I am going to embroider a ripple design on a canvas bag, should I use stabilizer on the back? Hoop both? Hoop just the tear a way? Embroidering bags for the ladies to take to the farmer's market. Already opened one side seam. TIA!

I use tear away and hoop it only,and i open one side of the bag so i can move away from the machine and do other things hugs

instead of opening one side seam, if you can just turn the bag inside out, then hoop. I've done this several times and works like a charm. Use hair clips to keep the excess bag out of the way of the needle.

Hoop just a cut-away, canvas is heavy and can tear your tear-away before you are finished stitching it. I use a spray adhesive AND pin on fabrics that are heavy as in canvas. ;)

I would use a thinner cut away.
It holds the designs better especially for a hard working bag.
Happy Stitching

I say no. The canvas should be stable enough. I have doen ripple on 2 layers of sheer cotton. I stitch on canvas with no topping either. The quickest way to stitch! LLDS!

I hoop cutaway stabilizer in the hoop and sticky spray the bag as well as pin it in place. ****

I have not done bags but have done some things on heavy fabric like that. I would not hoop. I would use sticky stabilizer or spray glue (and pin outside of the area if needed). I don't hoop anything anymore but I sure would not risk my hoops on this in any case (expense of stabilizer much less than expense of a new hoop).

1 comment

by lflanders 01 May 2012

I would not hoop or add stablizer to a heavy canvas! There is no need for the stablizer and the thick canvas is alot more likely to break the hoop with the stress it will take to hoop it! Sometimes, my bottom stitches will look just awful and I can start on another design and it look great. I think that might be the way the designer digitizes the design. Only once in awhile will it look "trashy" on the bottom. I can use the same threads and the same material but change the design and everything will look just fine. Really, it is your own personl choice as to use backing or not! I would however use spray or pin the design in the place of hooping!

You certainly will get varied answers on this one, so here is mine. If the canvas is heavy and doesn't stretch I often hoop with no stabalizer. If I am concerned about any stretch or if it is not as heavy as I would like, I pin it to stabalizer(or use blue tape method) and do not hoop fabric. I find hooping heavy fabric and stabilizer at the same time stretches my hoops and I did break one, so I just don't take a chance anymore. I sometimes can turn the design upside down and attach to the hoop and do not need to open the seam (if I sit right there and hold everything out of the way). I try to save time (and sometimes it costs more in the long run) when I am doing multiples, ripping and resewing seams isn't my idea of fun! Hope that helps, Linda

1 comment

by tilde01 01 May 2012

Agree with heavy canvas is heavy and doesn't need stabilizer.

question: What is the Blue Tape Method?

Hi Debra.....I treat the ripple designs like any other designs......stabilize according to what you are embroidering on....the ripple designs will tend to pull up on the material giving a bit of a 3-D effect, however on canvas you probably won't have that effect, not sure. Either way the ripples should stitch nicely on canvas. I usually hoop sticky stabilizer with another stabilizer floated on the back of the sticky and then place my garment on top of the sticky and pin it around the hoop....hope this helps...Vicki