Sewing & Embroidery Solutions

by Marie Duncan, VSM Sewing Inc.

Tips for using stabilizers & doing free motion quilting

This column offers you the answers to your embroidery problems and helps to expand your sewing horizons. Customers commonly ask many of these questions.

Q. I often have projects that say to hoop organza or a stabilizer and then baste my garment onto the hooped stabilizer or organza. That works great; however, the stabilizer and organza are so thin that they don’t stay tight in the hoop. Do you have any suggestions? Does it really matter since it is being washed, torn or cut away?

A. Yes, there is a product called Hoop Ease that comes in all the different hoop sizes. The Hoop Ease is not only thick, sort of like a thin batting, but it has a “tacky” surface. Place the fabric or stabilizer in the hoop first. Then place the Hoop Ease. Because of the “tacky” surface, you want the Hoop Ease to be on top of the fabric, not on the bottom where it will rub on the machine. It works great, to fill the hoop, when using thin fabrics, to have a nice tight fit. It’s very important that the stabilizer stay tight, even if it is being washed away because if it isn’t supporting the embroidery, the design won’t line up right. We often see lace designs that “fall apart” because the stabilizer wasn’t thick enough to support the design, and it “shrunk” as it was being stitched. The remaining design had sections that then didn’t connect.

Q. Stabilizers are so confusing! I’m new to embroidery and don’t know where to start! Which ones do I need to have a minimum supply on hand?

A. If you go to www.husqvarnaviking.com , USA, Education, Tips and Hints, there is a tip sheet there called Stabilizer Know How that lists all the different types of stabilizers, where to use them and why. Print that so you have a reference sheet. For most basic embroidery, I use Inspira Tear-A-Way Light or Sulky Tear Easy. These are lightweight Tear-A-Way stabilizers. If you have a very dense design, you can use two layers. A standard weight Tear-A-Way is good on heavier weight fabrics and dense designs, but if the design is delicate, it can disturb the stitches as you pull away the stabilizer. Water soluble stabilizers come in all different weights, and a light weight is perfect as a topper on top of the fabric to protect your fabric. The other stabilizer I use a lot is a Cut-A-Way. It is used on knits, and other fabrics where stabilization is necessary after a garment is washed. Cut-A-Way stabilizers hold their original shape and feel where Tear-A-Way stabilizers become limp. Start with these, and as a design or technique calls for a specific kind, you can build your “stash.”

Q. I am trying to do free motion quilting on a t-shirt quilt and I’m getting skipped stitches! The t-shirts have been stabilized with a fusible interfacing and I have polyester batting and flannel on the back. Do you have any suggestions?

A. With your t-shirt quilt, you are working with a number of different types of fabrics. You have knits, wovens, polyester batting and also fusible interfacing. Start by being sure the fusible interfacing is fused well. Sometimes you can get a gooey residue on the needle if they aren’t thoroughly fused. Then try a ballpoint needle. The ballpoint or stretch needle has a rounded tip that will usually prevent skipping. I would try a size 90 Stretch needle.
I would also suggest that you try a Sensor Q Foot. Its hopping action will hold the fabric tight as the stitch is formed. These suggestions should help. If you are getting skipping on other fabrics as well as on knits, then you need to have the machine checked by your mechanic.

Reprinted from SQE Professional January 2007