Rose Marie, you mention trying to use the minimum of stabilizer. May I pass along a suggestion a saleslady made to me when I bought my 1st--the Brother Snoopy machine. She told me to hoop my project tightly, and then just slip a piece of stabilizer underneat the hoop as I started the stitching. You can customize your need this way. And of course, you can glue stick a patch over the holes where you tear away...or zigzag scraps together to make lgr sheets. Unfortunately, when you need the WSS, there's no shortcuts there.