What is Embroidery Stabilizer and How to Choose the Right One?

Beautiful machine embroidery outcomes start with selecting the appropriate stabilizer for your task. The stabilizer serves as the cornerstone of a successful embroidery project, securing the fabric to prevent shifting, puckering, or stretching during the embroidery process. It ensures stitches retain their quality post-embroidery by reinforcing the fabric’s structure.

Omitting stabilizer (or using insufficient amounts) leads to puckering, fabric perforations, and alignment issues such as gaps between fill stitches and design outlines.

Composition of a Stabilizer

Most stabilizers consist of non-woven material, produced through a process that flattens fibers into a uniform layer. Our stabilizers undergo a non-directional manufacturing process, granting them equal strength in every orientation. Consequently, there’s no grain to the material, so the direction in which you cut or hoop the stabilizer is irrelevant. For tearaway stabilizers, this non-directional property also ensures even tearing in all directions.

When choosing an embroidery stabilizer, fiber consistency is critical. If you hold the stabilizer up to light and observe noticeable inconsistencies, the thinner areas will offer less support than the thicker ones, potentially resulting in design misalignment.

Why is There Such a Variety of Stabilizers?

Different stabilizers are engineered for diverse applications. Several factors influence the correct stabilizer choice, including:

Fabric selection: the weight and type of fabric
Design density: the number of stitches per given area
Embroidery method: whether the project can be hooped
Desired final appearance: whether the embroidery backing is visible or the stabilizer shows through the fabric

What Are the Types of Stabilizers?

Stabilizers are primarily classified by their removal method: CutAway, TearAway, or WashAway. Besides these three main categories, some products belong to a specialty class, as they either remain in the project or serve as tools to aid the embroidery process.

In addition to removal method, stabilizers are categorized by other criteria. The first is weight, such as light, medium, or heavy. Stabilizers are also identified by their application, like pressure-sensitive or water-activated adhesive. Furthermore, some types come in multiple colors to match fabric or prevent shadowing.

How Do I Choose the Stabilizer Weight?

Basic guidelines exist for selecting stabilizer weight. Heavier fabrics and/or denser designs (with more stitches) require heavier stabilizers. Sometimes, using two layers of a lighter stabilizer yields better results than a single layer of a heavier one, especially when embroidering a dense design on lighter-weight fabric.

How Should I Store Stabilizer?

As most stabilizers look similar, store them in their original packaging or clearly labeled bags. Fusible and WashAway stabilizers tend to harden when exposed to air, so they should be kept in sealed bags.

How Do I Hoop the Stabilizer?

Whenever possible, hoop the stabilizer together with the fabric. Using a temporary spray adhesive to attach the stabilizer to the fabric can help secure the pieces during hooping. Ensure both fabric and stabilizer lie flat and smooth in the hoop, but avoid stretching them.

How Do I Select the Stabilizer Type?

Choosing a stabilizer type partly depends on personal preference, but each type possesses features suited to specific project kinds.

CutAway Stabilizer

CutAway stabilizer works on any fabric but is mandatory for knits or stretchy fabrics. Since these fabrics stretch, embroidery on them will also stretch unless supported by a CutAway stabilizer. CutAway keeps stitches in place, preventing breakage or distortion after embroidery. Use it on jersey knit, t-shirts, sweatshirts, children’s knitwear, afghan fabric, denim, other twill weaves, and most wearable items. CutAway performs best on frequently washed and worn articles.

For beginners, using a CutAway stabilizer yields the best results regarding stitch quality. Although primarily for knit fabrics, it can be used on nearly any fabric type, offering maximum support and delivering high-quality, cleanly aligned embroidery. CutAway stabilizers can accommodate the highest stitch counts among all stabilizer types. For instance, a medium-weight CutAway can support as many stitches as a heavy-weight TearAway. For high-stitch-count or intricately outlined designs, CutAway may be the optimal choice.

When removing CutAway, cut the stabilizer with scissors approximately ¼” from the embroidery edge, taking care not to cut the fabric. Avoid cutting the stabilizer closer than ¼”, as it’s easy to nick the stitches, and trimming this close can create a ridge around the embroidery.

