These stars appealed to me – decorations, present toppers, etc.
I found two layers of water soluble stabiliser worked best (hooped perpendicular to each other).
I used the same thread as both my top thread and my bobbin thread.
I have slowed my machine down to 500 spm. I am not sure if that is necessary, but everything just seems to work a lot better. At this speed it does take 70 minutes, but there are no colour changes.