stabilizing applique
 

Hi all! I am in need of advice for a stabilizer for machine applique. I was using Sulky tear a way for satin stitching, with no problems. Now I want to do blanket stitch on tea towels. After blanket stitching I spend an hour cleaning the back, all the little pieces stuck in the stitching. Any ideas? Satin stitching I don't have this problem. Also sometimes the stitching is breaking with blanket stitching.

Try spraying with a light mist of water to soften the stabilizer. Then tear off the project. There is also wash away stabilizers that might be easier to take off.

Are you using the right needle/thread combo in the machine? What type of thread are you using and how is it threaded onto the machine? Certain threads need some distance with unwinding. A thread stand behind the machine lets the thread unwind without kinks. Are you pulling, tugging on the project or stitching too fast?

Any of the above can contribute to thread breakage. It's a wonder we ever get to stitch...LOL!

Have you considered using the stabilizer that washes out?

Sorry, Rhonda hit send while I was typing.

These are tea towel gifts so I wasn't into washing, or wetting them all. The big pain is picking the left behind stabilizer out of the stitches after tearing it away. Also this is when the stitches break, tearing the stabilizer out. When I satin stitch appliques I have used Sulky Totally Stable. I use regular thread for blanket stitching and satin stitching. Never had a problem before with applique, only the blanket stitching. I have the speed set at slow on my Janome when appliqueing.

This is a tough one. I don't know why the blanket stitch is breaking. Can you adjust the width/length of the stitch to see if that helps? Try a sample first.

You might try a light cut away stabilizer on the back. Then cut around and leave in the towel.

There may be some tips here that help. It is for machine EMB but perhaps a tip or two to find a solution.

https://www.emblibrary.com/EL/ELProj...ry=Stabilizers

Here too...

https://www.emblibrary.com/EL/ELProj...ory=Fabrics101

I only use stabilizer when doing a satin stitch. I have never needed to use it with a blanket stitch. Have you tried doing one with no stabilizer? Blanket stitch rarely results in the puckering you get with satin stitch (which is why using a stabilizer is a good idea with satin stitch.)

There are both wash away and heat away stabilizers that should work nicely. The best heat away I've found is Floriani's Heat Away. Some heat aways leave little clumps of plasticy stuff but Floriani's doesn't.

Now you said "machine applique". Are we jumping to conclusions that it's on an embroidery machine? Or is it on the sewing machine? Either way, blanket stitch involves more changes in direction and the one tiny stitch at the base of the loop, so it's much harder to get the stabilizer out.

I don't hesitate to wash embroidered items that I plan to give as gifts because washing before I do the work helps to prevent puckering that might happen if there is shrinkage after the item is embroidered and washed. Also, recently I tried using some tea towels from a common, popular source and found that they wrinkled like crazy in the dryer. Who wants to iron tea towels? Ugh. Worse yet, they will need a hotter iron than my embroidery thread can tolerate. Better to find out ahead of time.

Not all wash away stabilizers are the same. H2O Eau Gone is a particularly sturdy one for underneath that I like to use with just about everything I do on the embroidery machine except quilting. I try to use less expensive types of cut or tear away stabilizer but always go back to that if it's an item that will be washed. If the fabric is stretchy or doesn't have much body I use a very slight mist of temporary adhesive with the Eau Gone. Pellon Wash n Gone is also acceptable and easier to find locally. Sometimes I have to use two layers of it, and that's no saving. Vilene is another brand that is very good. I have not used any of this stuff for sewing machine decorative work, but see no reason why it wouldn't be just as effective that way. I would use spray baste with it.

I am also doing an applique with blanket stitch and it is a problem getting the tear away out. Mine is for a kid’s quilt. Does anyone know if it’s ok to leave some of the tearaway on where it can’t be removed, if it’s hidden inside the quilt?
Towels are trickier because the back shows.