CutAway stabilizer comes in several varieties: Heavy, Medium, Polymesh, Fusible Polymesh, and StabilStick.

Heavy Weight CutAway stabilizer is used on knits and wovens, sweatshirt fleece, or stitch-intensive embroidery designs on any fabric.
Medium Weight CutAway stabilizer is used on medium-weight stretchy fabrics, such as knits and lightweight denim. Use for large or stitch-intensive designs. Medium weight softens after washing.
PolyMesh CutAway. Use this for light-colored or thinner fabrics to prevent a shadow effect behind the fabric. It is extra soft and non-irritating to the skin, making it perfect for baby projects. PolyMesh CutAway is soft yet very strong, maintaining the appearance of your embroidery stitches.
Fusible PolyMesh CutAway is fused to the wrong side of the project. The bond is not permanent, allowing excess to be trimmed away. It is chosen for knits or lightweight wovens to preserve softness. Ideal for sweater knits.
Sticky CutAway is a high-quality, medium-weight stabilizer with a light adhesive coating. Use it on knits or stretchy fabrics like jeans, and hard-to-hoop items such as t-shirts, sweaters, and slippery fabrics. It is perfect for projects requiring multiple hoopings.

TearAway Stabilizer

TearAway stabilizers are used in projects where most of the stabilizer must be removed, such as towels and linens. TearAway supports more stitches than WashAway, but fewer than CutAway.

TearAway is often favored for its easy removal and cleaner appearance on the embroidery back. Ideal for non-stretch woven fabrics like chambray, poplin, quilt cotton, linen, and most satins. Also use TearAway for sturdy ready-to-wear items such as bags and hats.

TearAway is a common choice for appliqué designs due to its clean finish. The appliqué fabric itself provides some stability to the project, often allowing the use of a lighter stabilizer.

TearAway stabilizers also find use in other applications, such as decorative machine stitching or stabilizing buttonholes.

When removing TearAway, support the stitches with one hand while tearing away the stabilizer with the other. Remove only one layer at a time. Remove the TearAway from the design’s outer areas, but it can be left in the open interior spaces.

TearAway Stabilizer is available in several types: Heavy, Medium, Light, Ultra Clean and Tear, HydroStick, StabilStick, and Fusible.

Heavy Weight TearAway readily supports stitch-intensive designs with its stiff, crisp texture providing extra support. Ideal for stitching designs with large open central areas.
Medium Weight TearAway. Best for designs with medium to high stitch counts. Easily removed.
Light Weight TearAway is used on lightweight fabrics to stabilize low stitch-count designs. Very easy to remove and ideal for printing on for paper-piecing quilt blocks.
Fusible TearAway is an iron-on, medium-weight TearAway stabilizer providing excellent stabilization for medium to high-stitch-count embroidery designs. Use on woven fabrics, including towels, when no permanent backing is desired.
Sticky TearAway is a high-quality, medium-weight stabilizer with a light adhesive coating. Use it on hard-to-hoop items like collars and napkin corners, and tightly woven, slippery, non-stretch fabrics. Perfect for projects requiring multiple hoopings.

WashAway Stabilizer

WashAway stabilizers are made from a chemical starch that fully dissolves in water. Thorough rinsing completely removes the stabilizer from the fabric.

If the fabric is sturdy and the design light enough, WashAway can serve as the primary stabilizer. For sheer fabrics like organza, tulle, or batiste, WashAway is the best choice, as even TearAway would be visible.

WashAway toppings create a smooth surface for embroidering on fabrics with a pile or nap, such as towels. Placing a piece of WashAway stabilizer over the fabric allows stitches to form smoothly and evenly on top, without sinking in. WashAway is also used for in-the-hoop projects like freestanding lace or appliqué.

WashAway is the optimal choice for freestanding lace designs (unless otherwise specified).

Remove WashAway by rinsing under warm running water. Rinse the project thoroughly before drying, as the stabilizer starch can stiffen the fabric if not rinsed out.