Wash-N-Gone Test

I was at our Walmart and they still carry things in their fabric department.
I found some Wash-N-Gone on sale, so I bought what was left.

I like to do stitcheries and wanted something that I could use on darker and thick fabrics or wools.
I decided to try my horse, something quick and easy.
I cut out pieces of the Wash-N-Gone to fit the pattern design and drew the design on, with my black artist pen.

I did not find it easy to draw with that and I found it hard to see with the shiny surface of the paper.
I pinned it on and started stitching. I found it harder to make my stitches line up and the paper moved a bit while I sewed, so it came out all cockeyed, lol. I was rushing, so I am sure that had something to do with it;)

I made up three, one on thin wool, one thick wool and one heavy weight ticking.
Here are the pieces with the paper still on.



Next I put them under water. It says any water temperature, but I found I needed warm water to melt off the paper.
The warm water melted the paper away. After that, I put them in my front loader to dry and when they came out, I saw no paper, but I noticed the stitches were stiff, like they had glue on them.



I didn't bother with the dark, heavy piece, you can hardly see the stitches. Next time I need to use more strands or thicker floss. Even with the stiff stitches, it still comes out nicely. I did not have any extra paper to pull off, it all came off in the warm water. So, if you want an inexpensive paper for stitchery, the Wash-N-Gone is a good one to try.

Next time I will try and use some spray adhesive to hold the paper closer to the piece. I also got a new book for felting and it uses this type of paper, so it will be fun to try it for that, too.

My New GO Experience!

First of all, I am one of those people who buys something new and am the one person who gets the bad one, lol.
I am beginning to wonder if that is the case with my new Go.

I decided for Christmas to treat myself to a Go cutter by buying the machine and using my reward cards for the dies.
I received the cutter on one day and the dies the next, so was happy that they came so close together. I ordered the hexagons and strip cutter for borders. The first thing I realized is, you need different sized mats for different dies, so remember that when you order dies. Since I only had the square pad, I figured it was good enough to use on the hexagons, since it is a small mat.

I used the mat and it worked fine, but started falling apart. I am not sure if it is from the fact that it is larger than the hexagon die or I got a bad mat? But, the wear alone makes me wonder how long a mat will last. This is the mat, it is coming apart at the ends, don't think that should happen?



I was able to get to the store and get the right sized mat. I used it to cut a few hexagons, to make a small mat. This is what I cut.



This is how the mat looked, after cutting those hexagons. One problem I see is that the die has three sized hexagons on it and I am only using one. Wouldn't it be better if they put more hexagons of the same size on one die? It would be much more efficient, in my opinion.



Then, halfway through I notice my hexagons are crooked?



Now, I did nothing different, was cutting with the good mat and it just went from cutting fine to cutting with one bad side. So I looked at the die and this is what I saw. This happened while I was cutting, so I assume I got a bad die and it went while I was using it.



So, I mentioned it to Accuquilt and they said to call them. That would be fine if I didn't have coughing attacks and hate to talk on the phone. For some reason they do not want to respond to email? So, I emailed the company I ordered it from and in two days I got a new one. Now that was nice of them, since it is the company that usually replaces the item. I was very happy since I could cut again and work on finishing my piece.

So, my opinion about the Go cutter is still up in the air. I do love using it, it is fast and easy, I did not have to read directions or do anything special to use it. I had heard that it is hard to turn the handle and I do have arthritis, but found it turned easily, with all six pieces of fabric, so that is a plus in my book.

My doubts are with how long the mats will last. They are not cheap, so I expected them to last at least a year, we shall see. They do work with all the cuts in them, but I wonder if they will still cut nicely after a lot of use, we shall see on that, as well. I never received a reply from their web support, but they do answer on facebook. I guess I have to call if I want answers and a replacement mat for the first one.

My recommendation if you plan on buying a go is to buy from a local dealer if you can. Then if you have problems, you have someone you can go to. Online, I have a Notion is one place, I would trust for product satisfaction. Kelly also tests all of her products and is happy to help you with your selections. I also have to say, SewVacDirect is where I got my dies from and they replaced my die, no questions asked.

I am working on finishing my hexagon piece, so hopefully I will have it done in a few days. I have enjoyed being able to use the cutter to make a piece and save myself the trouble of hand cutting them.