How can I save stabilizer?

Judging from all the answers I have read on this question , I hope you can see why I love my CUTE site ! I love the answers and will use them myself !
Welcome from Alabama !

Welcome to cute, yesterday I tried to welcome you but it was very busy on Cute. I hope you enjoy it here. Greetings from Holland. :0)

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Your question was great! It also helped me out with the same problem. Thanks for all the great suggestions.

after reading this >> I feel so dumb . You should see the pile I have and I just did 37 shirts >> Wow >> Wished I had known this before I did the shirts > This some what would have worked as well >>> Boy do I feel DUMB THANKSSSSSS SO Much

Welcome and thanks for asking a great question. What great ideas that others can use also.Ruthie

Hi everybody,
I just want to say: Thank you so much for your answers! I really learn from it.
Bye-bye, Esseline

WELCOME TO CUTE,,,You have a beautiful name....Glad you are here to join in....deanna

PURISTS DO NOT READ THIS
if i am going to be doing several designs of he same size in the hoop then i cheat like mad. i recently had to sew out 150 patches to go onto draw string bags each patch said "this bag belongs to " in Spanish.
First select the design you wish to use and place a baste stitch around it with about a half inch border. next take some clear heavyweight plastic. Yes.plastic. hoop this up first and then sew out the baste line from your design onto the plastic.
stop the design and remove the hoop and cut just outside of the baste stitch by 1/4 inch so clearing the sewing line.
The next cheat bit is to place double sided sticky tape all around the hole now you can place a piece of your chosen stabalizer over the double sided tape. press it down onto the sticky tape and replace the hoop back under the needle.
lay your fabric in place over the stabalizer and start the sewout again.
Begin again with the baste line . This will hold the fabric down onto the stabaliser. sew out the design. Remove the hoop from the machine and then carefully remove the stabalizer from the sticky tape and replace with a new piece of stabalizer for the next design pressing it down again on the same doublesided tape. There is no need to replace the doublesided sticky tape each time, in fact you should be able to do at least ten items in the one hooping before putting down fresh double sided sticky tape over the top of the first lot.
you can now see just how much you can actually save useing this method. the fabric is baste stitched onto the stabalizer and the stabalizer is carried in the hoop by the stickytape.
you are in fact only wasteing half inch around your chosen design with each sew out. This method works really well with the WSF. hope you can understand what i am trying to say. annie in the UK

4 comments

by dollygk 22 Oct 2009

what a really neat way to utilize those scraps as well!!!

by iris2006 22 Oct 2009

Thanks you fot his explanation adn saving tip

by esseline68 22 Oct 2009

Yes, I think I understand your explanation. Thank you for it!
(Btw to everybody who responded: THANKS.)
One small question however Annie: What is 'WSF'?
Gr, Esseline

by debleerl 22 Oct 2009

What kind of plastic are you hooping?

hello esseline, welcome. You have had many answers about stabilizers, and you have another by click ontips just above. You will be no more alone and you can chat here all day long...and the night also, there is always a Cutie awake somewhere on the earth.You will see quickly, it is an addiction.
Hugs and roses from france
Claude

Welcome to Cute family Esseline.
When I use washaway stabiliser I save the leftover pieces and stitch them together with washaway thread in top and bobbin.
For cutaway stabiliser you can just hoop the stabiliser and baste the fabric onto it, then after stitching out your design you leave the whole design and stabiliser in the hoop and just cut away the stabiliser from around the design, this leaves you with stabiliser still hooped, but it has a hole in the middle. You can round up a piece of lefftover stabiliser and stitch it over the hole then you are ready to embroider again. You can do this several times.

Also, like Maryjo, I move my designs to the bottom section of my hoops as the top section has a waste area, so it leaves enough room in the top section to stitchout another design, by covering the hole made previously.

I hope this makes sense.
hugs n roses, Meganne

I put the washaway bits in a plastic bag and keep them all together. I keep a spray bottle handy, "add warm water, with some of your bits, then you can use it as a spray starch." It works very well. Hugs Yvonne

I always buy my stabilizer by the roll. Precut sizes generate more waste. I cut the whole roll in strips wide enough to fit my 5x7 hoop.(I use 5x7 90% of the time). I hoop the end of the whole strip without cutting it and let the excess hang over the front of my sewing table. Then I position my design as far toward the top of the hoop as I can before I stitch. After stitching I remove the item from the hoop and cut or tear my stabilizer just below the design. This method usually saves several inches per design. The only waste is a little above the design and on either side. Hope you can use this tip.

2 comments

by marymilf41 21 Oct 2009

i use this method as well i find very little waste this way i buy my stabilizer in a couple sizes as i use all different sizes and you can save any excess bigger pieces in a baggie and just arrange them to fit your design as i try not to waste any as it costs way to much now days good luck mary

by eleen 21 Oct 2009

Never thought of this thank you for the tip

Esseline, WELCOME to the CUTE family - you have lots of great answers so I will leave you with a flower. *4U

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I have heard that Washaway stabilizer scrap pieces can be lightly sponged along the edges and "patched" together.
I usually overlap and sew scraps together using a bit longer stitch - not mixing types, of course.

