Comments on: Making Your Water Soluble Stabilizer Go Further

By: clv6992

clv6992 — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:56:11 +0000

I have a mason jar in my refridgerator and I put all water soluable stabilizer in it for future use. I place a long strip of organza or other thin see-through nylon fabric on a cookie sheet and with a spatula, I spread the liquid on the fabric, hang it over the edge of my kitchen counter until I get 3 or 4 feet evenly covered. Then I hang it to dry and in a few minutes, I have a nice stabilizer for FSL or decorative items. I then use a wood-burning iron and run quickly around the edge of the item to clean off anything that I want removed. Once the material is dry, I roll it and store in a plastic bay and cut it as it is needed to fit either of my two hoops 4×5 or 5×7.

By: clv6992

clv6992 — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:48:06 +0000

I have been putting my water-soluable scraps in a jar of water and storing it in the refridgerator. When I want to do something different, I pour just enough on a cookie sheet with a long strip of Organza or sheer fabric. I use a spatula and spread it, hang it to dry. When it is dry (short time) I then roll it and keep it in a plastic bag so not to absorb moisture and cut it as it is needed depending on the size of hoop. This works great for FSL designs. Also for FSL designs, I use a wood-burning iron to melt back the edges where there are threads and nylon fabric sticking out.

By: mbt fuaba

mbt fuaba — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:47:38 +0000

Nice

By: MarkSpizer

MarkSpizer — Mon, 03 May 2010 11:24:33 +0000

great post as usual!

By: Margaret Mc Daniel

Margaret Mc Daniel — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:37:29 +0000

Lilyan what a great idea. I have always saved mine in a bag but didn’t exactly know what I would do with them. I had heard about using old pieces in a spray bottle with wayter to make a starch like substance.

By: Helene

Helene — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:41:08 +0000

Thank you for sharing this great idea! It is so simple that I wonder how thick I must be not to be able to think of this myself……

By: Juanita

Juanita — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:45:34 +0000

Wish I’d thought of that!

By: Johanna

Johanna — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:54:48 +0000

What a great way to reuse,recycle and save some well earned cash. Thank you for the great idea.

By: Loretta

Loretta — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:47:49 +0000

I think that is a great idea. You could also so that with other wash away stabilizers like Vileen and Aquamagic. Makes your dollar go farther

By: Dorie

Dorie — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:29:07 +0000

I ususally use two layers when I use water soluble stabilizer. The first layer is a complete piece then I take a water soluble glue stick and rub on one side of the full piece. I then take my scraps and put them down on the glue side of the full piece, if I have a few pieces that overlap I also just put a dot of the glue from the glue stick there to keep the edges down. When I hoop it the pieced side goes down and the full sheet is on top that way the machine foot doesn’t get caught on any of the scrap pieces.

By: Heath3r

Heath3r — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:32:26 +0000

What a good idea! I will put it into practice at once!

By: Judy

Judy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:59:04 +0000

P.S.

I also use the tip of cutting out the middle and only replacing a “window pane” worth of stabilizer instead of a whole sheet.

By: Judy

Judy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:57:59 +0000

Since I am in the middle of my first alphabet quilt, actually my first quilt. I am making good use of the sticky stabilizer and what a great idea I read in your newsletter!

By: Wanda

Wanda — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:57:04 +0000

I have never seen water soluable thread for sale anywhere, I live in Washington state, anyone know where I can buy some?
Thanks

By: Pam W

Pam W — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:28:53 +0000

Great idea!

By: Martha Frank

Martha Frank — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:15:06 +0000

I would like to know where you can buy the Water soluble thread. I have not used it, or even heard of it. The invisible thread, yes. Your help is appreciated.

By: Yoya

Yoya — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:57:44 +0000

I did not know that there was such a thing as water soluble thread, what a neat idea! I am always interested in ways to save money and make my purchases go a “longer” way!
Thank you for the great tip!

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:52:50 +0000

I really like this tip. I’ve been wetting the edges to stick it together but that sometimes leaves a wrinkled edge. The water soluble thread is the answer

By: B Harris

B Harris — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:42:03 +0000

Good idea. And if you don’t have time to sew those little guys together, you can touch them with water and they’ll stick to the piece for you.

By: Linda

Linda — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:41:05 +0000

This is a good tip and I also very lightly wet the edges of the water soluble stabilizers and they will stick together without any problems to your designs. I just find the longer sides of the left over pieces and stick them together until I have enough “stuck” together to go into my hoops. The pieces will lie very flat if you stick the pieces together on a flat surface. Works wonderfully and saves your left over pieces of stabilizer for a future design.

By: Pat W.

Pat W. — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:00:53 +0000

That is a great idea. I have done this several times over the past 2 years. Sometimes it puckers, so you have to adjust the tensions.

By: mary

mary — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:08:30 +0000

that really is a great idea. now I know what to do with all the pieces I have gathering dust! ! !

By: lilyan hale

lilyan hale — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:07:17 +0000

If I have enough stabilizer left after I pull it off a embroidery I take a brown paper sack like the ones you get at the supermarket large sacks, cut the bottom out and cut down the side, fold in half, open and lay the stabilizer you have taken off a embroidery fill the hole with large scraps of stabalizer I have saved and fold sack over stabalizer and iron with dry iron for a few seconds turn over and iron again pull paper sack apart and pull a whole stabalizer sheet from paper sack.

By: KAREN

KAREN — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:03:28 +0000

Wow!what a great idea! Saves $$ and helps those throwaways become ususable. Thanks

By: Frances

Frances — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:08:41 +0000

You can also keep your pieces of water soluable stabilizer and use solvy topping in your hoop placed as the bottom and top of your water soluable pieces and stretch your stabilizer. In other words, place a layer of light weight topping solvy in the stack. Then place your pieces of stablizer any way just so you have your design area covered well with the layers you desire (I use two) and then top with another layer of solvy. When you wet it all goes away!

You can also stretch your topping solvy by saving pieces of it and placing it between brown paper with edges overlapping. Iron with a warm dry iron and the edges will fuse but the topping is still good and can be reused. The only draw back with this method is that you seem to need to change your needle a little more often.

By: Cloreta Logan

Cloreta Logan — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:59:06 +0000

Kim. is right you can get a lot more for your money if you do this. I have been doing this for several years and a good friend of mine gives me her scraps and she don’t want them back so I haven’t had to buy WSS for a long time.Guess I’m too greedy to throw away something you can use. One little tip went threading your needle don’t try licking your thread to thread the needle(guess you know what happens)Ask me how I know. It doesn’t taste very good either.
Cloreta Logan

By: Missy

Missy — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:55:39 +0000

I have always wondered what good washaway thread was. Great idea. Thanks.