Stabilizers - Lessons learned

Stabilizers.  Talk about confusing stuff for a newbie.  I haven't been doing machine embroidery very long; about a year and a half, and like everyone else have run across my share of problems with stabilizer.  Usually the wrong type or not enough.  I still have yet to master stabilizing a t-shirt properly for a fairly dense design.  Good thing I have some scrap material to practice on!  If anyone has experience with t-shirts for busy designs please share your wisdom!

It can be very confusing deciding what to use, when to use it, and what brand is better than the other.  I tend to use Sulky because it is available to me locally.  Same with the thread, but that's for another post.

I have found a nice article with tips on choosing the right stablizer, and learned about heat away topping as well.  The article is from ABC Embroidery Designs, click here to check it out.

Here is a pair of kitchen cotton waffle-weave towels I learned a stabilizer lesson on.  The first pair I stitched I neglected to use a topping and there was a lot of white showing through the solid fruits.  The stitches just sunk into the weave of the towel.  I gave that pair to my MIL.  (She gets my mistakes lol)  I stitched them again, using a water-soluable topping. They turned out much better the second time and have since sold through my Etsy shop. 

The fruit designs came from the Secrets of Embroidery website.  I used my software to size, layer and get the look I wanted.

Do you have any trial and error stories?  I'd love to hear!

Keep stitching,