It’s no secret that I love using an embroidery hoop when cross-stitching. Even though some people prefer not using it, or using other tools, I think it’s one of the most practical solutions to keep your fabric in place.
Hoops come in different sizes and materials such as wood or plastic but they all consist of two rings that fit one inside the other. While the smaller one is fixed in size, the larger one has a screw that will expand the outer hoop so you can fit on your fabric.
First of all, loosen the screw in order to separate the rings of your hoop.
Next, place the inner circle flat on a table and put the piece of fabric you’ll be working with on it.
Now put the outer hoop onto the fabric by fitting the inner ring in it. Your fabric will be in between the two rings.
As you tighten the screw again to hold everything firmly in place, gently pull the edges of the fabric to make the area inside the hoop as flat and firm as possible. Make sure you don’t over pull.
You can now start working on your project.
In some cases, your hoop will have to go over completed stitches. The first time this happened to me I was horrified. I was worried that my stitches would be ruined if they got stuck between the rings of the hoop.
However, nothing happened. The squashed stitches stayed firmly in place and once my project was over, they were as good as new.
I have repeated this several times already but this must always be remembered: never leave your project inside the hoop for a long time. Your fabric creases will be very hard to remove especially if you’re already halfway through your project. It’s one small step to do every time you finish working on your piece for the day. Just remove the hoop and store everything properly. Your cross stitch piece will thank you for it.
