I've had my embroidary machine less than 2 months and havent' used it much yet, but I had a friend help me at the store with all the different types of stablizer. I ended up buying some that is pretty thick because she said it really helps with less puckering on small projects and when you are changing thread colors alot. She also recommended a very light tulle like fabric on the front of the design so your threads stay nice and even. It really seemed to help. I've just been playing around so far, but hope to get some real projects going before too long.