Best Tear-Away Stabilizer for Machine Embroidery: Pick It by Fabric and Stitch Count

When tear-away is the right embroidery stabilizer

A tear-away stabilizer is a temporary backing: it holds the fabric flat while the machine stitches, then you tear the excess off. Sulky’s blog calls it “most likely what you will use when embroidering on towels, scarves and regular woven fabrics”, and adds that tear-aways “do not give the on-going support like cut-away stabilizers do.”²

Two machine manuals say the same thing in table form:

• bernette b59: tear-away for woven fabrics, with “Denim, cotton, linen, felt, wool, silk” as examples.¹
• Brother PR1055X/PR1060W (a 10-needle machine): one tear-away under cotton sheeting, denim, a woven dress shirt, canvas and canton fleece; one tear-away plus a water-soluble topping on terry cloth and corduroy; “1 or 2 lightweight tear-away” under lingerie or silk.¹⁰

Our stabilizer guide covers the other families. This page stays on tear-away: which weight, how many layers, and how to remove it.

When not to use it: knits and stretch fabrics

The same sources move to cut-away as soon as the fabric stretches. Brother’s chart gives a cut-away for a golf shirt, a sweater knit and a T-shirt, and bernette lists “Jersey, sweater, knitwear, stretch fleece” under cut-away.^1,10 Sulky’s answer on knits: “Generally speaking we recommend a cut-away stabilizer like Soft ’n Sheer or Cut-Away Plus for knits”, with the caveat that it “is not a hard and fast rule” and that you should test on a scrap.³

One disagreement to know about. Sulky’s product page describes its iron-on Totally Stable as a tear-away “that is perfect for knits and stretchy fabrics”, while Sulky’s own answer above recommends cut-away for knits.^3,11 Sulky’s blog places Totally Stable on lighter work: “a line drawing or a less dense design”.² We would not rely on it alone under a dense design on a t-shirt. See our cut-away guide for knits.

Pick the weight by stitch count

The makers sort their tear-aways by how dense the design is:

• Light: OESD’s Light Weight TearAway is “Perfect for Low Stitch-Density Designs”, from redwork to outline designs.⁴
• Medium: OESD’s Medium Weight “supports medium density designs”, and Floriani’s Medium Tearaway “Will support about 8,000 stitches on a well-digitized, average size design”.^5,7
• Firm or heavy: Sulky sells Stiffy for when “a heavier tear-away is preferred”, and OESD uses its Heavy Weight “in any project that has a high stitch count.”^6,12

Brother’s manual takes another route for dense designs on cotton sheeting or a dress shirt: “use two pieces of lightweight backing instead of one piece of heavy backing.”¹⁰ Both routes exist; the sources do not say one is better.

Seven tear-away stabilizers, as their makers describe them

Stabilizer	Kind	Maker’s stated use	Size read
OESD Medium Weight TearAway	Medium, crisp tear, white or black	Medium-density designs on non-stretch fabrics5	15 in × 10 yd
OESD Ultra Clean and Tear	Medium, soft tear	Non-stretch items that will be laundered8	10 in × 10 yd
OESD Heavy Weight TearAway	Heavy, crisp tear	Heavy-density designs, high stitch counts6	10 in × 10 yd
Sulky Stiffy	Medium-weight, crisp and firm	Heavier stitch count designs12	8 in × 11 yd
Sulky Totally Stable	Iron-on	Lighter, less dense designs on fabric that can be ironed2	20 in × 1 yd
Floriani Medium Tearaway	Medium, 1.5 oz	Towels, denim and other stable wovens7	15 in × 10 yd
Floriani Heat N Sta	Fusible (iron-on)	Light wovens that distort when hooped9	15 in × 10 yd

The seven, one by one

The general-purpose pick

OESD Medium Weight TearAway

Weight

medium, crisp tear

Roll

15 in × 10 yd (HBTW35-15); also 10 in and 20 in

Colors

white or black

Strengths

• Sold in black as well as white
• OESD: several layers can stand in for its heavy weight
• Printed removal steps from the maker

Drawbacks

• Non-stretch fabrics only, per OESD
• OESD asks for temporary spray adhesive between layers

Good fit: you embroider medium-density designs on woven fabric and want one roll for most jobs.
Skip it if: the fabric stretches: OESD limits it to non-stretch fabrics.

OESD says this one “tears crisply away and supports medium density designs”, and that “if you use multiple layers, this go-to stabilizer can take the place of Heavy Weight TearAway in a pinch”.⁵ The Amazon button goes to the white 15-inch roll.

For linens that get washed

OESD Ultra Clean and Tear

Weight

medium, soft tear

Rolls

10 in, 15 in or 20 in × 10 yd

After washing

leftovers soften and break down, per OESD

Strengths

• Gets softer with laundering, per OESD
• Softer tear than OESD’s crisp tear-aways

Drawbacks

• Non-stretch fabrics only, per OESD
• OESD asks for a topping on towels: a second product

Good fit: you embroider towels, napkins or other woven items that go through the wash.
Skip it if: the item will never be washed: the softening comes from laundering.

