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okay, not a good start but I’m sure its still Tuesday somewhere in the world!

tuesdaystip

Today I’m going to talk about embroidery hooping – not whether you should or shouldn't but how to?

I cannot work without a hoop – I didn’t start this way until someone ‘told’ me I had to to get a good result and now I simply cannot work without one. Not for tightness but as an extra hand.

The only hoops I use now are the very cheap plastic types that were designed for Punchneedle originally but now are common everywhere.

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They come in many sizes but I use only the 6” as this suits my ‘scoop’ style method of stitching where I need to be able to reach the centre of the hoop with my under finger… I also find it suits most sizes of the pieces I am working on. I will add fabric to designs to fit the hoop and cut back to a smaller size after if need be. If you are a ‘stab stitcher’ you may find a smaller 3-4” is good for smaller designs.

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Take the inner and outer ring apart and you can see that the inner ring has a small lip on the top edge. (see the ‘this side up’ message) that’s important for this reason.IMG_5797

Place the inner ring on a surface with the lip to the top side – you should see the ‘this side up’ on the top. Place your embroidery/stitchery fabric over the top.

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Open the screw almost all the way on the outer ring and place it on top of the fabric pushing down over the inner ring. IMG_5799

Pop the outer ring down further until that lip is sitting above the outer ring – you will feel it pop out. IMG_5800

Tighten the screw IMG_5801 Pull the outer fabric down firmly around the hoop on all sides. Do not pull so tightly that it skews the design out of shape. Pull evenly on all sides.

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do a final tighten on the screw and you are good to go

Note: if you are a stab stitcher  you may like it quite tight. For my ‘scoop stitching’ method I don’t have it really tight, just firm but with movement so that I can take my needle down and up in one step using my finger below to help bring the needle up.

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Okay, that’s my ‘how to hoop’ my embroidery tip for today

hugs to you all

Helen

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