How to choose and use SULKY Cut-Away stabilizers for machine embroidery

I hope that yesterday’s post helped to clear up some confusion about tear-away stabilizers. Today, we’re onto a new category of stabilizer called cut away. As expected by the name, you remove the excess stabilizer with scissors. The stabilizer under the stitches remains in the project to provide stability after removing the excess.

Today, I’m working with Sulky Cut Away stabilizers. These stabilizers also come in various sizes – the one-yard package or the roll in widths of 8” to 20”. Most are available in white, but several also come in black.

Remember that these are not scientific experiments, nor did I go back to see how to improve something if it didn’t work as well as I would have liked. I used T-shirt knit fabrics for the samples, with a 60-weight bobbin thread and a 40-weight embroidery thread in the needle. I used a traditional two-part embroidery hoop for the first samples and a metal hoop for the final ones. I’ll explain more when I get there. All of them had ONE layer of stabilizer.

I used Sulky Soft n Sheer for this sample. It’s a textural (fabric-looking) stabilizer that’s very soft to the touch. I used a traditional hoop, but I didn’t want to hoop the knit fabric, so I floated it (laid it on top of the stabilizer) and used the machine embroidery basting stitch around the hoop to secure the fabric. Soft’n Sheer is a lightweight stabilizer suitable for lightweight fabrics, including T-shirt knits. It comes in black and white.

My stitch sample includes fill patterns for lettering and a shape, satin stitch lines for the other type of lettering, and the heart outline.

The overall quality looks pretty good! I’ll talk about stabilizers used as toppers tomorrow.

Someone asked a question about stabilizing garments. They had heard the expression, “If you wear it, don’t tear it,”’ meaning don’t use a tear-away stabilizer on a garment. So I decided to try it.

I used the HeatnBond Stitch n Sew tear-away stabilizer. From the perspective of the front, this looks no different than the one done with the cut-away stabilizer.

I wanted to wash all the samples to see what would happen to them. I stitched two samples using the Soft n Sheer stabilizer. I wanted to leave one large piece of stabilizer on one sample and cut out the stabilizer separately for the various shapes on the second sample.

For the tear-away, I tore the majority of the stabilizer away.

Here’s something to contemplate about the tear-away. I found removing the stabilizer around the small lettering and the heart outline tricky. I had to be extra careful not to stretch the fabric or damage the stitches. And as you can see, there are lots of bits of stabilizer still caught in the letters. I removed more (see above), but cleaning that up took time as I didn’t want to stretch the fabric or damage the stitches. We discussed this yesterday with the tear-away and how it’s not the best stabilizer if the back is visible. While this is the inside of a garment, it’s still visible if you look inside the garment, but more importantly, it’ll likely be next to someone’s skin, and that paper can be scratchy!

Here’s what it looks like after washing. I have not ironed this, and all the stitching held up exceptionally well. There was no substantial puckering around any stitchouts, even the dense ones.

When I looked at the back, everything seemed to be just fine. I was surprised at the difference (or lack thereof) in the two cut-away examples. I expected the one with the cut shapes of stabilizer to pucker more than the one where I left it in one piece, but they seem to have the same appearance on the front.

However, the stitch-out using the tear-away stabilizer still has many bits of the paper-like stabilizer trapped between the stitching. I would NOT be happy with this next to my skin.

The next stabilizer is called Sulky Cut Away Plus. I only have pictures after washing, but that’s OK. It’s the after that we want to see. It’s a medium-weight, non-woven stabilizer.

The knit fabric is very much the same weight as the previous examples. Look at how beautiful those stitches are. I also floated the knit in the traditional hoop, with only the cut-away stabilizer in the hoop. For the economical-minded stitchers, a metal hoop requires smaller amounts of stabilizer. Just saying! I basted around the hoop to stabilize the fabric. Do not use the basting function of your embroidery machine if the stitching will leave holes, as with leather, vinyl, or cork.

One issue with putting embroidery designs on a garment, particularly one that will touch the skin, is those people with sensitive skin, especially babies and small children. Many adults, myself included, dislike something scratchy touching their skin.

So, on the back of one of the stitch-outs, I put a layer of Sulky Tender Touch, a permanent, iron-on “Cover-a-Stitch.” It is soft and flexible, even though it’s fusible.

