Designs Used
Supplies Needed:
**Balsa wood that is 1/16 inch thick or smaller (available at craft stores)
**Medium weight cutaway stabilizer
**Tear-away stabilizer
**Temporary spray adhesive
**Water soluble adhesive
**75/11 universal or embroidery needle
**Rotary cutter (optional)
When choosing a design for Balsa wood, choose a light design, such as those digitized for cardstock or vintage-style and redwork designs.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-3.jpg)
We find that templates are very helpful when positioning a design.
Templates are printouts of designs from embroidery software programs. A template will indicate the center of a design, as well as the horizontal and vertical axis lines.
Embird, Buzz Tools, and Wilcom TrueSizer are examples of embroidery programs that make templates.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-4.jpg)
Balsa wood is very porous so use cutaway stabilizer on the backside. Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive (we use Gunold's KK100) and smooth it on the backside of the wood.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-5.jpg)
Because balsa wood can't be hooped, we'll hoop a piece of tear-away stabilizer, and affix the Balsa wood to that.
Spray a piece of tear-away stabilizer with temporary adhesive and hoop it firmly.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-6.jpg)
Place the balsa wood (with the cutaway stabilizer on the backside) in the center of the hoop.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-7.jpg)
Since balsa wood is so porous, we use water-soluble stabilizer on top to prevent the stitches from sinking into the wood grain.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-8.jpg)
Use a 75/11 universal or embroidery needle, and embroider the design.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-9.jpg)
After the design has finished, gently tear the excess stabilizer away.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-10.jpg)
Remove the water-soluble topping also.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-11.jpg)
Use a damp brush or paper towel to remove any remaining water-soluble stabilizer from the top.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-12.jpg)
Use a rotary cutter to cut the balsa wood to the size and shape you would like.
![](https://public.emblibrary.com/production/commerce/how-tos/114/PR1529-13.jpg)
And there you have it! Using Balsa wood you can make coasters, postcards, jewelry boxes, recipe card boxes, and even decorative trivets for the kitchen and dining room!