letvia, Yes if possible, I usually buy extra fabric to try my test embroidery on. You may not get the same results on different fabric. Hugs and flower.

Well, you don't have to, but yes, it is better. Due to the different elasticity of different fabrics, you use differnent stabilizers and your design might stitch out well on say, jeans, but NOT on a t-shirt. So I always do a test. Better to be safe than sorry. ;)

I agree, same type of fabric, that way you'll know if you are using the right kind & amount of stabilizer, & how it will sew out. If you're doing a t-shirt, for example, you might want to test on an old t-shirt, then save your test sew outs to make a lap quilt for someone, or for a nursing home. Buena suerte. Marji

I save square scraps of shirts, the legs of jeans cut-off for shorts (I sew lots of jackets)etc. in a plastic storage box just for test sewing. If things work well with the test design I save the squares so that one of these days when I have enough time I can do a quilt or two that already has the squares pre-embroidered!
Waste Not Want Not!
Silver

You have gotten some very wise answers. Of course you should test on the same fabric, with the same stabilizer. But I must admit, I almost never do. I hate testing ! On the other hand you need testing anyway, so what I do is that I have bought a big piece of fabric, that I like, washed it and cut it up in squares. Then I use theese squares for testing everything, and this does the trick for me, then I can use theese squares for quilts or pillows or little bags or... An idea for non-tester-people. Flowers for you and all those ladies I admire so much.

letvia, wonderful question and community - great answers. Nothing to add - just flowers for ya'll.

This is all good advice Letvia, and don't look on them as *test pieces*, think of them as *quilt pieces*, or whatever you decide to do with them. I must admit that I often don't do a test piece - but only on *cheap* fabric, and only fabric that I've used before. Hugs and flowers, and have a fun day.

The point of doing a test stitch out is to see what the design is going to do on the fabric you want to use, so it is best if you do use as close to the same as you can. As for what to do with all the test pieces, if you aren't a quilter yourself, there are many different places that would love to have quilt squares donated. Nursing homes are just one of the possibilities. My grandmother got to the point that she just couldn't live on her own anymore, but she could and did still stitch and crochet. Other potential donation locations would be religious groups, women's shelters, rescue missions, and even pet shelters.

Thank you for asking this,letvia. It was going to be my next question. At present I am starting to build up a folder with all this wonderful advice from so many knowledgeable people! How lucky are we?