Sue Bleiweiss has posted a challenge on a No reverse applique technique using fusible web to applique complex shapes such as lettering. Sue uses a product called Mistyfuse which I have never seen available in Australia.
The only product I have ever used is Thermo Web Heat n Bond lite which although the product says it is ideal for sewing and quilting. However it still leaves the fabric feeling a little stiff which when it comes to hand sewing, annoys me. The firm foundation is great for machine embroidery and although it is possible to hand embroider through it for me it is not pleasant to work. Put simply, I prefer to do needle turned applique rather than use it. However for very small or particularly complex shapes you will need a product like this. For instance, I used this technique with Heat n Bond Lite for the negative shape in the brown section of this fabric postcard and for the Sax player and the jesters hat on this block. I could not have done these so neatly by hand. So these were stitched with gritted teeth!
Mistyfuse also claims to have run aging studies on their product. A study into the effects of adhesives such as fusible battings, interfacings, and basting sprays has been produced by the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska. It is available under the long title of The Effects of Light Exposure and Heat-Aging on Selected Quilting Products Containing Adhesives. The study carried out light and heat aging tests on many of the commercial products such as Stitch Witchery, Wonder-under, HeatnBond – which is the product I have been using. This report is well worth reading for anyone who uses any of these products but to return to my main train of thought I am very attracted to trying MistyFuse out because of their claims as to Mistyfuse being stable under UV light over long periods of time.
The Mistyfuse site does not say they will ship internationally. I have dropped them an email to find out. [update: they have replied saying they do ship internationally] I assume I can order it online from the site but does anyone in Australia know of a supplier of Mistyfuse here? Also has anyone tried both products and if so, how do they compare when it comes to the feel of the fabric when it is in your hand? I would love to know and may just have to buy some of the stuff to find out. I am sure others would too, so leave a comment if you have any information about these two products.
Hi Linda I am pleased this blog entry was useful – I am still using it and the more I do so the more I swear by it.
Great post! I’ve been looking for something that does all that Mistyfuse claims to do and I just bought some. Thanks to your post and all your commenters! :o)
Just trace it off on the baking paper –
thank you so very much for your quick response..how do i get the tracing on to the paper or fabric so that i can cut
i guess what i want to say is how do i transfer the picture to the fabric or the paper or the misty fuse so i can cut
Frances
it is not difficult
Get some baking paper ( ie the paper you line trays with when peopl emake biscuits in Australia we use Glad Bake)
lay the paper down
lay some misty fuse down on it
lay fabric on top of that
press
then when you lift you have a sandwich of paper misty fuse and fabric
cut fabric to shape
peel of paper
place fabric misty fuse side down on fabric you want to fuse to
press
sharon i never used misty fuse…but i now have some …i cant wrap my brain around how to use it …with what i want to do
i took a picture from a coloring book enlarged it and now want to put it to fabric how do i transpose the picture parts to the fabric so i can cut it out and press it down to the back ground fabric
i hope i made my self clear thanking you in advance frances
I have a roll of each and love it. I use it when I put a sheer over a base fabric and it really stabilizes it. Punch with Judy and Thread Studio both stock it in Australia
Hi! Sharon,
So long since I’ve called in, but this is so topical I am just about to try Mistyfuse and I got mine from Ozquilts Mt Waverly Vic.
Have used Misty Fuse and Steam a Seam Lite and much prefer the misty fuse even tho’ you need to use parchment or freezer paper with it. Only thing I can add to the above comments is I have also used it to bond angelina, decorative papers and tea bags to fabric post cards with great success.
The good news is that you will love Misty Fuse once you get your hands on some. The bad news is that you will find yourself buying losts of this almost invisible stuff. 😀
Hi, Sharon – I am a big fan of Mistyfuse (and not just because Iris Karp of Attached, Inc. is donating 20% of all Mistyfuse sold in December from http://www.mistyfuse.com to the American Cancer Society through my Fiberart For A Cause.).
I used it exclusively in my Boundary Waters series and REALLY liked it for fusing photos printed on silk organza to my artwork. Practically transparent and very soft.
Here’s a post on my blog about using Mistyfuse in a different way to build layers of texture:
http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/archives/298
Sharon I normally use vliesofix which is readily available in Australis. As Hilary said, Dale of the Thread Studio carries it and I have tried some I got from her, not quite as solid as the vliesofix but then I paint that so I am not sure that I would bother with misty fuse in that case.Much better if you are using sheers and things like that.
Hi All MistyFuse folks got back to me they do ship internationally thanks heaps for the comments I will have to try this as I have big project in mind but the idea of Heat n Bond was putting me off. So stay tuned for my opinion on the stuff
sharon, I have used Misty also, It is really wonderful hand, Joggles handles it, have even experimented with dying a bit and then placing bits on fabric, but as a decoration, if you hold a steam iron a few inches above it will curl and scrunch into wonder shapes, it turns into an part of the fabric, sort of like cheese cloth look Rene
Howdy from Texas. I have been using Misty Fuse since the 2006 quilt market in Houston after attending a mini workshop. I use the white and the black. I have not used the heirloom yet.
