- Cut your fabric a few inches taller and wider than the pattern and hoop you’ll stitch it in to ensure there’s enough fabric to work with.
- Loosen the screw on your hoop and take the inner hoop out of the outer hoop.
- Place your fabric on top of the inner hoop on a table, making sure it’s centered.
- Put the outer hoop on top of the fabric and push it down around the inner hoop.
- Tighten the screw and pull the fabric on all sides so that it’s taut. Make sure all sides of the fabric are pulled evenly so that the fabric isn’t distorted.
- Continue tightening the screw and pulling the fabric until it’s securely in place.
Suggestions:
- To pull the fabric taut before tightening the screw all the way, flip the hoop so that the top side of the fabric is facing down on a table. Hold the hoop down with one hand while pulling the fabric up with the other.
- If you anticipate it taking a long time to finish embroidering, remove your fabric from the hoop so that it doesn’t form a permanent crease that you can’t iron out.
- If your hoop doesn’t have a screwdriver-compatible screw, you can tighten it with pliers or use a rubber band (or some other form of rubber or silicone) to grip the screw better to tighten or loosen it.