Spray adhesive, sticky stabilizer and fusibles: holding fabric without gumming the machine

What do adhesives and fusibles actually do?

A hoop holds fabric by friction at its edges. In the middle of the hoop, especially in a large hoop or with a slippery fabric, the fabric can still creep across the stabilizer as the needle pushes and pulls on it. That creep is a common cause of outlines that miss their fills and of puckers that appear only in the center. Adhesives and fusibles add grip across the whole contact surface, so fabric and stabilizer move as one layer.

They solve three different problems:

If you are choosing a stabilizer family first, start with stabilizer types; this page is about the holding methods that go with them.

Temporary spray adhesive

Temporary spray adhesives made for embroidery and quilting, such as Sulky KK 2000 or 505 Spray and Fix, bond fabric to stabilizer for the length of a stitch-out and then release over time or in the wash. They are not the same as craft spray glue, which can be permanent and much more likely to gum a needle.

How to use spray adhesive without making a mess

1. Spray the stabilizer, not the fabric. The stabilizer is cheap and gets trimmed away; overspray on a garment can show or attract dirt.
2. Go away from the machine. Spray in another room, outside, or inside a cardboard box turned on its side. Mist floats further than you expect and settles on the machine bed, thread path and hook area.
3. Mist lightly. Hold the can at the distance shown on its label and use a short, sweeping pass. You want a faint tack, not a wet shine. More adhesive does not hold better; it mainly gums the needle.
4. Smooth the fabric on. Lay the fabric down from the center outward. Most temporary adhesives allow repositioning for a short time, so you can lift and re-place if the grain is off.
5. Add mechanical hold for long designs. For dense or large designs, run a basting box as well. Adhesive alone can release under the vibration of a long fill.

Sticky (peel-and-stick) stabilizer

Sticky stabilizer has an adhesive face covered by release paper. You hoop it with the paper side up, score the paper and peel it off inside the hoop, then press the item onto the exposed adhesive. It is the standard method for floating items that would be marked or distorted by a hoop, or that are too small, thick or oddly shaped to hoop. Sticky versions exist in tearaway and wash-away forms.

Getting a good hold

• Hoop it drum-tight. The stabilizer is the only thing in the hoop, so any slack becomes design distortion.
• Score with a pin. Draw a pin along the paper just inside the inner ring. A craft knife can cut through the stabilizer and weaken it exactly where the item sits.
• Press firmly. Burnish the item down with your palm. On thick fabrics like towels or fleece the adhesive contacts only the tips of the fibers, so combine it with a basting stitch.
• Refresh tack. If the exposed adhesive loses its grip (lint, fingerprints), a light mist of spray adhesive or a fresh piece patched in can revive it.

Sticky stabilizer is well suited to thick towels and to unstructured caps on home machines (see caps and hats).

Fusible stabilizers and interfacings

A fusible has heat-activated adhesive on one side. Pressed to the back of the fabric, it locks the weave or knit so it cannot stretch or shift while you hoop and stitch, and it stays bonded for the life of a cutaway design. Fusibles come as fusible no-show (poly mesh) cutaway, fusible medium cutaway, fusible tearaway, and sewing-style fusible interfacings.

Fusible interfacing on knits

On t-shirts and other knits, a lightweight fusible knit (tricot) interfacing or a fusible no-show mesh is often the difference between a flat design and one that ripples. It stops the knit growing as you hoop it. Interfacing is generally too light to be the only support, so hoop a cutaway behind it. The full knit recipe is on t-shirts and knits.

Fusing without damage

1. Test heat on a hidden area. Polyester performance fabrics, nylon and anything with a coating can glaze, shine or melt at the heat a cotton fusible expects.
2. Use a press cloth. It protects the fabric surface and keeps adhesive off your iron if the fusible is slightly smaller than you thought.
3. Press, do not iron. Lift and set the iron down in overlapping positions. Sliding it stretches knits and can shift the fusible off-grain.
4. Let it cool. The bond sets as it cools. Moving the fabric while warm can lift edges.

Pins, tape and basting: the no-residue alternatives

Sometimes the best adhesive is none at all.

• Pins: pin through fabric and stabilizer outside the stitch field only, with heads pointing away from the design. A needle striking a pin can break, deflect into the hook area or damage the needle plate.
• Tape: painter's tape or embroidery tape holds toppers, edges and corners of floated items. Keep it clear of the stitch path so the needle does not sew through adhesive tape.
• Basting box: many machines can stitch a long running stitch around the design before it starts, either from an on-screen option or as part of the design. It is the most secure way to hold a floated item and removes cleanly. Check your manual for the setting name.

Residue, needle gumming and skipped stitches

Every adhesive method can put adhesive on the needle. As the needle passes through tacky stabilizer, a thin film builds on the blade and inside the eye. The thread then drags through the eye instead of sliding, and the loop the needle throws on its upstroke may not form cleanly for the hook to catch. The result is a typical progression:

Thread fraying or shredding partway through the design

Adhesive in the needle eye roughening the thread. See thread shredding.

Skipped stitches, especially in long fills

Gummed needle disturbing loop formation. See skipped stitches.

Thread breaking repeatedly in the same area

Drag at the eye plus heat from a gummy blade.

Sticky lint in the bobbin area

Overspray settling on the machine, or adhesive carried down by the needle.

What to do:

1. Stop and look at the needle. A dull, slightly fuzzy look on the blade near the eye is a sign of buildup.
2. Clean or change it. Wiping the needle with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol (machine off) removes light buildup; a fresh needle is quicker and more reliable. Some needle makers sell coated needles marketed for adhesive and sticky-stabilizer work.
3. Use less adhesive. Most gumming comes from heavy spraying or from sticky stabilizer under a long, dense design.
4. Clean the hook area. Remove sticky lint from the bobbin case and hook area as in cleaning the bobbin area. Do not spray solvent into the machine.

Residue on the finished item depends on fabric and product. Temporary sprays usually wash out or dissipate, sticky stabilizer residue on smooth fabrics can usually be lifted with a damp cloth, and wash-away sticky stabilizer rinses out with the stabilizer itself. Test anything that cannot be washed.

A quick decision order

1. Can you hoop it without damage or stretching? Hoop it with the right stabilizer and skip adhesive, unless the fabric is slippery.
2. Is it a knit or an unstable fabric that tolerates heat? Fuse a mesh or interfacing first, then hoop.
3. Must it be floated? Use sticky stabilizer, or hooped stabilizer plus a light mist of spray, and add a basting box.
4. Is it heat-sensitive or napped? Use tape, pins outside the field and basting, or a hooped stabilizer with minimal spray tested first.

If you are not sure which stabilizer recipe to start from, the stabilizer picker suggests one from your fabric and design density.