So, I wrote a book. An educational e-book. And I’m proud of it. I took the years that I spent on the supplier side of machine embroidery, and the time I spent learning from a wonderful man who was a stabilizer guru and Vice President at QST, the company that sells most of the stabilizer in the industry to the supplier from which you buy, and I distilled all that knowledge into an e-book. And I think it can be helpful to a lot of people. Because there’s a lot that people don’t understand about stabilizer.

First, people don’t understand just how many types of stabilizer are out there. I’ve encountered embroiderers who use one type, generally tearaway for everything, and for them, maybe, that works. What they’re missing, though, is the array of specialty stabilizers available and, even more important, the fact that those stabilizers are specialized for a reason. They’re designed to help solve a specific problem that accompanies embroidery on a specific type of material. Used properly, in the right circumstances, they can help speed up production and improve the quality of the finished product. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 can help you with finding and choosing the right specialty stabilizer.

Second, products cost money and stabilizer is no exception. If you’re running an embroidery business, keeping within budget guidelines and managing costs of goods versus pricing of products is key. Chapter 9 of Understanding Stabilizer covers the price of stabilization and gives you some hints and tips on how to get the best price for the stabilizer you buy.

Third, maybe you’re a beginning embroiderer and everything is kind of bewildering. I’ve met a lot of beginning embroiderers at trade shows and often they’re just looking for a guidebook, someone to outline possibilities and what might be the best path to take. Chapters 1 and 2 of the book start with the basics. What stabilizer is, how it’s sold, how it’s constructed and how to know if you’ve got quality goods.

Whether you’re an experienced embroiderer or a novice, there’s something you can learn from this book. Whether it’s how fabric and stabilizer interact (Chapter 7) or tips on choosing the right stabilizer for the job (Chapters 4 and 5) or just figuring out where to start (the whole book really) you can find tips and tricks and information that will help you use stabilizer more successfully.

If you’ve already bought the book and found it useful, please feel free to leave a review on my Write On, Kristine Facebook page. While you’re there, feel free to like the page, if you’ve not done so already. To keep up to date on what I’m doing and to be notified of any new projects, you can also subscribe to my mailing list. The opportunity to do that is just below this post.