One of my favorite reuse hacks for Water Soluble Stabilizer (WSS), which is non-sticky and washes out similar to cloth, is to cut strips off the edges of a used piece of stabilizer and then stitch them together to form a rectangle, as with cutting. After cutting the stabilizer from the back of an embroidered design, trim a wide strip from each of the four (4) sides of the scrap piece. A rotary cutter and ruler come in handy for this. This effectively trims the jagged edges around the center hole. When you have collected a bunch of these strips, slightly overlap the edges and sew them together, both lengthwise and sometimes across, depending on the relative lengths of the strips, using a 4-5mm basting stitch with soluble thread. in water on the needle and bobbin. Once a piece is a rectangle large enough to fit in the embroidery hoop, this stabilizer tile can be reused, although this new piece is not as secure as a solid piece, and should be used in lighter applications or Layered with nylon organza for embroidered decoupage. techniques
Another trick with WSS is to dissolve the scraps in water with a little isopropyl alcohol to make a liquid stabilizer that can then be painted onto embroidery fabric. Any leftovers are best kept refrigerated in a covered glass jar, or they can go moldy. This works for all the different types of WSS, whether it’s cloth type or plastic type.
For the overlock and overlock sewing enthusiast, the fabric-like shape of the water-soluble stabilizer is easily cut into strips. Once you have removed the WSS from your embroidery, cut strips about 2 inches wide parallel to the edges of the excess WSS. These strips can be used on an overlock machine to create a satin stitch, or on a conventional machine to back up decorative stitches or support edge stitches that can run off the edge of the fabric.
Small pieces of the plastic-like WSS can again be used as embellishments for further embroideries. Pieces that are too small even for this can be attached in different ways to make a larger, more useful piece.
An easy way is to lightly moisten the edges of the scraps so they become sticky, but not enough to dissolve them, and then overlap these edges with the edges of other scraps, gluing them together. Allow to dry before sewing or embroidering on the newly created sheet.
A second useful technique for making larger, thicker, and more durable pieces of the plastic-like WSS is to press the smaller pieces with an iron. Place a sheet of plain paper, such as copy paper, parchment paper, or a brown paper bag, on the ironing surface. Lay the overlapping pieces of WSS on top of this piece and cover with another sheet of plain paper. You can also use an applique or a teflon sheet, but paper is enough. Press the pieces together with a low heat iron. When cool, use as you would a normal WSS sheet.