OESD describes “a much shorter fiber – resulting in a softer tear” than its crisp tear-aways, and says that what is left “will soften and break down with every wash.”⁸ Its instructions add that a topping “should always be used on towels”.¹³ We read OESD’s page for the 10-inch roll; the Amazon button goes to the 15-inch roll.

For dense designs

OESD Heavy Weight TearAway

Weight

heavy, crisp tear

Roll

10 in × 10 yd (HBT25-10); also 15 in and 20 in

OESD uses it for

tiling scenes, high stitch counts

Strengths

• OESD’s choice for high stitch counts
• Three roll widths

Drawbacks

• Non-stretch fabrics only, per OESD
• OESD says layered Medium Weight can replace it, so it may be more than you need

Good fit: your designs are dense and sewn on sturdy woven fabric.
Skip it if: you stitch light designs on fine fabric: a lighter backing is easier to remove.

OESD: “just be sure to support your stitches as you tear away.”⁶

Firm tear-away on a narrow roll

Sulky Stiffy

Weight

medium-weight, crisp and firm

Roll

8 in × 11 yd (216-08)

Layers

as many as needed, per Sulky

Strengths

• For heavier stitch count designs, per Sulky
• Tears away without stressing the stitches, says Sulky

Drawbacks

• Narrow roll
• No stitch-count figure from Sulky

Good fit: you want a firmer backing than a light tear-away for small hoops.
Skip it if: you hoop large designs: an 8-inch roll is narrow, and Sulky sells wider put-ups.

Sulky calls Stiffy “a temporary, crisp, firm medium-weight stabilizer that is used when a heavier tear-away is preferred”, and says to “Use as many layers as needed for support.”¹² The 8-inch roll is item 216-08 on Sulky’s site, where the same description appears.¹⁴

Iron-on, for light designs

Sulky Totally Stable

Type

iron-on tear-away

Package

20 in × 1 yd (661-01), white; also black

Residue

none, per Sulky

Strengths

• Irons on: no pinning, per Sulky
• Tears away with no sticky residue, per Sulky
• Repositionable for placement, says Sulky’s blog

Drawbacks

• Sulky’s page says knits; Sulky’s own answer on knits says cut-away
• The Amazon.com listings we read describe it inconsistently, so we link to Sulky

Good fit: you stitch monograms, line drawings or other light designs on fabric that can be ironed.
Skip it if: the fabric can’t take an iron, or the design is dense on a knit.

The one with a stitch-count rule

Floriani Medium Tearaway

Weight

1.5 oz, clean tear

Roll

15 in × 10 yd (FTM1510); also 12 in, 20 in

One layer supports

about 8,000 stitches, per Floriani

Strengths

• Weight stated: 1.5 oz
• One extra floated layer per additional 8,000 stitches

Drawbacks

• Stable wovens only, per Floriani
• Not found on Amazon.com
• The page lists US dealers only

Good fit: you want a rule for when to add a layer on towels, denim and stable wovens.
Skip it if: you sew knits or stretchy fabric.

Fusible, for light wovens

Floriani Heat N Sta

Type

fusible tear-away

Roll

15 in × 10 yd (FHS1510); also 12 in, 20 in

Iron

low to medium, from the fabric side

Strengths

• Fused to the fabric, so no spray adhesive
• Made for light wovens that shift in the hoop

Drawbacks

• Needs an iron and a press cloth or pressing from the fabric side
• Not found on Amazon.com

Good fit: you embroider shirting, linen or quilt cotton that distorts when hooped.
Skip it if: the fabric can’t be ironed, or it is a knit.

Floriani developed Heat N Sta “for embroidery on light weight cotton, shirt weight denim, linen and other woven fabrics that tend to distort or stretch when they are hooped.”⁹ Its ironing rule: “Use a low to medium temp (260°, silk) setting on your iron. Do not touch the surface of your iron to the Heat N Sta”.⁹

Several layers: what the makers say

• OESD: if you use several layers, “adhere all layers together with temporary spray adhesive.”¹⁵
• Floriani: hoop one layer and “float an additional layer” between the hoop and the machine bed for each additional 8,000 stitches. The Heat N Sta page gives the same tip with 10,000 stitches, so Floriani’s two pages differ.^7,9
• Sulky: “you can use several layers (and you can even float one or two layers under the hoop “just in case”) and then tear them away individually”.²

Cut the piece larger than the hoop: “approximately 2” larger” for OESD, “at least one inch larger” for Floriani.^7,15

How to tear it away without pulling stitches

OESD’s instructions give the steps:¹⁵

1. Remove the item from the hoop.
2. Hold it with the stabilizer side up.
3. Tear the stabilizer carefully, “supporting the embroidery stitches between your thumb and finger so as not to distort the embroidery or tear out fragile stitches.”
4. With several layers, “remove layers one at a time.”

On lingerie or silk, Brother’s chart says to “Gently remove (don’t pull) backing and topping from garment.”¹⁰

Buying in Canada

• OESD and Floriani: no page we read says whether they ship to Canada, and Floriani’s product page lists US dealers only.^5,7
• Sulky: its shipping page gives international rates without naming Canada.¹⁶

Our Amazon links go to Amazon.com. From Canada, check delivery and import fees on each listing before you order.