Santa Trio Portrait Block #2

I finished my second block of this project. It helped to pass the time while I was waiting for my granddaughter to come out of surgery last week. I am always happy to have some hand work with me in situations like that. It helps to get my mind off what is going on. Not that you can put it out of your mind but it is a welcome distraction.

I have been talking about Sulky's Sticky Fabri-Solvy throughout this process. One thing I want to stress when working with this product is to set your printer to Draft setting when making a copy or printing from your printer. Less ink gets on the stabilizer. I find that is rinses out a little better this way.

Today I'm going to address what happens after the stitching is done. You may find it helpful to peel away the excess stabilizer along the outside of the stitching. I wouldn't try cutting it away from the inside, just large amounts around the outside edge. This is optional. I have done it without trimming too.

Fill the sink with some warm water. Put the completed project in the sink.

Put the project in a sink full of warm water to dissolve the Fabri--Solvy

Agitate it around for about 2-3 minutes. The stabilizer will start to dissolve almost immediately. Once it appears to be completely dissolved, empty the water and then run clean, clear water over everything to rinse out any excess Fabri-Solvy. When you are satisfied that all of the stabilizer has dissolved, hang it up to dry.

Hang it up to dry

If you discover after it is dry that the fabric is still a little sticky, just repeat the process a second time. Because I like to test things to see what you can and cannot do, I have also put my project in the washer to rinse out the Fabri-Solvy.

I have encountered a situation where there was still a little bit of residue after rinsing. I contacted Sulky about this. They also stress that it is important to set your printer to Draft when printing onto the stabilizer and I really think this makes all the difference in successfully removing all traces of the ink. They also suggested putting it in the washer with some Shout or similar stain removal product,maybe in with some other similar items so you have a little more agitation. In one case I know of it took two such treatments on cold water setting. However, in all of the cases I personally know of, it has come out every time.

When you are ready to finish up the project, put the stitching face down on top of a towel and press it. The towel underneath helps you get into all those little areas. You can use a little spray starch if you like. Now you're ready to finish up your project.

Happy Stitching,
Carol