Splicing Embroidery Stabilizers


Today's large hoops are wonderful, and sometimes challenging when it comes to having stabilizer that is big enough. Here's an easy way to splice stabilizer together so that you can use what you have on hand.

The mesh cut-away stabilizer I had on hand was not wide enough for my 360 x 200 hoop. I made it work by fusing two pieces together.



All you need is a thin piece of fusible web or seam tape. I used Steam-A-Seam 2 Lite. It comes on a roll in 1/4" and 1/8" widths. I cut two pieces of 8" stabilizer the width of my hoop. On one piece, I fused a length of the seam tape on one long edge.



Fuse one side of the seam tape to the stabilizer and let it cool. Peel off the protective paper and lay one long side edge on top of the other, overlapping the width of the seam tape. 



Fuse the two pieces together according to manufacturer's instructions. Be careful to not melt the mesh cutaway.

Hoop the joined pieces (the "seam" will lay horizontally in the hoop) and stitch the design as usual. After embroidery, trim the cutaway stabilizer close to the stitching.

Although I would not recommend this as a regular practice, it helps in a pinch. This technique works well for fill stitch embroidery, alphabets, and applique on standard quilting cottons. It may show, through, when stitching on sheer, delicate fabrics.

Debbie SewBlest
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