Hey Everyone, welcome back to Stash Blasting Wednesday.
After a year and a half of no Steam-A-Seam 2 it is now back in your LQS to purchase (of course, it really helps me keep Quilts by Jen running when you shop Amazon through my links) and use for all your fusible appliqué needs. I am so happy – as if you couldn’t tell from the title of the post.
Steam-A-Seam has always been my preference for fusible web and when the Warm & Natural Company announced that they needed to find a new paper supplier and the product wouldn’t be on the market until everything was tip top I thought what am I going to use for fusible once my supply of Steam-A-Seam was used up.
I tried many different products from E-Z Fuse to WonderUnder to Soft Fuse, plus one other which I can’t recall the name to replace the Steam-A-Seam. Some were okay and some not so okay, some pretty much impossible to trace on with a pencil. The Soft Fuse I liked but not so easy to come by and very expensive – it is definitely soft and leaves very little stiffness in the pieces – perfect for art quilts.
When the announcement was made in October that Steam-A-Seam was back I was so happy since Santa Sac season was upon me but I vowed to use up everything else before I bought any Steam-A-Seam which I am proud to say that I did. Well, all but the one that was impossible to trace on.
The new Steam-A-Seam is number 2 only which means it has 2 pieces of a paper with the glue in-between. I use the Lite version which means less glue so the pieces are not so stiff. The difference from the previous version is that they have printed a grid on the paper that you trace on so there is no trying to figure out which side to trace on anymore. Although I did trace on the wrong side a couple of times while making the sacs.
The photo at the top of the page shows the pieces in position but the paper backing has not been removed yet nor have the pieces been fused to the fabric hence some of the edges look like they are curling. When the pieces are fused in place there is no curling of edges.
I thought the grid would get in the way but, no, it doesn’t and it is a great reminder of which side to trace onto.
Pieces traced on grid side
The back paper comes off very easily leaving the glue stuck to the grid side. You can see the texture of the glue on the grid paper.
Glue on grid side
Once the piece is fused to the fabric peeling off the grid paper is easy and there is no fraying of edges which I found with many of the other products I had been using.
Peeling off the grid paper
The best part is that it is tacky and when the pieces are placed on the background they stay put – no wandering around, no getting pushed out of position and no falling off as the piece is carried to the ironing board.
The last Santa Sac completed.
Tree sac
Anyway all I can say is I am doing the happy dance because Steam-A-Seam is back and I can find inspiration to create with appliqué again which means I can blast that stash one little piece at a time.
Happy Quilting!
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