Don’t Skimp on stabilizers!

My momma had a saying - “If you buy cheap, you buy twice”. So what I am about to say absolutely plays into that.

I’m not the sort of person who buys machine embroidery products from places such as Ali Express, Temu, the Dollar Store or even Michael’s or Hobby Lobby, simply because I value my machines. As I see it, I’ve paid a lot of money for my various sewing and embroidery machines, and I’m not about to use cheap inferior knockoffs or products that aren’t specifically made for using in them and risk the possibility of damaging my machines.

In my early days of doing machine embroidery, I’d read quite a few horror stories about how some people had used plastic wrap instead of the clear water soluble stabilizer or coffee filters instead of tear away or cut away stabilizers in an attempt to save a few dollars. I also read how those folks really messed up their embroidery machines, costing them hundreds of dollars in repairs. Oh and how they were also lectured by the repair people about never using stuff that wasn’t meant for embroidery machines.

I do understand that machine embroidery is an expensive hobby. But skimping on quality stabilizers and machine embroidery thread is not the way to try to save money.

I’ve seen so many people go down the wrong path with machine embroidery. Some suddenly declaring how they’re going to start a business and they’re going to offer all kinds of wonderful things. Then the next thing I know is that they’re asking where can they get the cheapest materials, be it the cheapest thread, stabilizers and t-shirts, meanwhile they’re not giving any thought to putting out a truly made product. Machine embroidery as a business is extremely competitive and costly. From the start I have refused to buy and use the cheapest possible materials just to save a few dollars. I’ve always bought the best quality materials simply because I want them to last.

I never wanted to do machine embroidery as a business. Machine Embroidery was and continues to be a creative outlet, another way for me to up my game in making things for my home and of course to enrich my gift making.