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Day Two -
The "How To" of Hooping
Today we will be tackling the basics of hooping your garment. At some time or another every embroiderer struggles with hooping.
 photo copyright 2007 Kris Congo
So lets take a few minutes and go over some points that will hopefully help us be better hoopers.
First of all, it starts at the computer, in your software, where your designs come from. When you are hooping it is wise to have a center point to work from. So be sure to print out a template of the design to place on the garment. This template can be printed on paper or even transparencies. You can even use your hoop's hooping grid that came with the machine along with the template to mark your placement.
Second, you need to be sure that your design fits in the proper hoop for the job. If the hoop is too large it will not support the fabric properly and may lead to poor stitch out quality. Outline registratiaon will be off. Most embroidery software may allow you to bring in different hoop sizes onto the screen so you can view the design in the hoop. Nonetheless, your software will tell you the size of the design. For instance, a stitch area of 3.96 x 3.96 inches will utilize the typical 4x4 inch hoop for most machines (varies see your manual). If your design fits in these parameters, then this is the hoop that should be used for the project, nothing larger.
Third, take your template print out, your garment, the right size hoop, and now the stabilizer to the area where you hoop. I use a separate work station for hooping. It is a desk dedicated to only hooping and all of my hooping aids are stored there within easy reach for maximum efficiency. Remember to make sure that the stabilizer is larger than the hoop. Using your template, mark your four spots for alignment using a fabric pen, or disappearing ink, or even dot stickers. Place the hoop down on the desk surface and then place stabilizer on top of it. If using a hooping aid such as Hoopmates (as shown in picture above), make sure your stabilzer is steady in place by using the magnet or tape to hold it to the board. This will keep the stabilizer from shifting around while hooping the garment. Then place your garment over the hoop and backing. If it is your preference, spray-adhesive spray may be used here. It is my preference to use it, others do not like spray adhesive. The choice is yours. You want to make sure that the garment is taut but not stretched, especially on knits.
Note: Each hoop allows you adjust the size for whatever you maybe hooping with the turn of the screw. If the fabric gets stretched during hooping and embroidery, when unhooped it will snap back into the regular position and will result in poor quality.
Now take the top part of your hoop and line it up with your garment, and your markings, making sure you are straight on the garment.
Big thing to remember is that before hooping, take the time to make the reference points on the garment. Also, make sure to mark your center point as well where the embroidery is going to be centered. Refer to the photo below. Once you have confirmed that everything is straight and lined up with your selected needle, you can begin to embroider.
photo copyright 2007 Kris Congo
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