Fabrics 101 Stabilizer & Design Guide

When fabric is produced, manufacturers don't anticipate that anything will be added to it. When embroidering onto fabric, we're adding weight and tension of thread and stitches. The fabric needs to be stronger and more "stable" to support the stitches - and that is why stabilizer is used with every embroidery project.

If the fabric isn't stabilized properly, you'll see less-than-stellar results. You might find shifting and gapping, puckering, dimpling, and more. Choosing the right type of design and stabilizer for your fabric is the key to getting great results.

The Fabrics 101 articles are an excellent guide for your stitching projects, and you can find them all here. This chart is a quick reference guide that summarizes those articles. Below you'll find the type of fabric, along with our recommendation for type of design, stabilizer, and needle. To read the full Fabrics 101 article for a type of fabric, click on the fabric name.

Steps To Complete

Fabric	Stabilizer/Backing	Design	Needle

Aida Cloth	Cutaway	Any.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Balsa Wood	Cutaway	Choose light designs, such as Redwork, toile, or vintage.	75/11 embroidery or universal needle

Batiste	Water soluble or tear-away	Choose light and open designs.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used


Broadcloth	Cutaway	Choose light designs, such as toile, vintage, Redwork, or designs with light and open areas.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used

Burlap	Cutaway	Choose solid, stitch-filled designs. Avoid light designs (they will get lost in the weave of the burlap).	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used

Canvas	Cutaway	Any.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used

Chamois	Cutaway	Any; but be cautious of running-stitch designs (like Redwork) that may get lost in the nap of the fabric.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Charmeuse	Cutaway	Any, but consider draping (choose open designs for better draping).	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Chiffon	Water-soluble	Open, airy, and light.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Cloth Diapers	Cutaway	Designs of any complexity will work well. Choose small designs or designs with open areas to avoid leaking	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Confetti Dot	Cutaway	If using a large design, choose open, airy, and light; if a small design, solid-filled.	75/11 sharp needle (necessary to penetrate the "dots)

Corduroy	Cutaway	Any for narrow wale; for wide wale, choose solid-filled designs (avoid running-stitch or Redwork designs).	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Denim	Cutaway	Any.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Faux Fur	Cutaway	Solid-filled designs; avoid Redwork or light designs.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Faux Suede	Cutaway in most cases; tear-away with light designs	Any, but consider draping.	75/11 sharp needle (necessary for penetrating thicker fabric)

Faux Leather	Cutaway	Any, but consider draping (open designs will give the best draping).	75/11 sharp needle (necessary for leaving small perforations in the material)

Felt	Cutaway	Any.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Flannel	Cutaway	Any.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Fleece	Cutaway; tear-away may be used for simple and light designs	Any (but in some cases, running-stitch or Redwork designs may get lost in the fabric).	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery or universal needle may also be used.

Gabardine	Cutaway	Any (but consider draping).	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Handkerchiefs	Cutaway, tear-away, or water-soluble can be used.	Choose light designs, such as Redwork, toile, or vintage.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Hemp	Cutaway	Any, but can depend on the weight of the fabric.	75/11 sharp needle. An embroidery needle may also be used.

Homespun	Cutaway or tear-away depending on the fabric blend	Light and open designs for cotton/poly blends, solid-fill designs for sturdier 100% cotton homespun.

Brands of stabilizer:

Each brand and type of stabilizer has strengths and weaknesses, and everyone has their favorites. Here's what we use:

Cutaway. Choosing a soft and pliable cutaway stabilizer (nothing stiff) will bring the best results, both during embroidery and during wear/use/laundering of the item as well. We use a 2.5 ounce cutaway called Soft-n-Stable made by Brother. We also enjoy a wide variety of the Floriani cutaway products (in particular, No-Show Mesh).

Tear-away. We get great results with Terradon Clean Tear, as well as Floriani tear-away products.

Water-Soluble. Vilene (a fibrous water-soluble product) is a dream to work with when making freestanding lace items. We've also used Sulky Ultra Solvy with excellent results.

Notes about needles: We prefer to use a size 11 sharp needle (not an embroidery needle) in all of our projects. A sharp needle has a fine and small point, whereas an embroidery needle has a rounded tip. A sharp needle will give a crisper and neater look to the stitches than an embroidery needle.

When embroidering and using a cutaway backing, you can use an embroidery needle instead of a sharp needle (the difference in the results will likely be negligible). However, if you are using tear-away
or water-soluble stabilizer (for in-the-hoop or freestanding lace projects), always use a sharp needle. Using an embroidery or universal needle will rip, tear, or leave large holes in the stabilizer. That can cause misalignment issues, as well as thread looping, breaks, and other tension problems.