Quick Tip: Hedging Your Bets (Or Securing those Tie-Offs)

How many of you have had a store bought or homemade item's thread unravel?

Maybe just a little bit. Or maybe the whole thing came undone.

I'm sure all designers program a tie-off and close when they create designs, but if it's that easy for them to come undone what are we supposed to do? When I stitch out a design, I like to hedge my bets.

Do you remember this stitch-out? I took a lot of pictures that day.

This design has a lot of trims and lock-offs. But even with a cover, how will it hold up through multiple washings?

I'm not sure but just look at all of those trims and lock-offs.

So I like to hedge my bets with this fabulous stuff. (It comes in handy for a lot of different projects. Pick some up now, you might need it for a BIG release I have coming in January!)

  

My bottom layer of stabilizer is usually a tear-away. This works PERFECTLY!

 I will put a glob on the back of the design......

.........and rub a light layer on the back of all the stitches making sure to get any tie-offs.

Now you just need to remove your tear-away, add your cover, and you should feel doubly cozy inside.

Oh, and a heads up, tear-away might not be the best for zig-zag stitch outs. And just maybe, when you add that glue and the paper gets a little mushy, it's a mess to try to remove. Not that I've done that more than once. I always remember my mistakes ;)