I did NOT fuse it long enough, so the edges on the T-shirt fabric did come up slightly during the washing process, but the difference between the two samples is incredible. The one with the Tender Touch is so soft that I would have zero issues putting it next to my skin. The one on the left? Although the stabilizer is smooth, some of the stitches are rough. My vote would be always to use Tender Touch. You can buy it on a bolt!

In addition, Tender Touch works as a stabilizer for lightweight fabrics. There’s a lot of information on the packaging, so be sure to read it. And don’t forget to make some samples.

So far, the main difference between the two stabilizers we have chatted about today is the product’s texture and weight. The Tender Touch had the additional property of being a fusible.

The next two products are also fusible.

I used a metal hoop for the remainder of the samples. I’ll say that I’ve become a fan of metal hoops as the amount of required stabilizer is less; it’s faster and easier (for arthritic hands) to hoop the fabric, with no danger of bruising the fabric, etc. Remember to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for hoops – in this case, no more than eight magnets on any metal hoop.

The other reason I used a metal hoop for these two products is that you start by fusing a piece of the stabilizer to the wrong side of the fabric. I don’t want to fuse a larger-than-necessary piece of stabilizer to the back of my stitch-out. The metal hoop worked just fine. Look at how stable those stitches are! Amazing flat!!! This stabilizer is called Sulky Fuse’n Stitch and is a heavyweight permanent stabilizer.

Here’s the back of the stitch-out. I was a bit torn on this one, as once the stabilizer is in place, you can’t remove the excess, and you need a piece large enough to stabilize the stitching. It’s for use on heavier fabrics than T-shirt knits. But the stability is impressive. In the future, I would round the corners of any of the stabilizers.

Here’s the front of that design after washing. It looks incredible, although it’s a bit overkill for this fabric’s weight. This product is more in line with decorator-weight fabrics or those used for outerwear.

The next cut-away is called Sulky Soft’n Sheer Extra. It’s a medium-weight iron-on cut-away permanent stabilizer. It has a fabric-like texture like the Soft’n Sheer, and you could use one layer of this stabilizer instead of two layers of Soft’n Sheer.

Because it’s fusible, you must cut a piece large enough to stabilize your area, but the advantage of this one is that you can reheat the area after stitching and pull back the excess stabilizer. Cut it away, and it’s beautiful. There is no need to baste in the hoop if you float your fabric, and no excess stabilizer on the back.

I was very impressed with this product. Look how stable everything looks.

And here’s what the back looked like as I removed the excess fusible stabilizer. I’ve never used a product like this before, and without reading the instructions, I would never have known that I could reheat the sample and remove the excess. Then, I gave it another quick press and let it cool. This stabilizer is a new product, and it’s very cool.

The final product for today is called Sulky Stitch’n Seal, which seals the back of embroideries stitched on waterproof fabric. WOW – who knew! It’s also a new product.

Since I did NOT have any waterproof fabric in the house, I started by making a water-resistant fabric using HeatnBond Vinyl and fused it onto a piece of cotton. The vinyl was another product that I’ve meant to try for a long time. It was super easy to use. Again – reading the instructions is essential.

I didn’t make a note, but I don’t think I used any stabilizer on the back and stitched my embroidery directly onto the vinyl-covered cotton. These products are new territory for me, but it was so easy!

The next step was to take a piece of the Sulky Stitch’n Seal and fuse it to the wrong side. The instructions said to experiment, and well, I learned that you need a press cloth, as you can see by the little goof on the lower left side.

And here’s the final design. WOW – I love it!

Wow – what a fascinating journey through the world of cut-away stabilizers. I have only scratched the surface of what you can do with the cut-away stabilizers, but I hope I’ve shown you enough to realize that there are no magic formulas for which stabilizer to use when. I learned so much about new products with properties I’ve never tried before.

I want to try additional stitch-outs with these products to become more comfortable and knowledgeable about the cut-away stabilizers and their various properties.

Be sure to come back tomorrow as I play with water-soluble stabilizers! That’s one of my favorites, but I’m sure I’ll learn lots again!

Have a great day!!

Ciao!!!

This is part 3 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 2: Choosing & Using Tear-Away Stabilizers for Sewing & Machine Embroidery