Generally you want to use a cutaway stabilizer with any design much over 10,000 stitches. There are some really light weight cutaways on the market - but tearaway just will not support dense designs. Just repeating what I was told at an embroidery seminar a few years ago.

so did you NOT hoop anything? not even the stabilizer?

If you're going to stitch on an apron, use sticky back instead of tear away.

Your stabilizer should tell you how many stitches it supports. A medium will support about 8,000 stitches. I was also told to starch heavily and to use an iron on interfacing - in addition to stabilizer. This was after I had used 3 or 4 tearaways for a 30,000 stitch project
- which of course wouldn't lay flat. Since using starch & interfacing I have had much better luck and on heavy stitches 30,000+ I use 1 medium tearaway & 1 cutaway.