Do you save your stabilizer scraps? I will show you why, and how they come in handy.

Finally, after more than a year in total disarray, I am nearly finished giving my sewing room a total reorganization. I prefer a clean and organized work space but it got away from me a year ago at Christmas time. Typically, I get everything put away after the sometimes chaotic holiday season of making but it did not happen two Christmases ago.

In putting things in their place, I recently organized my stabilizer scraps. Instead of throwing them all away, I simply trimmed them into what I thought were useful strips or squares. I separate the scraps by type – tear-away, cut-away, water-soluble, etc. Be sure to store water-soluble scraps in a plastic zip bag to keep them from gathering moisture.

“Why bother with scraps?” you might ask. They take up little space and I can often use them later.

Sticky-backed stabilizers can be used as a band-aid, fixing little tears or holes that sometimes happen along the way.

The same thing can be said for water-soluble stabilizers. Just moisten a patch and it sticks to other water-soluble stabilizer. You can even layer it, if necessary. After all, it washes away. See the blog here.

Often, you may need to float a piece of stabilizer under a project for extra support. Scraps are ideal. Little pieces of tear-away are quite useful for stitching buttonholes, some quilting stitches, and even seams.

Squares of stabilizers can easily patch stabilizer windows.

If you remember this blog, I spliced two strips of stabilizer on either side of another piece that was not wide enough for my Snap Hoop Monster (my favorite hoop, by the way). This may happen more often than you think since our hoops are getting bigger and bigger. My existing stabilizer roll was for a smaller hoop.

It worked well because the added sides made it so that I could hoop the stabilizer. As you can see from the back of the hoop, the splice marks were well outside of the embroidery area, so it did not interfere.

So, before you pitch it, take a look at your excess stabilizer and consider if it might be useful in the future. You can always throw it away later!

Debbie SewBlest