How to mount the fabric on the frame without wrinkles

The hoop seems like the easiest thing in the world: you put the fabric in, tighten it, and start embroidering. But if you've ever finished a session with loose, crooked, or marked fabric, you know it has its tricks. I'll tell you how to make it taut as a drum and completely wrinkle-free.

Prepare the fabric before hooping it

Iron the fabric with a warm iron before you begin. Factory wrinkles, if caught under the hoop, will stay there throughout the project and then be incredibly difficult to remove. Two minutes of ironing will save you a headache.

Step-by-step hooping

• Loosen the screw on the outer hoop until the two hoops separate easily.
• Place the fabric over the inner hoop, centering the area you're going to embroider.
• Fit the outer hoop over it, pushing down evenly.
• Tighten by gently pulling the edges of the fabric, going around the hoop as if it were a clock, until it is smooth.
• Tighten the screw all the way at the end, not before. If you tighten it and then pull, you will mark the fabric.

The fabric ribbon trick

Do you want professional tension? Wrap the inner hoop with a thin cotton ribbon (or a strip of the fabric itself) coiled around it. That slight thickness grips the fabric better, prevents it from slipping, and leaves no marks. It's the secret of lifelong embroiderers.

Care for the fabric while embroidering

• Remove the fabric from the hoop at the end of each session. Leaving it hooped for days leaves a round mark that is difficult to remove.
• Do not embroider with the hoop over already stitched areas. If your work is large, reposition the hoop over unstitched areas to avoid flattening the stitches.

In summary

Iron first, tighten little by little, tighten the screw at the end, and unhoop when finished. With the fabric properly set, the stitches come out even, and embroidering is much more comfortable. In our needlepoint kits, you will find the perfect fabric to practice all of this.