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Embroidery HoopsThere are so many different types and styles of embroidery hoops out there. So how do you choose the right one for you? I think it’s all a matter of personal preference. (And what you can afford!! Some of them can get really expensive! Especially the embroidery floor stands and the ones for the embroidery machines!) For Hand Embroidery For Machine Embroidery An Embroidery Hoop's Function An embroidery hoop's main function is to hold your fabric tightly while you sew on it. Whether you are sewing by hand or by machine, this function remains the same. By holding your fabric tightly, it allows your stitching to lay properly when you are finished. Flat and neat. (Tight fabric is easier to get your needle through.) There are different types of hoops for both hand embroidery and machine embroidery. Lets talk first about hand embroidery. (Click here to skip to machine embroidery hoops.) There are two (2) different styles of embroidery hoops used in hand embroidery and cross stitch. You have the hand-held style that actually is a round “hoop”, and then you have the stand style. Hand-Held Embroidery Hoops Hand held embroidery hoops are a two (2) piece circle. They can be made of wood, plastic or metals. They come in multiple diameter sizes, colors and styles. Some have tightening screws on the outside circle that you turn to tighten or release your fabric. Others have a “pinch” style. You pinch the metal “handles” of the inside circle together to remove your fabric, and when released, they expand, pressing your fabric into a groove in the receiving hoop, holding your fabric tight. For all their differences, their function is the same. They sandwich your fabric or Aida cloth between the two hoop layers and hold it tightly so you can sew on it. Some do their job better than others, though. Tightening Screw Style The tightening screw style will hold your fabric much tighter. It creates an even pressure all the way around the entire circle. This keeps the fabric in place for a much longer period of stitching time. Some hoops of this style actually have cork in between the two layers. This allows for less fabric slipping, and a much tighter hold. As you tighten the screws, it compresses the cork lining against your fabric. Holding the entire project much more firmly. The only downfall with this type of hoop is you have to be careful not to over-tighten or strip the screws. If you strip the screws, they are hard to replace. You end up replacing the entire hoop. If you over-tighten them, you can actually crush the inner hoop. Pinch Style The pinch style will lose some of its tension in the inner hoop over a period of time and use. This causes it to hold the fabric more and more loosely. Plus, it has a gap between the two “handles” where it doesn’t hold your fabric at all. Repetitive stitching with this style of hoop will cause your fabric to loosen and become more difficult to stitch on. You will have to reposition and re-tighten your hoop much more often with this style. (But, of course, this style is usually the cheapest.) One downfall to actual “hoops” in comparison to some sort of embroidery stand is the hoop marks left in your fabric when you are done. Steaming, wetting and/or blocking your finished project will quickly remove these marks though, so they really aren’t that big of a deal. My biggest problem with hand-held hoops is that you have to hold them with one hand, and sew with the other. With an embroidery stand, you can put one hand above, and one hand below, which makes for much faster stitching. (I usually look incredibly silly stitching with hand held hoops. I will bring my knees to my chest, hold the hoop between them and put one hand above and one hand below the hoop. My husband will roll his eyes and tell me I should just go get my stand.) Embroidery Stands This style of “hoop” is my favorite. An embroidery stand provides the same function as a hand-held hoop. It holds your fabric tightly while you stitch, but it also allows you to have both hands free at the same time. Embroidery stands have multiple styles, sizes, features, advantages and disadvantages, too. The basic components of any embroidery stand consist of some sort, framed embroidery area and some sort of stand. The actual stand and the embroidery frame are separate sections and can be removed from each other (sometimes even purchased separately). The embroidery frame attaches to the stand and can be tilted and locked into any comfortable stitching angle. The framed embroidery area can be a circle, square or rectangle. The stands can consist of one “leg” or two. There are lap/table stands and floor stands. Some embroidery frames have both lap/table and floor stand options. I have two different styles of lap/table stands. They have two “legs” that sit comfortably on my couch, one on each side of my lap. When not in use, it keeps my embroidery up off the floor and displays it nicely on my coffee table. The embroidery area can adjust up and down a little bit, but the angle can be adjusted anywhere. (Even completely upside down! Which makes tying knots and securing my finished thread ends, really easy.) Floor stands are used for people that like to sit in a chair, or on a couch edge, to stitch. These are much taller than the lap style. They can create a “table” themselves, with the embroidery area being the top, or they can have one leg that will stand next to, or slide under a couch or chair. The embroidery area would adjust up or down to a comfortable stitching angle. Pinch Style In my pinch style stand, the fabric is actually “pinched” in the center of two dowels. This style is pretty adjustable width wise. There are four (4) pieces that make up the stitching area. (Not including all the bolts and screws, of course!) There is a maximum stitching width limit that is based on the dowel length. This model has smaller sides and dowel diameters that you can get for smaller projects. You are still limited on project width based on the dowel length, though. The dowels are split in half for most of their length. You slide your fabric into this split, and insert the dowel ends into the embroidery frame sides. Straighten and align your fabric, then roll it up onto the dowels, kind of like a scroll. Once your fabric is positioned you tighten the screws on the side pieces, which clamp the split dowels together tightly. The pressure squeezing the dowel into the hole on the side, pinches