Message Boards

Wow ...I just discovered how much the different ones vary ..
I cut my redwork done 'on point' into squares leaving 4 (YIKES) bias edges to sew my flanges to and for sure they will be wonky ... so I glued flanges on 2 sides to keep them firm, and while it works, it's tedious and messy. New plan: Why not back the stupid bloxks with a fusible?
I have 3 kinds -
non-woven - various weights
woven fabric with chunky fusible
woven fabric with a shiny fusible
using a bias edge from the pieces cut off the bloxks, I lined up pieces of fusible along the bias, pressed per instructions.
Do you know which one worked best?
Not the non-woven, it flexes with the slightest tug; not the crunchy stuff, it too is flexible;
the woven with the shiny fusible was perfect, not one bit of flex.... so now I am off to cut my 9 9.5 pieces and get back to work on this ages old project.
I'm sharing this in hopes it will help someone else in choosing the right product to start with when needing a fusible.

I got a pm from one person embarrassed to admit she had no idea how to choose a fusible so had not tried them ... she has a JoAnns coupon so I think she will be trying it soon

I was able to see City/Sandie's redwork today and actually feel the fusible she used. It really made a difference on the block. Thanks for taking the time to try the different ones and share the results.

sandie,I am not that up on that particular fusible! names please!!! Is it Flex Form?
The only one that came to mind was Heat and Bond Lite and I am sure that isnt the one! Need more help!!! I have always been taught to baste flannel to the back and work it as one piece of fabric. Are you using this particular fusible being it is cut on the bias? Sorry I ahve not been following very well!!!

Hi there Bonnie About that fusible - I really don't know the brand name of the one that was so nice ... however, since I do have another set of redwork bloxks to get into a finished project this year I will look for more. All I can say for sure is that it feels really nice and the fusible stuff is slick and shiny and very smooth... I decided to use it because of the 4 bias edges after cutting them down from being 'on point' ... and it sure did make a difference, I'll do pics when I get done.

Are you referring to fusible interfacing?
This is only fusible on one side.
This would just stabilize the material.
When I hear the word fusible I think of a bonding type that fuses two pieces of material together.

...oh dear I am sorry if I caused any confusion trying to be helpful .... fusible basically is an iron on product ... the one I used is a slick shiny fusing agent and the fabric is nice ... my late SIL used it as she did LOTS of embroidery.
I'm trying to include a pic of 2 block, the bottom one shows the fusible fabric ..
......HOLY CATS that came out big .... the black around the block is a flange - GF calls it a dust catcher

This message has been edited. Last edited by: City/Sandie,

sandie, am I looking at this right? That fusible was ironed on after the embroidery? I like something to use before so the little threads and all don't show thru.
Would seem like you would have to iron the whole piece of fabric,then cut it on the bias to stabilize,but what do I know????? Sure does make for a neat finish the way your sample shows. It is beautiful!

I'm kind of laughing Bonnie .... Yes that is on after all the embroidery ..... I did this RW quite a long time ago and didn't know about the iron on products to keep things neat. I did buy some stuff and used it, the chunky one I mentioned at beginning of thread, AND I had used one of those water dissoving sheets to print the pattern onto - and ended up pulling off the backing and soaked the other stuff to get it off ... it was really hard trying to work thru 3 layers! ... anyway .. once I had cut the blocks into squares from on-point, that's when I got all the biase edges to deal with ... I actually had glued 2 of the black flange strips on but as I said earlier, that was messy and tedious .. but it did the job of keeping the block edge from curling up util I decided to 'face' them!