Tear away or cut away?
We make both – in a non-directional wet laid nonwoven. We just change our mixtures. Cutaways have longer fibers. These fibers allow the thread to wrap better and tighter. You should get better definition with a cutaway. Unless labor in trimming is a factor, as in large commercial operation, we would advocate the use of a cutaway with most unstable fabrics. We recommend a soft cutaway on apparel.
Stable fabrics, like a nylon jacket, or a Carhartt jacket, that are very heavy almost do not need a backing. However – a wet laid non-directional tearaway will aid in slippage of the hoop and also aid in achieving your tambourine skin, thereby adding extra punch to your definition.
Proper stabilization is the foundation for good embroidery. Do not skimp on stabilizers and in the same vein do NOT over stabilize. Drapability and less bulk are the fashion bywords of today. You do not want to walk around with a bulletproof design on your chest. Try not to get into the habit of solving problems by throwing in another layer of backing. Use one layer of a dense, soft, non-directional wet laid non woven.
