Brainstorm...while pressing fabric for a quilt, I had an idea for all the bits of stabilizer that I usually sew together with water soluble thread. Why not glue them together with Elmer's school glue (washable)? I thinned the glue a bit with water, just enough so that it flowed from the spout--glued the overlaps of stabilizer. You can press with iron to dry the glue if it is tear-away or cut-away. The water soluble stabilizers will "melt" from the wet glue. Anyway, I now have a stack of 4x4 and 5x7 sheets for embroidery. They can float under the hoop, or "I believe" they are strong enough to hoop. Here is sample showing.
Never thought to use my scraps of WSS, I seem to throw it in water all the time for starch!
Sometimes I can scoot a small piece of stabilizer under the hoop--but other times I like to hoop it and float my article on top. It seems such a waste to throw away a sheet of stabilizer with a little hole in the middle. Stitching the scraps together seems to be so time consuming, and difficult to tear away because of stitching. I didn't have a glue stick today, but lots of school glue since I layer my quilts with it often.
Another thing that those water soluble stabilizer scraps works well with is when you are adding lace or any trim to an item. It gives that stiffness that helps everything stay where it belongs under the needle.
Keep the ideas coming. I love "RECYCLING". Thank you. :)