I remember Ann Cobb (THE AnnTheGran) laughingly discussing the new items that were coming out when she was first Embroidering. She told us that there were few if any sites to find embroidery; no place to get supplies and tools for this craft were non-existent. 

Today, there are so many options that a newbie as well as a seasoned veteran can be daunted just by the new items as well as the myriad of designs.  Trying every one is impossible and one will have to trust a spokesperson to tell you how this 'new gadget' is going to make your life better.  After all, new items are always "Life Changing" right?

Well, a friend gave me some 'new' water soluble stabilizer (wss) to try.  I am a big fan of Badgemaster (Now you can get a sample size-30" by 72" for just $6.82. And, it is available all the time!!!*) but I am always open to doing something different. 

The piece was a paper-backed net style.  Nothing unusual except for the fact that I forgot to remove the paper before sewing. . . . As I listened to the needle puncture the paper, I was thinking that it sounded strange.  The design was about 3/4 done before I realized that I needed to remove the paper prior to sewing.  Geeze, can't a girl make a mistake once in a while?



I held on to the paper laden piece and then did another leaf with the paper removed.  Naturally it was a lot quieter.  Both of the tests were very nice in their layout.  There were no pinches or tears in the paperful (just made that word up) stabilizer. 

Then I used my Badgemaster.  Each of the designs were just perfect and I was ready to place them in water.  I trimmed each stabilizer and left the paper on the erroneous leaf.  It would have insane to try to remove each very small fleck of paper.  (Didn't something like this happen in Florida during an election?)  Well, I did have some hanging shards and left them to be removed when they were wet.

I placed them all in one larger bowl with tepid to warmer water at the same time.  I was astounded.  Here are the actual, unedited results.  The paperful item never lost all of its paper.  That piece and the webbed stabilizer piece were each bathed in water that was changed twice (original plus 2).  They remained in water for 24 hours.  The Badgemaster was completely clear and soft after the first two hours and set aside to dry while the original two were (not) washing away the stabilizer.





I really cannot tell you why the last leaf held its stabilizer.  Even the middle one, despite its paper partner cleaned off better than the one that was correctly sewn.  It is a mystery to me what happened. 


Here is a tip that I have been trying to figure out for about 2 years.  If you have ever tried to duplicate a thread color and it is not available, you know that one is a total bummer. 

I did 3 discovery sews on this monogram on other terry cloth and they were all fine.  But, when I did the $20 spa wrap, it seriously failed.  I did not think it was too bad on the machine.  After removing it, I was shocked to see how bad it looked. I set it aside and forgot to keep the thread with it. . . BAD idea.

If you remember my blog (Oops, it slipped) I can fix it, but now I am not sure which color it is.  The three spools really looked alike in person and against the monogram.

I looked at the spools against the letters but it still was not clear, but just a little bit off and the project is ruined.



Then, I wrapped several threads around my finger and placing it in the same alignment to the letters, it was clear which was the right thread. 



I hope you had a chance to read my "Pull Compensation" Blog from two weeks ago.  I really worked hard on that one because understanding the 'push/pull' issue is not easy. 



Simple enough.

*That sample of Badgemaster, because most FSL are 4"x4", it will do about 60 free standing lace designs - for $6.82.  How inexpensive is that?