An embroidery hoop is crucial to creating a beautiful finished piece of embroidery. Most of the projects that you’ll stitch you’ll need the fabric really taut so you can drum your fingers on it and get a sound. (There are some exceptions to this but that’s for another blog post).

Here are my tips for getting your fabric as taut as you can in your hoop.

1) pick a hoop with a bit of grip

Hoops are normally made from wood, bamboo or plastic. Personally I avoid stitching with plastic hoops as I in my experience they are too slippery and don’t grip the fabric well enough. I prefer wood or bamboo hoops which give some added grip and help to maintain the tension. However, I know that others swear by plastic hoops - find what works best for you.

2) make sure that the inner and outer hoop fit snuggly together

Some hoops aren’t perfectly round so the inner and outer hoop may have some gaps between them. Try rotating the inner hoop around before adding the fabric to find the best fit. You can mark the edge of the inner and outer hoop so you can align them back up when you’ve added the fabric. But at the end of the day if the hoop is misshapen it’s best to put it to one side and pick another hoop.

3) pull the EDges of the fabric to create tension

Working around the hoop and pulling the edge of the fabric after you’ve tightened the hoop can make sure that the fabric in the centre of the hoop is taut. Then tighten the screw one last time to secure the fabric in place. You may find that you need to do this a few times as you stitch the project.

4) use tools to tighten the screw

I only learned fairly recently that the screw on some hoops has a slot for a flat head or philips head screwdriver. Using a screwdriver really works - you can turn the screw much further than with your fingers alone. And if your hoop doesn’t have this slot then you could use some pilers instead (although these may mark the metal so be careful!)

5) use a second layer of fabric

For some hoops you get to the limit of how far you can tighten the screw before you’ve reached the tension you need. Bulking out your fabric by using an extra layer can help give you that extra turn of the screw and get your fabric super taut. Alternatively you can bind the inner hoop with some fabric tape to get the same effect.

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