5 Must-Have Machine Embroidery Stabilizers

Stabilizer is a crucial part of quality embroidery. The whole purpose of stabilizer is to provide the extra structure you need as your machine continually moves back and forth!

If you're brand-new to this hobby or looking to round out your stabilizer collection, here are 5 must-have stabilizers every machine embroider needs!

#1: Light Mesh Cut-Away

We use Light Mesh Cut-Away SO much here at Kimberbell! It's absolutely perfect for feature quilts and bench pillows like the Autumn Acres Bench Pillow (shown here).

You can trim Light Mesh Cut-Away to the size of the quilt block and it disappears into the seam allowance, giving a beautiful finish to your project!

Tip: When choosing a stabilizer, consider the density of your project. Use Light Mesh Cut-Away for quilt blocks and lighter projects.

Use a Medium Cut-Away for zipper pouches where you want more structure, and Heavy Cut-Away for Mug Rugs and projects with lots of layers.

Light Mesh Cut-Away is strong enough to handle fancy stitch work, yet light enough that it becomes part of the fabric without shadowing or adding bulk!

#2: Wash-Away

Wash-Away is ideal for when you don't want stabilizer to be seen after embroidery is done. For example, use Wash-Away for freestanding lace like this witch hat from Kimberbell's Lace Studio!

Kimberbell Wash-Away stays taut in the hoop without any stretching, which is important for projects like this because lace has no fabric support—just thread. You don't want Wash-Away to sag.

By the way, when choosing our Wash-Away, we really wanted it to rinse away in 20 seconds in COOL water. Hot water can make fabric or thread dyes run. (And no one wants that!)

So, using red thread in all testing, our team rinsed 6-7 water-soluble stabilizers at once to see which one would dissolve first in cool water with NO bleeding. 

During this process, they discovered that some of the stabilizers had so much glue that 20 seconds of rinsing only made the glue run and glop. (These did NOT pass the test and were booted right away!)

Tip: Instead of immersing your whole project, use a spray bottle to spritz your Wash-Away! 

Kimberbell Wash-Away holds stitches beautifully. So beautifully, in fact, you can get away with using only one layer for lace when most brands recommend two!

#3: Sticky-Back Wash-Away

It's really tricky to hoop a T-shirt or sweatshirt, right? Sticky-Back Wash-Away allows you to "float" your project instead of hooping it the traditional way! 

This little T-shirt was made with Sticky-Back Wash-Away. Hoop a sheet of Sticky-Back Wash-Away, peel the paper covering to expose the adhesive, and stick the shirt right on top! 

Tip: Like our regular Wash-Away, Sticky-Back Wash-Away dissolves in 20 seconds in cool water. Just spray with a spray bottle and dab! 

Kimberbell Sticky-Back Wash-Away is repositionable, too. If you put a sweatshirt or tea towel (or whatever) on top and find that it's a little crooked, it's very easy to just peel it off and try again!

In a nutshell...when you don't want to hoop your project, reach for Sticky-Back Wash-Away.

#4: Project Batting

When we started sending Kimberbell Project Batting out in our event kits, people went nuts over it. We heard, “What's in this batting that makes it so perfect?" Embroiderers wanted more! 

So. . .what makes Kimberbell Project Batting so special?

Well, if you're a quilter, you probably love cotton, right? The loft of our Project Batting is 85% cotton. (That's a huge cotton content in comparison to other battings on the market!)

The other 15% is a polyester scrim that's woven through the cotton to create a stabilizer. Why does this matter?

Because when there's a lot of stitching in one place, your batting can tear and stretch and pull apart. But with our scrim and cotton content, Project Batting is stable and holds a lot of stitches!

Tip: If you like to quilt in-the-hoop of your embroidery machine, you won’t need additional stabilizer when using Project Batting.

Just make a quilt sandwich with back fabric, batting, and front fabric because the batting is the stabilization!

We use Project Batting for Mug Rugs, hot pads, feature quilts, and more!

#5: Fusible Backing 

Fusible Backing answers the age-old question of how to prevent puckering in machine embroidery. Iron a piece of Fusible Backing to the wrong side of the fabric and you'll see a BIG difference!

We use Fusible Backing on nearly everything we stitch. Because it's soft, supple, and woven like fabric, Fusible Backing becomes part of the fabric drape.

Tip: Use Fusible Backing for T-shirt quilts! Iron onto the T-shirt BEFORE you cut and the knit won't roll.  You can also use it in place of interfacing for your sewing projects.

Fusible Backing works on linen, lightweight cotton, quilting cotton, knit fabrics...give it a try!

Kimberbell Stabilizer 

Whether you're just getting started in machine embroidery or have been stitching for years, you'll definitely want to have these five stabilizers on hand. 😊 

Once you do, you can expand your stash to include even more of our exceptional Kimberbell Stabilizers!

Tip: When choosing a stabilizer, make sure it matches the weight of your project. If you're stitching on denim jeans, use a heavy stabilizer because denim is heavy! Balance fabric weight with your stabilizer.

Happy stitching (and stabilizing)!