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Embroidery Stabilizer
| Used for: | Best used on: | Comes in: | Removal: | |
| Cut-away stabilizers | Permanent support | Knits, loosely wovens | Light to heavy weights | Not removed, except for cutting away excess |
| Tear-away stabilizers | Temporary support | Firmly woven, natural-fiber fabrics | Light to heavy weights; fusible and nonfusible | Torn away, but not always completely removable, depending on brand and stitch pattern |
| Heat-away stabilizers | Temporary support | Nonwashable, delicate fabrics and for off-the-edge stitching techniques | Woven sheets, plastic film | Completely removable with iron and caution |
| Wash-away stabilizers | Temporary support | Delicate, mesh-like, and difficult-to-mark fabrics; also for cutwork and embroidered appliqués | Plastic film, paper sheets, brush-on or sprayable liquid | Completely removable with water |
Cut-away embroidery stabilizer and tear-away embroidery stabilizer have drastically different aesthetic values.
Cut-away embroidery stabilizer characteristics
- Softer to the touch in all weights and densities
- After washing Cut away embroidery stabilizer has a material feel to it
- Cut-away backing has to be cut from embroidered fabric which doesn’t have a precision look to the stabilizer removal process
- More time spent per garment to have a completely finished product
Tear-away embroidery stabilizer characteristics
- Stiff paper-like feel in all weights and densities
- After washing Tear-away embroidery stabilizer will be stiff under the bottom stitch but the majority of backing is knocked loose
- Tear-away backing can be torn where the needle has punched through the backing
- Typically the tear-away backing removal is much less time intensive due to the ease of removal












