Welcome back to the Kunin Felt Classroom 101. I am talking adhesives today and using a selection of different brands with our felt to see what works most effectively.
I chose four different glues to try and a selection of our felt: Fancifelt™, Classicfelt™, Printzfelt™ and Premium Eco-fiPlus™. The glues: Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky, Tombow Mono Liquid Glue, Beacon Felt Glue and Beacon Fabri-tac. Tombow’s Mono Glue does not have felt in its description of surfaces it will glue, I have used it in other projects and wanted to see if it would work with the felt.
I paired up the adhesives with 9” x 12” craft cuts to make a simple envelope style clutch. It involves creating a pocket which needs to be sealed shut. This requires more bond than just affixing an element to the felt.
With each adhesive a line of glue was placed along a third of each side. Fabri-tac is clear while the other glues are white when wet and drying clear. The wide end was folded over to create a pocket. I pressed firmly along each side. The Tombow glue would not stick so I used clips to hold it in place.
After five minutes I checked the hold of the side seams of the pocket. Only the Fabri-tac seam was secure. After thirty minutes both the Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky and Beacon Felt Glue were secure. The Tombow Mono did not set up at all.
To create a fold over pocket flap a thin line of glue was placed along a line one third down from top of felt craft cut. This was pressed over. Again it took a few minutes for Aleene’s Tacky and Beacon’s Felt to hold. Fabri-tac was immediate. The Tombow Mono did not hold.
Adding embellishments and trims, the three adhesives continued to be effective and set up time for the Aleene’s Tacky and Beacon’s Felt glue was approximately ten minutes.
Results:
Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Beacon’s Felt Glue
Pros:
1. No odor.
2. Good for Kids’ crafting.
Cons
1. Does leave a slightly hard line where the glue is placed.
2. Needs set up time.
Beacon’s Fabri-tac
Pros:
1. Immediate set up and adhesion.
2. Flexible and washable.
Cons:
1. Low odor when wet. When dry no odor.
2. Fine strings which can mark felt if you try to remove when wet. (Allow to dry and they will just pick off easily.)
3. Not as kid friendly as the other two glues. (Will pick off fingers when dry.)
Tombow Mono is an excellent adhesive but not for felt in this particular project test. This result illustrates using the proper glue for the materials involved is imperative for the required results.
I did not use a hot glue adhesive in this test. Hot glue does work well with our felt. Kunin Felt has the weight and thickness to work well with hot glue. It is not recommended for working with children. It also dries extremely quickly with a loss of bond if you do not glue immediately two surfaces together.
When using any of the above adhesives, use a protective craft mat on your work surface. Replace covers on adhesives when not in use. Use a thin consistent line of glue and reapply if needed.
When shopping for felt make sure to read the labels on the craft cuts and bolts. Imported craft felt is not of the same quality or weight at 2-3 oz. compared to the 5-8 oz. of our Kunin Felt products and could lead to disappointing results. Glue can bleed through thinner products leaving hard white patchy spots.
You can now find an expanded color line of Kunin Eco-fi Classicfelt; Eco-fiPlus™ Premiumfelt and ShaggiChic non-wovens fabrics in cut by the yard at your local Walmart; please inquire as to what is available in your area.
Thank you for stopping by, have any questions, please inquire in a comment or on our Facebook page. We will be sharing the Classroom series on Tuesdays.
Debra