It’s time for some fun. I was recently asked about doing a Facebook application. You know, Facebook, one of the social sites on the internet. Where people who haven’t seen each other can chit chat and generally make a nuisance of themselves. It’s a good way to keep your friends and family close…at a distance, if you know what I mean?

And it occurred to me that one of the popular things people do on Facebook is to make and take personality quizzes. Naturally when I searched, there were no quizzes for embroiderers. Perfect! So here is a quiz for embroiderers. It won’t match you up for romance or tell your fortune, but it compares you to an embroidery stabilizer. Think that sounds weird? Try it for fun! Remember, no wrong answers are possible and all the stabilizers are necessary.

Simply tally your answers with the points listed for each answer. See you at the end!

 “Which Stabilizer are You?”

 A design calls for specific thread colors. You don’t have them all…

A.)   You call around to find who has the right spools, and then get them. 5 points

B.)    You figure out the thread conversion possibilities, and then see what you’ve got, and what you’ll need.  4 points

C.)    You can find reasonable matches with some thread on hand. 3 points

D.)   The colors you have on hand are actually pretty, too.  2 points

A design loses registration, but only slightly. You…

A.)   Decide that the design probably had bad digitizing, and you get another one. This time you’ll buy one from a quality digitizer. 5 points

B.)    Scrap it and redo it, making sure everything is correct. 4 points

C.)    Make use of that stitch remover you paid so dearly for. 3 points

D.)   Grab a colored marker. What registration problem? 2 points

In your hoop, you have…

A.)   Tear-away with some sprayed-on adhesive. 5 points

B.)    Cut-away, with a towel floating on top. You might baste it down. You might add some water-soluble topping. 4 points

C.)    Self-adhesive Tear-away, with some sticky part revealed. 3 points

D.)   Nothing, it’s a quilt floating on there. 2 points

A needle breaks during a project or a class. You…

A.)   Get someone to change it. 5 points

B.)    Have no problem with changing a needle. In fact, this provides an opportunity to refresh your memory on how easy it is to do. 4 points

C.)    Change it fast while you’re talking. No one would even notice. 3 points

D.)   It’s a multi-needle machine, so switch to another color. What an easy feature! 2 points

You walk into a class room full of embroiderers. Then you…

A.)   Help everyone get to a seat or get set up so class can start. 5 points

B.)    Teach a technique. 4 points

C.)    Take a seat with your friends. This is gonna be fun! 3 points

D.)    Unload all your show and tell projects. 2 points

Easy, huh? Now that you’ve tallied up your points, let’s see what it says about you, and which stabilizer is most like you!

22-25 points: Cut-Away Stabilizer is most like you!

Your strong constitution and positive outlook holds up no matter how rough the going gets! You take problems and challenges head-on. You can be strong willed at times, but that helps you be a good leader.  In the stabilizer world, cut-away is the most needed and most used because of its strength and versatility. There is also a softer side of cut-away called ‘No Show Mesh’ which is perfect for insides of T-shirts and baby stuff. It is really one of my staples because it is so light, yet can hold so many stitches. Another cool feature of this stuff is that it comes in some useful colors, like black and tan. Hmmm, that makes me want a beer!

18-21 points: Press-Away Stabilizer is most like you!

You like to adhere to rules, regulation and structure, but only ones you agree with. You like to do quality work, and you want to do it right the first time! You are careful, cautious, neat, diplomatic and tactful. In the stabilizer world, Press-Away (which disappears with heat) is great for situations requiring a flexible final product, yet water can ruin the finish of the fabric. If you like to embroider on satin fabrics, particularly acetate, this can be for you. Check the temperature on the fabric first, though. This can also be used instead of wash-away for toppings on things like towels. Great for giving a gift that wouldn’t look the same if you were to wash it.

14-17 points: Tear-Away Stabilizer is most like you!

You are calm, relaxed, patient, possessive, predictable, deliberate, stable and consistent. You enjoy a steady pace, and do not like sudden change. In the home embroidery stabilizer world, Tear-Away is the most used stabilizer as it leaves very little of itself behind. There are even ‘Wash-Away Tear-Away’ stabilizers that will remove themselves completely when washed. Tear-Away stabilizers also have a number of varieties of adhesives. There is ‘Sticky’, which has a removable paper backing. Very useful for things that don’t get hooped – you just hoop the stabilizer with the ‘sticky side up’ with the backing on, then remove some of the backing to let your garment stick to it in the hoop. There’s also an easy-to-use ‘Hydro Hold’ which gets sticky only where you moisten it.

10 -13 points: Wash-Away Stabilizer is most like you!

You have a warm, magnetic personality and enjoy working with people. Whether you know it or not, you are a celebrity in any room and people enjoy talking with you. In the stabilizer world, Wash-Away stabilizers are celebrities too because they allow for heirloom lace to be created, they work great as toppings on terry cloth, and can be used to add a little extra holding power to anything that can be washed out. I rely on this stuff heavily when making projects from the Interactives because there is so much you can do with freestanding embroidery.

Well, there you have it, your personality as a stabilizer. And maybe you learned a thing or two about the stabilizers themselves. But I bet you’ll stop and smile for a second or two the next time you grab a roll!

Until next time, happy stabilizing!

-Brian