Gunold: A proud distributor of Quality Embroidery Stabilizers & Embroidery Backings

In addition to its trademark Solvy and Ultra Solvy, Gunold offers a wide range of embroidery stabilizers including non-woven embroidery stabilizers in rolls, die cuts, perforated backing and more. We are equipped and glad to service all of your stabilizer conversion requests and convert them on site. We also carry in-stock backings already converted. We also cut special orders to your exact backing cut and re-roll specifications. When you call us for a quote, we will help you pick the right backing for your needs and provide you just what you need saving you money.

Tearaway Embroidery Backing

Tear-away is the backing of choice for most embroiderers. Designs can usually be finished more quickly, safely, and cheaply with a tear-away backing than with a cut-away material. If you’ve ever cut one expensive garment, the advantages of tear-aways stay with you for life. Most tear-away backings range in weight from 1 to 3 oz/yd2. To perform well as a backing, a tear-away should be stable and able to withstand repeated perforations. The backing should tear easily and cleanly in either direction. Sadly some embroiderers are still using backings that tear only in one direction. These products have to be tugged which leave long strings of fiber. Pulling a tough tear-away too hard or too quickly on a delicate long stitch design can needlessly cause distortions.

No matter the type of tear-away, you should tear the backing as close to the stitches as possible to reduce any chance of distortion. Using two light layers of tear-away pulled off one at a time is a technique that can avoid a distortion problem. However, this procedure is relatively expensive and time consuming.

Finally, in choosing a tear away backing consider ease of tear, cleanness of tear, hoop stability, and perforation resistance. Tear-aways can be used on most items but should be used with caution on exceptionally delicate or stretchy fabrics such as loosely knit sweaters. Swimsuits and socks are often an exception to this rule where wash-away/tear-away is a good choice.

Cutaway Embroidery Backing

Cut-away backings are needed to provide a stable base for delicate and stretchy fabrics both during and after the stitching process. Some fabrics are so stretchy they can force themselves down the throat plate. A cut-away backing not only helps maintain the crispness of a design's detail, it also helps retain the design's shape after repeated washings. Avoid having an angry customer return a sagging or stretched design with cut-away's. A quality embroiderer should insist that cut-aways are both washable and dry cleanable.

It’s important not cut too close to the embroidery with your scissors and that a gliding scissor motion rather than a cutting motion. A cut-away that has some rigidity will help with this scissor motion. When cutting, both the backing and the fabric should be kept in view, so do not allow the garment to fold over. You may even want to consider blunt-end scissors to prevent snagging fabric. Others use versitile 3.5-inch to 4-inch double sharps. Nippers are not particularly useful for this operation.

Most cut-aways range in weight from 1.5 to 3.5 oz/yd2. Cut-away backings, in general, tend to be more resistant to needling perforations than tear-aways. In choosing a cut-away consider ease of cutting, wash stability, hoop stability, and perforation resistance. Cut-aways tend to have more bulk than tear-aways. In some cases, the embroiderer needs to determine which property is most important for a particular design. The softer backings tend to have more hoop stretch and will not allow as crisp a design as stiff ones.

We invite interested parties to visit our facility and see our stabilizer conversion in action. Call 1-800-432-3781 or contact us today for more information on visits or to place a backing order.