Shirley, how large is the design? I've read that the 10,000 stitch rule is for a 4x5 design. I am doing designs that are 6.5x6 which 60,000 stitches. So, you'd think I should use 6 layers of stabilizer. But my 60,000 stitches are spread over twice the square inches of a 4x5 design. So I divided my 60,000 by 2 and result is 30,000, divided by 10,000 is 3 layers of stabilizer. I'm using quilt shop quality cotton fabric and I am very happy with the result.