Kids PVA washing test

Today I decided it was time to wash my test applique block to see if in fact the Kids PVA glue would wash out like the manufacturers claimed. This is my block before washing with some stitching and the other elements just glued on. The first flower was glued then machine stitched. The middle and third flowers had some stitching and some parts just glued.


This morning I just gave the block a very light hand wash in the bathroom basin with very mild soap, swished it around a bit. The parts of the applique that were glued on only came off in the sink. I then let it dry to see if any residue or staining was left behind.

I didn’t iron the block after drying so it looks a little wrinkled!


Okay, so I would say that yes it does wash out very easily, a full machine wash on a quilt after it is made would definitely wash this glue out. It does not leave any residue behind, and it does not stain the fabric either.


I have to say that I am very pleased with this result as the CraftSmart Kids glue is very well priced ( about $4.40) and can be found in Spotlight. 


I also bought in my travels to Spotlight some CraftSmart No More Pins glue. This is meant to be a 'real' basting glue - washes out in water, replaces pins etc. I decided to give that a go on another test block, but after using it only on about three pieces decided that I didn’t like it at all. It is a clear glue rather than white (no problem there), but I found after you placed your dot on your fabric the glue went stringy - what I mean by that is that  after I put my drop of glue on the fabric as I lifted the glue bottle away a very thin string of glue followed the bottle and as it stretched to far it dropped onto my ironing board. Fair enough you can clean it up with a damp cloth but if you are doing a lot of gluing that is a lot of string bits to clean up. I then also heat set it and it went as hard as a rock, but not heat setting it left if wet for longer than I was happy with. It comes in a smaller bottle and is more expensive than the kids glue and so far I have to say the kids glue is winning out for me at the moment.

When I was at spotlight I found a Helmar's Kids School Glue which clearly labels that it is non-staining and washes out in water. I really like the look of this glue because of the lid mechanism. It has a twist top on it which allows you to control the amount of glue and it then twists shut and (should hopefully) there is no glue gob dried up on the end that needs to be cleared to use it again. Also very reasonably priced for the amount. I can't find my receipt right now but I think I paid about $4.70 for a 250ml bottle.