your fabric to hold it in place. The downfall to this type of frame is that the fabric tends to lose tension in the very center. You can never get the split equally tight against the entire length of your fabric. (The ends always end up tighter than the center. I usually end up using a clamp right in the center of the dowel to hold the fabric tension more evenly.) Another downfall is all the screws, nuts, bolts, wing nuts and washers that make up this whole device. Putting it together to start a project can be time consuming and can really hurt your fingers! Not to mention having to replace any screws and bolts that get striped. (But, at least with this style replacing them isn’t that big of a deal. A quick trip to the hardware store and you’re back in business!) Tape or Baste Style This style of lap/table embroidery hoop has the same basic construction and scrolling process as the pinch style. The difference is, instead of pinching your fabric within a dowel, the dowels have fabric pieces attached to them. You attach your fabric or Aida cloth to the fabric pieces, not to the dowel itself. With this style, you can either run a basting stitch to attach your working fabric to the dowel fabric, or get some double sided tape and tape them together. (There is a great product called basting tape that is actually made for this purpose. It is very thin in both width and thickness, so it won’t bulk up your fabric. It is also very strong, and holds your fabric securely. Because it is made for use with fabric, it won’t discolor or harm your fabric, either.)/p> The fact that your working fabric is attached firmly for its entire width (top and bottom), the tension is very consistent once you roll it up like a scroll. Another difference between this style and the pinch style is the way the sides attach. Instead of holes to clamp the dowels into, the dowels actually have screws built into their ends. You attach the ends of the dowels to the sides of the embroidery frame. This means that the frame is always the width of the length of your dowels. You can not adjust this. You do have the same frame height adjustments and almost the same full angle range and in the pinch style. The frame will not turn all the way upside down. It can go straight up and down one way all the way to straight up and down the other. (The knobs on the sides where you attach your dowels do not allow it to go the entire 360 degrees. They hit the lap stand “legs”.) This is actually my favorite frame. Its construction is a little sounder and it is a nicer looking stand (better, higher quality wood). Its screws don’t loosen as often, and it can be tightened so that there are no “wiggles” in the frame at all. The downfalls to this stand is time. It takes more time to prepare and load your fabric. It’s not a simple “slide it in its spot” thing. You have to make sure you are taping or basting your fabric straight and evenly on both top and bottom. It’s also not as adjustable width-wise as other stands, and costs quite a bit more. I think the biggest downfall to embroidery stands vs hand-held embroidery hoops are they really do have a lot of prep work for small projects. With your smaller projects you can fit them into a hand held embroidery hoop in a few short steps. Assembling all the pieces of a stand for a quick little project can sometimes be more of a pain than the quick little project itself! Machine embroidery hoops differ greatly from machine to machine. You only have the hoop options that your machine offers. I do not know of any generic hoops that will fit multiple different machines. The way the hoop attaches to the machine is very specific to each machine and to each hoop. Most of the time, you have to get the hoops for your embroidery machine from the manufacturer or dealers of that machine brand. You are also limited on sizes and styles based on what the machine manufacturer offers for their machines. They do perform the exact same function as hand embroidery hoops, though. They secure your fabric while you sew. They also have some of the same basic securing features and options; levers and screw tightening systems. They are also constructed in the same basic way. They have two (2) pieces, and inner and outer hoop, that fit together to sandwich your fabric in between them. The basic fabric loading is the same, no matter what kind a machine you have. You put down your inner hoop, then your fabric (or fabric sandwich), then the outer hoop. Straighten out the fabric and center your stitching area. You’ll want your fabric tight, but not stretched. Tighten up the outer hoop and install the fabric loaded hoop onto your machine. It’s that simple. Note: If you are using a stabilizer, you will want to put it under your fabric. If you are using a water soluble stabilizer (which will dissolve in water) to ensure even stitch coverage on a lumpy fabric, then you would put that on top of your fabric. There are situations and desired effects that will call for both types of stabilizer. One under and one on top of your fabric. Read more about fabric stabilizers here. Return to machine embroidery. You are restricted on your width to the width of the embroidery arm on your machine. That means that most machines will be restricted to a project width of about four inches (4”). This doesn’t mean that the only designs you can do are only that wide, it just means that to do anything wider, you will have to split your design and do it in multiple parts. That is the maximum width you can stitch at any one time. Sometimes you can rotate a wide, design and stitch it sideways to get a wider design area. But you will then be restricted to a four inch (4”) length, or height on the design. One difference between machine embroidery hoops and hand-held embroidery hoops is that the machine hoops are usually sized in millimeters (100mm x 100mm rather than 4” X 4”). Hand-held hoops are usually sized in inches (4” diameter). Check with your manufacturer to see what kind of embroidery hoops they offer for your machine. Some, like my Viking embroidery machines, offer anything from mini round hoops (40mm X 40mm) to mega rectangle hoops (360mm X 150mm). And specialty ones like endless hoops and hat hoops. You might find your machine manufacturer offers an even broader array of hoop choices. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Want to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Return to Embroidered Gifts
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