About durability – I did a jacket using Misty Fuse and it has been washed and worn quite a bit. I have had minimal problems with the raw edges unraveling and most of that would be due to me not catching the raw edges with stitches in a couple of places.
I had a friend who did a similar jacket with Steam a Seam 2 Light. Her jacket has not held up to repeated washing like mine has. Also her jacket is much stiffer than mine.
The Misty Fuse did not change the hand of the fabric and was easy to work with.
I have also used the product in wallhangings and found it to be fine. I did have some problems with very small pieces that I finally went to a Steam a Seam product.
Personally, I use Misty Fuse 90% of the time now.
Soon SueB will have a Mistyfuse army of us!
I’m just about to order some for my appliqué projects. The examples sent to me make it seem a lot lighter and less sticky.
I like the comment above about “cobwebs.”
I’ve never liked WonderUnder – I’ve always used Heat’n’Bond light, but not been truly pleased.
MistyFuse is amazing. It barely changes the hand of the fabric at all, and all but disappears when you use it with sheers, too. It’s much, much lighter than any of the other fusibles — it’s like cobwebs, really, but holds permanently.
I’m in the US, so don’t know where you could get it down under, but I know many online places carry it.
Hi Sharon – I have got some of the MF is both black and white – I ordered direct from the manufacturer in US, and they threw in a pack of the UV stable stuff. It is very fine and soft and doesn’t alter the hand the way the Heat ‘n Bond does. Unlike most of the other fusibles, it does NOT come with backing paper. Dale Rollerson at the Thread Studio carries it in Oz – not sure who else. As for the UV one – not sure of the logic there – even if it is UV stable, the fabric that it is bonded too isn’t, so if you expose your finished piece to UV, what will happen – the fabric will fade/rot away, but the sticky stuff will be left??
I just read the testing done on the bondable adhesives. The use of adhesives in long term is a concern!
Hi Sharon:
In Canada, we have a fusible called ‘wonder under’. It is far lighter and more flexible than any Heat & Bond product.
Another option is a spray adhesive. You can give a very light coat.
I stumbled onto some Mistyfuse in my local quilt shop after reading about it in the Quilting Arts magazine. It is very lightweight and easy to hand embroider through. I used it for a contemporary embroidery class that I took and liked it very much. I found it in both black and white. I hope you’ll be able to try it.
Sharon
It intrigued me so I put misty fuse into google and come up with http://www.rosdye.com.au – apparently she is here in Qld
Marg
I really like the way misty fuse feels after the bonding — the heat-n-bond is much stiffer not having a nice drape.
Good luck getting in Australia….
I’ve just recently started using Misty Fuse and quite like it. I haven’t done anything other than play with it at this point – but I do find it is a heck of a lot lighter than heatnbond (lite). I’ve use both hand and machine stitching with it. There are couple of places that you can get it on the web – and they have shipped to me (Canada).
Cheers – I do so enjoy your blog!
Deireth
Hi, Sharon: I have used MistyFuse and I quite like it. It is a very fine web, and changes the hand of the fabric very little. It can also be fused at a lower heat setting, so is ideal for fusing synthetics as well as cotton quilt fabric. I’m in Canada, though, and can’t help you with an Australian source. I must say I am skeptical of the studies that have been done on these types of adhesives. There has been some criticism of the Nebraska study on the basis that applying heat does not truly simulate the effects of time. I hope you are successful in finding a local source for MistyFuse, I think you will like it.
I have used this technique (following instructions in a mistyfuse advert in Oct/Nov Quilting Arts Magazine). It works really well. I used a 6B pencil to make sure the pencil line would transfer – but you could probably use a harder pencil (especially if transfering to a light fabric). I used Pellon Wonder-under. I find it easy to stitch through, and it doesnt make the fabric too stiff. Not sure about the UV stability though.
I have used regular misty fuse. Very light in feel. Its not “backed” like heatn bond or wonder under.
There are three misty fuse products – white color, black color and the new “heirloom quality” type. Can’t think of the name! Anyway the heirloom is the product that carries the long term warrenty.
I took a class from Robbi Eklow a few years ago – she uses wonder under. I remember her discussing a study done on WU and the life span of quilts done that way (she does raw edge with tons of quilting on it). Her statement was that method is not expected to last a hundred years – it will shatter at some point even with all the quilting. So the new Misty Fuse product has a couple things going for it – 1) better feel that the heat and bond (and yes I have used light – don’t like it much) and Wonder Under products out there and 2) chances of lasting way past our lifetimes so future generations can enjoy our work.