I have also heard you can collect the small bits of Washaway in a glass jar until you have a lot, then add some warm water to dissolve it, giving you a brush on stabilizer.
I have not tried this, but it seems like it would be a good idea. Has anyone done this? Does it work?

Well Esseline it looks like my cute fmly members have been doing what they like to do, telling u how they cut corners & save. U do have embroidery friends & family. Here we are, a lot of us. Welcome to this grand cute family made up of wonderful people who love helping all who need a hand. *4u

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Welcom to Cute!

Esseline, You now have friends and family. WELCOME!! My tearaway and cutaway I sew the pieces together on my sewing machine so I can use them again. The water soluble I use is H20 which is a fabric like stabilizer. I use a glue stick (like Elmers glue, any washable glue will do) to glue those pieces together, so I can reuse it. You will learn alot here, as we were all beginners at one time and we are still learning. Just have fun with it, mistakes are OK. that is just another way we learn. H&*.

Sometimes you can take 2 pieces that have been used and turn them in different directions so as to cover the holes where you have cut out the design and used them hooped together as new whole piece. I have sewed small pieces over the hole in cut-away stabilizer and have covered the holes of tear away with another piece of tear away that has been sprayed with temporary adhesive. Welcome to Cute and I'm so glad you are here.;)

I use every little piece, sometimes to saw a design together, also when I am doing a very dense design and don't want to use more than 2 layers, I use the pieces in between the layers, like a sandwich....hugs and blessings.

2 comments

by esseline68 20 Oct 2009

Thank you for answering.
Do I understand correctly that with dense embroidery designs two stabilizers are needed underneath the fabric?
Gr, Esseline

by jrob 20 Oct 2009

yes, you understand perfectly.;)

Welcome to "Cute" Be sure to read the tutorials.

I do as Mary and Gerry. Also, save the bits of water soluable stabelizer to disolve and use as a heavy starch.

3 comments

by esseline68 20 Oct 2009

Thank you!
What is a heavy starch?

by jrob 20 Oct 2009

V E R Y thick starch

by tolgamum 20 Oct 2009

It's also great when used to stiffen fsl lace designs e.g. bells and ornaments. BTW welcome to Cute.

Welcome to Cute! This is a great place to come for advice! I have learned so much from everyone here.

I sew my pieces together. Works great for me. I waste as little as possible.

Welcome to Cute

hi Esseline, first welcome on cute! I use adhesive tear away stabilizer and fix that in the hoop. after an emnbroidery there is a hole inthe stabilizer of the used material during the embroidery. If the rest is still good and fix a new piece on the open part, so I don't have to waist lot's of material.
hallo eerst welkom. ik gebruik altijd zelfklevende stik en trek vlies,die ik aan de spanring plak. na de borduring als je het werkstuk verwijderd heb je dan een gat in het vlies. daar plak ik dan gewoon een nieuw stulje overheen en borduur zo weer verder met het volgende werkstuk. want aan de randen gebruik je het nooit dus dat blijft zitten. aan de bovenkant het wateroplosbare vlies span ik nooit mee in maar zet dat altijd vast met speldjes, wel oppassen dat je het groot genoeg erop legt en niet over de speldjes borduurt.veel plezier hier op de Cute-site!!

1 comment

by esseline68 20 Oct 2009

Ook dankjewel.
Plakvlies onder het raam plakken (dus niet mee inspannen)... Kan dat ook?
Groetjes, Esseline

Het ligt er een beetje aan hoe stevig je stof is. Ik gebruik vaak een stuk stabiliser iets groter dan het motief en leg dat onder de plaats waar het borduursel komt, nà het inspannen. Meestal zijn dat glad gestreken resten van een velletje dat ik heb gebruikt wanneer ik stof + versteviger samen heb ingespannen. Het water oplosbaar vlies aan de bovenkant is bijna altijd een klein stukje. Mijn Designer 1 heeft de mogelijkheid een rijgsteek om het motief te maken waarmee het (gespelde) stik-en-trek onder en het water oplosbaar vlies boven worden vastgezet.

2 comments

by esseline68 20 Oct 2009

Dank je. Nog een vraagje dan: "een stuk stabiliser leggen onder de plaats waar het borduursel komt" Dat snap ik niet helemaal, dan ligt het stuk stabilizer toch los op de borduurmachine onder het raam? Gaat dat wel goed? Groetjes, Esseline

by iris2006 22 Oct 2009

Door de rijgsteek van de machine te gebruiken wordt alles vastgezet ook het stukje onder de hoop. Je kunt dat stukje tijdelijk op zijn plaats houden door
kleine stukjes schilderstape te gebruiken en het daarmee op een paar plaatsen vast te zetten. Dan de rijgsteek van de machine erop zetten en het schilderstape weer weghalen, en dan.... borduren maar.