Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Talking hoops!

Hoops
So last week we talked about how we organise floss and it appeared that most of you are freakishly organised; winding floss on bobbin, sorting them by colour etc. ;-)

This week I thought we should have a natter about hoops.

I use hoops for pretty much all projects I work on. Except if the fabric is quite thick/stiff. Or if I'm doing lots of running stitch which is a lot easier to do when the fabric isn't hooped.

My go-to hoops are the wooden ones. I have tried plastic hoops, like the blue Susan Bates hoop in the photo, but it's just not the same.. I always end up back with the wooden hoop. :-)

What about you? Do you use a hoop when stitching? What type do you prefer? And how do you store them?


16 comments:

  1. I tend to use hoops except when I'm stitching something tiny or can't be bothered to climb the stairs to get a hoop. I tried the plastic ones that you stretch over the material (can't remember their name) but I couldn't get the fabric straight so I went back to the wooden ones. I have loads in piles around my craft room, but have a pretty bird hook thing that they will live on once I can work out how to fix it onto the Expedit bookcase.

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    1. I'd love to be able to hang my hoops on a hook. Would be a much better solution than my current one!

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  2. I love the square Q frames. so nice and no marks on the fabric!

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  3. I know I'm part of the &Stitches team but I thought I'd comment anyway. I love some hoop talk! Although I sometimes use a wooden hoop too you should be a bit cautious. They can leave stains on your fabric. I also have lots of plastic Susan Bates type hoops and flexi hoops and qsnaps. At first I wasn't too fond of my qsnap but now I love using them especially for my larger projects.

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    1. I've never tried the qsnaps. I guess I should? ;-)

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  4. I use plastic because the wooden ones I have keep snagging and give my splinters (maybe I should upgrade!)

    I keep them, and all of my fabric, in a plastic tote. The floss boxes don't fit anymore in the tote though.

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    1. I've never had my wooden hoops snag or give me splinters. Maybe it's a different kind of wood?

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  5. Like Stephanie, I find the wooden ones snag and splitter, so I typically only use them to frame my pieces. I love my plastic ones (like the one in the photo) and my qsnap (for larger projects). I would like to try the kind that are large wooden frames someday.

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  6. I love wooden hoops, although I do have a couple of old metal ones that I really enjoy using.

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    1. Is there not a risk that the metal ones will leave marks on the fabric? Or do you cover the hoops before using them?

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  7. I generally use plastic. I (like others) found the wood ones to be splintery. I recently was given a Morgan "no-slip" hoop which I am taking a liking to!

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  8. I hardly ever use a hoop. After I get my pattern on whatever cloth I'm using, I iron on a fusible thin cotton. It keeps it stable enough to embroider without getting wonky. I find that hoops just get in the way (at least for me).

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  9. I mostly like wooden hoops because plastic seems to slip more. I've actually been looking for some vintage wooden hoops, they always look like much better quality than the ones you can get in Michaels, AC Moore, etc. Those can definitely be splintery, and sometimes poorly made/crooked and don't tighten properly. I'm going to check out the q-snap frames too.

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  10. I like the wooden ones better, too, but recently got my hands on some vintage plastic hoops which I love to work with. They have a wider frame, which holds the fabric in place better, than the usual thin dmc ones.

    Never tried stitching without a frame, but I probably should. I find it hard to stitch with larger embroidery hoops and my hands begin to hurt after some time.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the larger frames can be a bit of a pain. If I did a lot of large projects I think I'd consider getting a stand.. but they're kinda pricey!

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  11. Hoops. I do like the wooden ones best. However, NOT the balsawood nightmares that are sold at stores here. Find some good quality ones like DMC, Anchor, Hardwicke Manor or Elbesee. The balsawood ones tend to loosen and tear the brass screw out of the wood, and do get splintery, they are HORRIBLE. If you live in Europe, you might not know what I am talking about, but here in the US, the most common hoop available, are cheap, bad quality, balsawood hoops that last about 3 weeks if you use them alot. Then the brass screw tears out of the wood, because it is soft, papery type, very lightweight wood. So the 1$-3$ (depending on size) you pay for one, turns into about 25$-60$ wasted money a year. I know, I bought those made-in-china horror shows for years because nothing else (seriously) was available. I would buy 3 or 4 at a time because they would not last long. I am surprised those hoops did not dampen my enthusiasm for embroidery. The good hoops I have I had to order online. If you pay 5$-10$ for good ones, like I did, it will last you for years and won't be a waste of money. I did inherit a couple of metal ones from my granma, I do not care for them, but if you do, be careful, they will leave rust marks on your fabric eventually. I hated the plastic ones worse than the nasty cheap wooden ones, I have found that the plastic allows the fabric to slip too much.

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