How to Use an Embroidery Hoop

Materials and tools

• Embroidery hoop
• Fabric at least 2 in (5 cm) larger than the hoop all round

1. Loosen the screw and separate the two rings. The inner ring is the plain one. The outer ring has the screw.
2. Lay the inner ring flat on a table. Centre the fabric over it, right side up, with the design in the middle.
3. Press the outer ring down over the fabric and inner ring. Loosen the screw more if it will not go on.
4. Tighten the screw until it just grips. Then work round the hoop, pulling the fabric edge gently outward a little at a time, always along the straight grain, not diagonally. Diagonal pulling distorts the design.
5. Tighten the screw fully. Tap the fabric. It should feel like a drum skin and not dip when pressed.
6. Position the screw at the top, or at about 10 o'clock if you are right-handed and 2 o'clock if left-handed, so the thread does not catch on it.
7. Retighten whenever the fabric slackens. Take the fabric out of the hoop when you stop for the day so it does not leave a hard crease.

Tips for a neat result

• Wrapping the inner ring with cotton twill tape gives much better grip on slippery or fine fabric.
• A hoop mark usually washes or steams out. Pressing on the wrong side also helps.

Common mistakes and fixes

Check your result

• The fabric gives a low drum sound when tapped.
• The weave runs straight across the hoop, not in a curve.

Projects that use this