The biggest thing that you need to master is which stabilizer goes with which fabric.
Once you have the basics, then you can start to experiment.
Here's the thing with stabilizer, you get strength with the layers.
I always use a minimum of two layers of stabilizer.
If you're going to just use one, you might not get the results you're looking for.
That's going to depend on how many stitches are in a design.
If it's a very heavily stitched design like a tiger's face, you're going to need more
stabilizer; two, maybe three depending on the fabric that you're working with.
Let me go down a quick little way to remember.
If your fabric stretches, so you have tee shirts, sweat shirts, that type of thing,
you need to use a cutaway stabilizer.
This stabilizer is literally cut away around the outside of the design and left to support,
to be the foundation inside a project.
For example on this sweatshirt, you will see the stabilizer still inside.
If you've ever had a sweatshirt and you're, "Gosh, why did they leave the stabilizer in
there?"
It's to support the stitches.
That means I can actually pull on these stitches and they don't pop.
If I had tear away stabilizer on that, and I pulled, those stitches will all start to
break; cutaway stabilizer on anything stretchy.
Is denim stretchy?
It is.
I prefer to use cutaway stabilizer on the back of jean fabric, denim fabric.
It does have stretch.
I don't know about you, but when I take my jeans out of the dryer after they've been
washed, they're a little tight.
About noon time, they're just right.
I've stretched them out.
Some denim these days have the lycra in them.
They're actually stretch denim, so definitely need the support system for those stitches
going on there.
Two layers on the back of this made the design really turn out nice and flat.
This has been washed a couple of times.
We really see the results of good, quality, properly amount of stabilizer in your project.
A lot of you are quilters.
We're talking about quilt fabric, cotton fabrics, medium weight woven fabrics.
This is silk, we just went ahead and used a tear away stabilizer.
If your fabric is a woven, you can use tear away stabilizer.
That will allow you to tear it away nicely from back behind it and then be able to quilt
it or not see it if it is going to be seen on the back side and not covered up or quilted
in.
That is a nice stabilizer.
Remember just because you want to not see it doesn't mean you want to change out on
stretchy fabrics.
On the fabric that is a terry cloth, people always ask is that a woven or stretch?
Technically, all fabric is stretch because I don't know about you, but last time I tried
to sew on the diagonal, it was a little wavy because it stretches on that bias edge.
All fabric has stretch to it.
If you're going to run out of stabilizer, don't run out of the cutaway.
You can always use cutaway stabilizer on the back of a woven fabric.
It's like the universal stabilizer; maybe not the best one for the final result.
Would you want cutaway stabilizer on the back of a towel?
Probably not; you'll probably want to use a tear away stabilizer.
You want to remove it so nobody sees it on the back side.
There's also stabilizer that we use on the top for fabrics like a towel, terrycloth,
fleece, things with a nap.
If you don’t put a little water soluble stabilizer on top, the loops come showing
through your stitches.
That does not look good at all.
What you want to do is you'll hoop up your fabric with your stabilizer, two layers.
Right before you embroider it, you can just put a small piece of stabilizer just over
the area right on top of the fabric.
Once that stitching starts, it will hold it in place.
There's some other key things that I like to use, some spray adhesives.
My favorite, the 505 spray now, the new web bond.
This one sprays a little bit more direct so I don't get so much overspray and gumminess
on my hoops.
This one has, I would always suggest spraying maybe over in a box or with an area covered
with a sheet.
That way overspray doesn't get on tables or sewing machines and that type of thing.
Both are really really good.
They're a temporary spray adhesive.
Often spray my stabilizer.
By the way you'll always want to spray the secondary layer, not your project.
You want to spray the stabilizer.
That stick will not transfer to your fabric.
That is of course what you want.
Also, it's just temporary.
Once you start to wash it, it goes away.
Even in the air it will dissipate and completely come off your project unless you use too much.
There has been issues where people are spraying and spraying.
It might get too gummy.
It might take more to get it off your project.
Another thing that water soluble stabilizer that you can get, you could use that in place
of a tear away.
A tear away, once it's actually stitched, it's perforated.
You find yourself with nothing really back there.
It really was just during the embroidery process that it was holding things together in the
hoop.
A water soluble stabilizer on the back of something that you're going to see a lot,
that would be one thing you can substitute out.
For example this is a recipe towel, something I like to do, take a famous family recipe
and do it out.
You can do some great gifts, maybe put together a little gift basket if it included grandma's
famous apple pie and put in with a new bushel of apples fresh from the orchard.
This would be something where I would use a water soluble stabilizer on the back.
Then I don't have to pick out that tear away stabilizer from every little letter in there.
It really makes a difference.
That's one place.
I sometimes will use water soluble stabilizer on the top of something that probably doesn't
need it.
It actually helps keep your stitches a little bit more raised and professional looking.
If you really want it to look good, you can add that little extra layer on top.
Everything washes away when it's done.
Those stitches really show up a little bit taller and a little bit fuller when you're
finished.
This one was actually just a cross stitch design that was stitched on a towel where
you'd normally do by hand.
This was done with embroidery software.
That's something you want to talk to your local Husqvarna Viking dealer about software
to add and go on further and use your machine for something totally more fun.
Another thing people will sometimes use, you've got a lot of designs that are considered quilting
designs.
Very easy to stitch, these designs almost … they don't take hardly any time at all.
We're going through all the layers.
We're going through your quilt top, your batting, and your back.
You don't need stabilizer.
The batting will act as your stabilizer.
I will tell you this looks so good.
It will take you longer to hoop up the project than it will to actually stitch the design
out.
By the time you get it hooped and on the machine and fabric moved around, that design stitches
out super quick.
That's just a quick rundown with stabilizer.
You heard me talk about hooping the stabilizer with your fabric.
You're going to have a much better success if you do that when all the fabric stabilizer
is all together in the hoop.
There's times where you can't hoop something.
You could use the stabilizer and just hoop the stabilizer.
You can use some temporary spray adhesive.
Spray the middle of the hoop and stick it down.
Some of the stabilizers are actually a sticky stabilizer where they actually have a peel
away and you stick your project down.
It doesn't go anywhere while it's embroidering.
It's usually a tear away.
Then you tear that all away from your project and really holds it very nice.
Also, stabilizers come in usually a couple different sizes.
If you're working with your smaller hoop for a project, why waste the extra stabilizer
from a taller roll?
Spend the extra money.
Get a small roll.
You'll use it up.
That way it's just right for the hoops that you're working with.
We're going to get into a little bit more detail on hooping and take a look at all the
other videos that we've been doing for this machine.