Gluesticks

So this is my first time using a hot glue gun?

I want to put this Filipino flag that i made on my school sweatshirt which is made of 50% Cotton and 50% Polyester. Would it ruin the sweatshirt if i used a hot glue gun to put the flag on?

Public Comments

1. It won't but it depends on the thickness, but it should be fine, the sweatshirt will not be damaged because the glue is not hot enough to burn it. Just don't let the actual hot glue gun tip touch any of the material.
2. i dont think it would
3. You could use hot glue, but of course the sweatshirt wouldn't then be washable and certainly not dryable. Also, glue guns come in two versions --high-temp and low-temp (both use the same glue sticks). I don't think that even the high-temp gun would make the glue hot enough to melt polyester blends, but if so just apply the glue onto a piece of cardstock or something, then apply it to the fabric which will give it a chance to cool off just a bit. Btw, depending on how you apply it, hot glue would also be stiff and hard when it cools. If you want to put the flag on the sweatshirt permanently (and don't just want to sew it on, etc), you'd probably be happier with a "fabric glue." Those will dry flexible as opposed to stiff, and can be thin. (You might want to weight the flag/glue/sweatshirt while the glue is drying for the best bond.) ...Or instead of buying a special "fabric glue," you could use any permanent white glue (Elmers GlueAll would be the cheapest in the U.S.), but it won't be quite as supple as fabric glue when dry unless you mix something called clear "textile medium" into it (sold next to the acrylic paints). (You could do the same thing with acrylic paint as long as the color won't show through the flag, since it's adhesive.) Or you could also use one of the fusible webbings that's available at fabric stores. It's put between the "applique" (like your flag) and the clothing or other fabric, then the top is pressed down on with a hot iron till the glue in the webbing melts (sometimes a protective cloth or sheet it used under the iron). That should work fine and be even-looking (and there's nothing that can soak through), but may eventually start pulling up at the edges after washing** awhile --unless those edges are sewn down in one of the ways that's often done, or the edges have acrylic paint lines or dots, etc, along them and onto the sweatshirt. If you don't want the flag to be permanent and you want to use hot glue, I'd suggest putting the glue on the flag (even just at the four corners) and letting it cool just a bit, then pressing onto the sweatshirt. That should do the least damage to the sweatshirt when the glue is pulled off. ** check out my answers in some of these previous questions for how to deal with clothing that has been painted or had glued used on it, etc: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ahm0d3SsQXyu1K8KrF.6jEUW53NG;_ylv=3?qid=20091206032148AABpLku http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080410185625AA9qvjR http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080808071217AAH1vfM http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090322115529AAqImwf