Marathon Thread Co. offers premium backings in both tear-away and cut-away,
from light to extra-heavy weights. They are available in different size rolls and die-cuts.
The most popular medium weight backings are also available in black.

Tear-Away is available in several weights and can be used in single or double layers. Lightweight is perfect for machine embroidery, paper quilt piecing and transferring quilt designs. Because of its lightweight, removal is easy after sewing; and stitching is undisturbed. Can be used in multiple layers. It is recommended for use with medium to heavyweight fabrics and densely stitched embroidery designs. After completing the design, it can be torn away in both the horizontal or vertical direction. It should be removed carefully in order to not disturb the stitches in your design. It is not recommended for delicate fabrics or sweaters. Lightweight tear-away is made for embroidery that has little to no fill stitches like Red Work. Heavy weight tear-away is for dense designs on projects like canvas tote or other projects that isn’t made to be washed. Our Tear-Away stabilizers can be ran through an inkjet printer for paper pieced quilting or other project that requires the design to be trace off multiple times. Feed the sheets through the printer one at a time. On lighter fabric set the printer to a draft quality print to save on ink.

Cut-Away is a permanent stabilizer used by professionals and is meant to remain with the garment. It washes well and is excellent for jobs where the stabilizer comes in contact with the skin, such as golf shirts or sweaters. The excess stabilizer will need to be cut away from the design. Use this type of stabilizer on any fabric that is considered to be unstable non-wovens like knits or loose woven fabrics. Cut-Away stabilizers are meant to stay in the garment for the life of the garment. Use for anything that needs to be washed repeatedly.

We also offer specialty backings such as; Water Soluble, Heat Away, Flame Retardant, No Show Poly Mesh, Peel N Stick, Fusible Backings and many more!

Water Soluble comes in three different weights; light, medium, and heavy.

Light weight water soluble is generally used as a topping when embroidering knitwear and
terry cloth. It prevents the embroidery from sinking into fabric.

Medium weight can be used dually as a stabilizer or a topping. It is very versatile.

Heavy weight water soluble is used for stand alone designs, lace & crochet.

Heat Away can be used either as a backing or topping on fabrics that can withstand heat but cannot be washed: such as Wool, Velvet and Chenille.

Flame retardant is an excellent choice for children's wear.

No Show Poly Mesh is great for knitwear due to the transparency characteristics that eliminate the backing from showing through the garment.

Peel & Stick is a pressure sensitive backing which eliminates the need for spray adhesives.
Peel & Stick can also be used as a hooping aid.

Poly Mesh backing is used with a layer of either tear-away or cut-away backings
for support and design clarity. It is great for golf shirts.

Fusible backings eliminate the use of harmful spray adhesives, while keeping fabric in place to prevent design distortion.