All about Embroidery Hoops

Hi, I am Anita Schackmann, but most know me as Nitti. Thanks to this Face to Face interview, you can get to know me better, and you ca check out my beadwork here in the Designer Zone. Today, I will tell you all I know about embroidery hoops and I have even prepared something new for you!

I restarted my beady adventure a couple of years ago, following Erika’s tutorials, stories, and kindness, then back as the Storytelling Jeweller. Ever since I have been trying to improve my skills and discover as much of the beading world as possible.

It is no different when it comes to Bead Embroidery. Whenever you think that you are comfortable starting a new project, you make a great discovery of a new technique, material, or trick that will start the cogwheels and engage you in a whole new way. Let’s attempt some inspiration!

Whether it is about embroidery, needlepoint, or cross stitch, one of your greatest helpers that you must have at hand is an embroidery hoop. It can make a big difference in your finished piece when you have your trusty hoop at your disposal. Having a flat surface to work on will not only make your piece even but will also give support for your hands and wrist through the process.

Hoops come in many sizes and are made of different materials. At the moment, Beadingschool has an 8 cm and a 10 cm round variation. You have to experiment with them to find which ones work best with the piece you are creating.

History

While the embroidery hoop we know is not that old, the idea was presented much earlier in history.

For example, in the 15th century, Francesco Del Cossa’s painting: Triumph of Minerva presents with an embroidery frame, where the entire fabric was stretched over the tool and was fixed with the help of pins.

In the 18th century, the adjustable tambour frame or scroll frame appeared gave some more flexibility to the tool

In 1903, a lady named Helen Harmes was granted a patent for the invention of adjustable embroidery hoop. This was still slightly different from the hoop that we mainly use today, as both the inner and outer hoops were adjustable.

How to use it?

You unscrew the outer hoop and you place a fabric over the inner hoop. Make sure that your fabric is 1-2 inches larger than the inner hoop. You center the fabric and press down the outer loop. Make sure that you do this process on an even surface, like a desk. Tighten the screw and pull the fabric evenly every direction. Repeat tightening the screw and pulling on the fabric until you receive a drum-like surface. Make sure not to stretch out your fabric or damage your screw. When you finished for the day, remove your piece from the hoop to avoid permanent indentations, stretches or damage.

Hoop for Bead Embroidery?

But why would we use an embroidery hoop for bead embroidery. For smaller pieces, where it is not difficult to keep an even tension, or you work with smaller beads you can avoid using a frame or a hoop. But when it is about using bigger beads, covering a bigger surface or switching from ‘one corner to the other’, you might need some extra support.

My journey with embroidery hoop is not as long as I would like it to be. I went through many-many trials and errors by I recognised what my issues were and how they could be helped.

You might remember one of my memorable problems with my embroidery base: it didn’t behave the way I wanted it to be, but the way it was supposed to be!

Then you try to find solutions, try to be creative, and not necessarily reach for the straight forward solution. In this case it meant that I tried to fix my wobbly piece with the help of laundry pins, however this could have been avoided.

Cupchain

Using a hoop is a great idea when you work with cup chains, especially when you try to place more rows or circles next to each other. What very often happens is that you try to stitch them too close together, and it makes the base of your embroidery warp.

Even distribution

When you need to place bigger beads evenly around a central object, having a plain surface can help. Make a stitch in the chosen spot, string up your beads, and stitch through your base where you wish your sequence to end. Now, you can go back and stitch down between the beads, creating an even distribution of the beads.

Organza

An embroidery hoops can give the best support when your base is flexible. A lot of beaders use Lacy’s stiff stuff or felt as their base. You can threat these bases to make them more firm and easier to work with. Me, personally, like to use UltraSuede the most. It doesn’t fray and you cannot see the needle marks in it but has a slight stretch to it. Having it even and avoiding pulling on it while working can be essential. If you are like me, you like to save up all the little cut offs of your UltraSuede and you might not always have a big enough piece to put over your embroidery hoops, even if you use the tiniest hoop that is available. I have learned a little trick that can help with being able to use every little piece of base fabric that you have left over. You can fix a piece of thinner, cheap fabric, like organza, in your frame and stitch your UltraSuede on top of it with bigger stitches.

Binding your hoop

What makes embroidery hoops work so beautifully is that it consists of two perfectly fitting, smooth shapes. While it is a criterium for them to reach their purpose it can also create difficulties along the way. When your hoop is smooth and your fabric is thin, you have to adjust your fabric and play with the tension of the screw too often. To avoid it, you can bind your hoop. It means that you wrap a ribbon or gauze around the inner or both hoops. You create a soft, but uneven surface that has a better grip on your fabric and you have to adjust your hoop less often.

While working on this article and preparing for #CoffeeTimeWithErika, there was more on my bead mat besides embroidery hoops! Besides learning more and more about bead embroidery alongside every Beadingschool Academy Theme, we can also enjoy a new collection of Art cabochons that resonate with the same source of inspiration.

Besides the new colors and designs, another shape is available now again that was already present in the past in the Beadingschool Bead Shop: the small and big variations of navettes. And that’s exactly what caught my eye! Besides the Sayulita colors Andrea sent me a green one, too. I attached the navette to Ultra Suede and found some matching rivolis… I will tell you all in my newest tutorial, the Gems of the Seven Lakes pendant! The tutorial is available on its own, but you can also grab some bundles that we put together for you: the original Twin Wonders, the beloved yellow-grey of The Welcoming Marvel, the passionate Solidary Serenity, or the whimsical Enchanted Mirage.