What makes an embroidery hoop good?

The purpose of an embroidery hoop is to hold the fabric drum tight. For most embroidery, I like my fabric to be drum tight, if I tap on it with my fingers, it sounds like a drum.

There are different ways to achieve drum-tight fabric for stitching: a slate frame, stretcher bar frames, or a hoop. I prefer a hoop for most of my embroidery.

These are hoops from my collection.

Size of the Embroidery Hoop & Your Hands

The 6″ diameter ring is an easy fit for my hands. Anything larger becomes cumbersome when embroidering the middle of the design. You should be able to hold the edge of your hoop in your palm, secured by your thumb, and stretch your fingers easily to the center of the hoop.

I simply wrap with bias tape.

As a general rule you should always take your fabric out of your hoop when you finish stitching. I must admit I can be a bit lazy, and don't always do this. So I usually use a hoop that I have wrapped the inner ring.Not only does this help keep the fabric from wrinkling, but I find it helps keep the fabric taught.

 I make sure the screw that tightens the fabric are easy to turn.