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Great discussion. I have had several types of stabilser shrink. some stabilisers may not shrink uniformly or in the case of tear away may be weakened by steam and not hoop very well. Sometimes it is the quality of stabiliser and sometimes it is to do with the design or the grain of the fabric you are embroidering on or even just which direction you are holding your tongue!
A quick fix is to try using 2 layers of stabiliser and place one layer in a perpendicular direction to the other. This was advice given to me when i first started machine embroidery and has helped me many times.
13241another cause of "shrinkage" is if you hoop to tightly ie stretch the fabric -when you release the hoop the design pulls- if you dampen it and press it sometimes the wrinkles will iron out
74Just curious - isn't the tearaway removed after stitching? Was wondering where the shrinking happens.
by pennyhal2
18 Oct 2017
In the area under the stitching there is still some stabilizer that can shrink.
2350Wow, what an interesting discussion. Definitely will preshrink everything just to be on the safe. Thanks for the question and the responses. We have all learned something I'm sure.
1235Thanks for asking the question and thanks to all who replied. Sigh! Yet another step to try to remember before embroidering. Unfortunately I don't get to do it as often as I'd like in order to get all these steps to be a habit.
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25169Best way to preshrink a fusible?
by dragonflyer
16 Oct 2017
Not totally sure, but here are some suggestions for interfacing from Threads...I would think that stabilizers would act similarly to the interfacing...I have never pre-shrunk a fusible stabilizer before...I usually block fuse a piece of fabric with stabilizer and give it a good hot steam...but pre-shrinking is food for thought...
http://forums.threadsmagazine.com...
by dragonflyer
16 Oct 2017
Burda's perspective on pre-shrinking...
http://www.burdastyle.com/blog/pr...
462505Yes, I've found almost all of them will shrink. I try to remember to give it a shot of steam before using it. I just hold my iron over the top & hit the burst of steam button. You would think that the polyester would not shrink..but it does.
by pennyhal2
16 Oct 2017
Yup. I never thought that polyester would shrink. I don't seem to notice it in poly clothing. Must have something to do with how they mfg. it.
35675All stabilizers are not created equal..yes, some do shrink...as suggested below...iron with hot steam before you use it...it does help...be careful if you are using a polyester stabilizer...if it gets too hot it may melt.
313817As others have said, a resounding YES. Was so disappointed that a roll I got from Allstitch shrinks - they said the notation was there that really high heat could cause shrinkage. I was on medium heat with a cotton press cloth. They have updated their page "We do not recommend exposing AllStitch Classic or HD stabilizers to direct heat from something like an iron. These stabilizers are 100% polyester, direct heat will cause them to melt." Classic is their cutaway. The iron on soft backing also shrinks in my experience and I'm trying to remember to not use it without pre-shrinking first.
by pennyhal2
16 Oct 2017
I guess it'd be wise to know what the stabilizer is made out of. It doesn't say that on the package.
4155Yes, stabilizer shrinks. I suspected as much so cut off a length of polymesh, measured it several times, then threw it in the washer and dryer. The shrinkage was a bunch. Later I saw where one lady mists her stabilizer and gives it a shot of steam with her iron to take care of that problem. I do that now too and it does help.
5186I, too, think some shrink. Try ironing the stabilizer with a steam iron
before hooping, and see if that helps.
606I did not think that stabilizers would shrink however if you have a dense design and not stabilized well enough it would shrink. It pulls the material towards the center. At least that is what I think
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