Improve Your Embroidery With Interfacing

While we are very familiar with using stabilizer to support machine embroidery stitches, you may be interested to know that supporting your fabric with a light interfacing also contributes to achieving professional results.

Two of my favorite interfacings are Pellon ShapeFlex 101 and Pellon UltraWeft. Both are fusible on one side and are available in both black and white to match your fabric colors.

While ShapeFlex 101 is more like a lightly woven fabric, UltraWeft is rather like gauze.

These interfacings give your fabric a bit more body and maintain a very soft drape. It keeps your projects looking crisp, yet does not make them stiff or bulky. Interfacing is useful on the back of base fabrics, especially if they are semi-opaque and wrinkle easy.

With applique, interfacing helps prevent shadowing that occurs when you place a light-colored fabric over a darker base fabric. It also helps prevent edges from fraying in thin fabrics. It also gives the applique edges some added support to withstand satin stitching.

For all of these reasons, I especially like to use interfacings on applique quilts and as a backing for my embroidery base fabrics. Iron the interfacing to the back of the fabric you intend to embroider.

Keep in mind that interfacing does not replace stabilizer; they perform two different jobs. Stabilizers support the stitching and interfacing supports the fabric.

Debbie SewBlest