applique
and call it done)

Thanks very much for your generous advice. I will go and try these
now and report back with my results. Thank you very much.