When I bought my first embroidery machine, I was unaware of the role that stabilizers play in embroidery. There were many varieties of stabilizers from which to choose; the choice was both overwhelming and unclear.

My dealer had a large shelf displaying a variety of stabilizers: tear away, cutaway, iron on, wash away types, and sticky ones, and others that get sticky when moistened. Stabilizers were also thick, thin, and nearly invisible, some looked like plastic wrap, others were heavy and stiff and yet others were sheer and elegant like silk. If that weren’t sufficiently confusing, stabilizers also came in rolls of varying widths and lengths, were packaged in convenient pre-cut sheets and little plastic pouches.

Sticky Back Stabilizer I was hopelessly lost. Since I was new at machine embroidery, I wanted only a few sheets of stabilizer to get me launched on my first project, certainly nothing in great quantity requiring me to make a long-term commitment. The dealer dug through the shelf of stabilizers and produced a small roll of stabilizer for me to try. It was then that I began to learn about stabilizers. Here is what I learned:

Step One: Evaluate

What fabric are you going to embroider on?

Is the fabric tightly woven, loosely woven, knit, fleece or delicate as silk?

Is the design dense or does the design have few stitches?

Does the fabric stretch when gently pulled lengthwise or on the bias?

Does the fabric have a deep nap? Are you going to embroider towels?

Does the design have precise outlines?

Step Two: Choose the Stabilizer Fusible Polymesh Cutaway Stabilizer (backing) is used to beef up the fabric and to provide a sturdy surface for the embroidery stitches. Here are the main types of stabilizer (backing) and their uses: Cutaway: These stabilizers are permanent, will remain forever affixed to the embroidery and will provide permanent support for the design. Cutaway stabilizers are best for knits, fleece, denim, and for fabric that is unstable, moves or distorts when tugged on. These stabilizers come in weights from heavy to light and should be matched to the weight of the fabric. Cutaway stabilizer is a favorite of mine and the iron-on version is excellent for stabilizing stretchy t-shirt and knit fabrics.

Tear away: This is a temporary stabilizer that is carefully torn off after the embroidery is completed. It’s best for woven cotton fabric and redwork. It’s not the best choice for dense designs because the needle may shred the stabilizer to bits. You’ll end up with a design that will pucker, distort and outlines that will misalign and wander all over the embroidery.

Sticky back stabilizer: A good choice for those hard to hoop items such as socks, collar tips, and shirt cuffs. To provide additional stability with the tear away sticky stabilizer, I place a piece of cutaway stabilizer beneath the hoop.