Embroidery- Felt for stabilizer
 

I have a singer futura. I 'm not that good yet but I'm working at it. The question is have anyone used felt as a stabilizer? I have this friend who does beautiful work and she uses felt as stabilzer. Any thoughts anyone?

Yes. My thoughts are that felt wouldn't hold up to laundering, and would make a lot of bulk. I prefer using a stabilizer that can be removed after the embroidery. Felt sounds like padding to me and it doesn't sound very ''stable'' as it would have some stretch as the machine is stitching. Just MO.

One of the large online embroidery sites stitches out all their samples on felt. If you look closely at the embroideries, you can tell it's felt. So I know that you can embroider on it with good results. What does your friend use the embroideries for? felt seems so thick for use as a stabilizer.

Just thinking ... haven't tried it. But with the bulk I think it would be best on a piece where the whole piece has a felt backing so there wasn't bulk in some places but not others. I would also only do it in a piece that was not going to be laundered at all or often (like a purse or a throw pillow). I suspect that the embroidery would hold up better and not pucker with the heavy felt backing.

PaperPrincess, I think the reason that the embroidery palce that you mentioned stitches out on Felt, Is strictly for the purpose of showing the embroidery designs and not to use as garments or quilts. If it's not to be washed, felt will work...I use it to test stitch my embroideries as well.
What you need for a stabliizer under embroidery is a fusible , wash-away, tear-away or a permanent stabilized (such as a no- show mesh) depending on the fabric you are using you may need more than one layer or you may need heavier or lighter weight stabilizers. If you go to an embroidery web site, such as "Embroidery Library" and go to their informational pages/tutorial pages and look for stabilizers, they will have a chart of the different ones to use for whatever you are trying to stitch out on.
Hope this helps.

I don't use it as a stabilizer but I do embroider on it and it does very well. I can't see it standing up to washing, etc so I wouldn't use it as stabilizer. Depending on what you embroider on it you may or maynot need stabilizer but I'd never use it as stabilizer, not stable and too thick.

try this link for lots of good info for using stabilizer
http://www.rnkdistributing.com/pdf-f...Stabilizer.pdf

Not all felt is created or performs the same. I have had some felt that worked fine in place of a regular batting in table runners. So different felts will do differently on diferent projects. Test , and test again the "experiemental" fibers you want to use, and keep close records of the manufacture and all of the info on the bolt.

Embroidery Library always shows their sew outs on felt. I wrote them to find out type,weight recommendations and they said they DO NOT recommend it for anything but display.

Felt stretches on an embroidery machine, ask me how I know. I would not use it as a stabilizer, there are much better products out there

I have done items I frame on felt, but the felt always has a cutaway stabilizer behind it. Felt is stretchy, and it therefore would not be suitable for use as a stabilizer.

Pam