Sunday, September 8, 2013

Snowbound and a new fusible...

Thanks to the US Open Tennis tournament to watch on TV and a new fusible web,
Floriani Appli-Kay Wonder,
I have made good progress on the last block for my Snowbound quilt top.

The Appli-Kay Wonder was recommended to me when I complained that Steam A Seam Lite 2 was not available.  Here are my unsolicited thoughts:
 I love the fact that the protection paper does not slip and slide, and I can immediately tell which surface to trace my design on!  This helps prevent gummy iron as well...the adhesive does not peek outside the lines!
It is somewhat more expensive, but this can be offset by the fact that I can save all the little pieces to use elsewhere.  When I use SAS Lite 2, I frequently have to throw small scraps away since they separate and the adhesive gets ruined. 
 Very easy to stitch through by hand and my needle did not gum up.  Since I do not machine applique, I don't know how it performs there.
The roll I ordered is limited in size, but I did not investigate other options.  It is somewhat heavier, so you would definitely want to cut out excess on large applique shapes!
  The pressure sensitive side really keeps pieces from moving, but is still easy to re-position.
The one downside is it does not adhere to wool very well.  It is essential to iron it from both sides using a dry iron, just like the instructions say; but the wool still lifts up on the edges, especially at points.  Since the web is heavier and opaque, you can see it under the wool pieces when looking at them from the side.  Therefore, a blanket stitch is essential for hiding this.
I think the product is superior for raw edge cotton applique and has a lot of positives over the SAS Lite 2.  I'll use it for my wool applique, but never for a project using a simple primitive stab stitch.
Honestly, both products have their positive and negatives, so I will use whichever one I have on hand with a slight preference towards the Appli-Kay Wonder when doing raw edge cotton applique.

If anyone else has used this product on wool, do you have any suggestions on how to get it to adhere better?



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