Myth 1: If You Wear It, Don’t Tear It
“If you wear it, don’t tear it” is a catchy rhyme for beginner embroiderers. However, while catchy, it is not completely true. The idea is that embroidery should always use cut-away stabilizer on clothing or garments. Tear-away stabilizer shouldn’t be used for anything that is worn, like shirts, pants, or jackets.
However, “Wear it, don’t tear it” is only partially true. Many garments are made from stretch fabrics. Clothing like t-shirts, leggings, stretch denim jeans, dress pants with a bit of stretch, and other garments need cut away stabilizers to control the stretch both during embroidery, while the garment is worn, and during washing. Embroidery stitches can pop if the fabric is stretched across the embroidered area. Cut away stabilizer prevents the embroidered area from stretching, as it stays in the garment or clothing item. Tear away stabilizers only provide stabilization during the embroidery process, and this type of stabilizer is removed after embroidery. Tear away stabilizers will slowly disintegrate during washing, just like any other paper product. Knit fabrics need permanent stabilization to support the embroidered area, which means using a cut-away stabilizer.
A no-show polymesh stabilizer is a soft, thin type of cut-away stabilizer made specifically for knit fabrics. Light weight woven fabrics also do better with cut-away stabilizers, as the cut away helps with looser weaves and keeps the edges of the embroidery design from pulling inward during stitching, creating a jagged edge.
Sturdier woven fabrics can use tear-away or wash-away stabilizers. Jackets and jeans made from a heavier weight, non-stretch denim are examples of garments that could use tear-away, wash-away, or cut-away stabilizers. Sturdier fabrics, even when worn, don’t always require a cut-away stabilizer.
Stabilizers are chosen based on the fabric type and embroidery design density, not on if the fabric is made into a shirt or other garment.
Light weight, sparsely filled embroidery designs don’t need as much stabilization. They can be embroidered on light weight fabrics or on heavier fabrics.
Heavier, denser embroidery designs (those with a large number of stitches, large fill areas, or dense stitching) require sturdy fabrics and sturdy stabilization to support the stitches during the embroidery process. The stabilizer prevents the stitches from pulling the fabric inward. When stitches are able to pull the fabric inward, it creates puckering around the finished embroidery design. Adequate stabilization prevents puckering, supports the finished embroidery design, and beefs up the fabric to prevent fabric tears, holes, and jagged edges during the embroidery process.
Check out our downloadable embroidery stabilizer chart. Remember that different fabrics can be produced in different weights. For example, denim can be very heavy or rather light. It can be stretchy or non-stretchy. Due to the variations, stabilizer charts are suggestions. They can’t list all of the possible different fabric types and weights you might encounter.
Myth 2: Using Kitchen Products as Stabilizers and Toppers
It is tempting to skimp on buying all of the different types of stabilizers and toppers. However, embroidery stabilizers and toppers are tested to withstand ironing, washing, and drying. Common kitchen product substitutions (such as clear cling wrap, freezer paper, coffee filters, dryer sheets, and others) can change specifications without notice. They are not intended to be washed or ironed. Clear plastic cling wrap is especially troublesome, as it doesn’t tear off as easily as an embroidery water soluble topper or disappear easily from small areas like water soluble topper does. Additionally, it can melt if an iron is used on the embroidered area, ruining the garment.
Embroidery stabilizer is affordable when purchased on larger rolls. There are several techniques to save on stabilizer, including using an embroidery window, joining smaller pieces of stabilizer together, and using the stabilizer directly off of the roll.
It makes more sense to use quality stabilizer products. Stabilizer is cheap and usually costs less than fifty cents for each job when the stabilizer is purchased on larger rolls. The fabric or garment is the expensive part of an embroidery job. It doesn’t make sense to risk a bad stitch out for a few pennies savings by substituting another product for the embroidery stabilizer.