An embroidery hoop is vital to creating a great finished look for your embroidery project.

It’s important to stretch the fabric taut to keep the stitches you make even, if the fabric is too lose then you will often unwittingly pull the stitches marginally too tight meaning the fabric can’t lie flat due to the uneven tension when you remove it from the hoop.

There are a few different types of embroidery hoop, but the most common is the wooden hoop with a screw fixture.

Ideally the size of the hoop should be big enough to display the whole area you are going to stitch but this isn’t vital unless you are working with beads or other embellishments.

• To get started loosen the screw slightly (you don’t need to unscrew it all the way) until the inner hoop separates from the outer hoop.

• Lie the inner hoop down and place the ironed fabric over the inner hoop so that it is central.

• Place the outer hoop over the inner hoop and gently press down, you may need to unscrew the outer hoop a little further if you have any difficulty in pushing the outer hoop down.

• The tighten the screw as tight as you can so that the fabric is like the skin of a drum, you can pull each side of the fabric to make sure it is as taut as possible.

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