Hoop sizes for hand embroidery

Round hoops commonly run from 3 to 12 inches (7.6 to 30.5 cm) across, and the size to reach for is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wider than your design. This page gives the sizes in inches and centimeters, the largest design that sits comfortably in each, how much fabric to cut, and what the different kinds of hoop are for.

The sizes come from hoop makers' own lists. The fitting and fabric rules come from a thread maker, a frame maker and embroiderers who teach.

Hoop size chart

The two design columns follow one rule: use a hoop at least half an inch (about 1.3 cm) larger than the design all around, which makes it at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) wider than the design. That gap gives your needle room at the edge of the design and room on the back to end your threads. A whole inch (2.5 cm) all around is easier still, and that is the last column.

A few notes on the sizes:

• 4 and 5 inch (10 and 13 cm) hoops suit small, quick pieces such as a monogram or an ornament.
• 6 inch (15 cm) is a fine size to start with.
• 6 and 7 inch (15 and 18 cm) hoops are the ones one long-time teacher likes most. She finds anything larger cumbersome when stitching the middle.
• Over 8 inches (20 cm) a hoop can be awkward to hold. At 10 inches (25 cm) and up, a stand or the edge of a table helps, so both hands are free.
• Some makers also list an 11 inch (27.9 cm) hoop.

The inch names are rounded. A British maker sells its 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 inch hoops as 10, 13, 15, 18, 20, 23, 25 and 30 cm. Hoops made to metric sizes land in between: you will see 12 cm (4 3/4 inches), 12.5 cm, 15.5 cm, 18 cm (7 inches) and 18.5 cm, and one "4 inch" hoop is listed at 100 mm, which is 3.94 inches. If a pattern has to fill a hoop exactly, measure the hoop you own across its opening.

How to choose a size

1. Measure the design across its widest point and add 1 inch (2.5 cm). That is the smallest hoop that holds the whole design.
2. Check it against your hand. Hold the edge of the hoop in your palm, with your thumb holding it in place. Your fingers should reach the center of the hoop easily. If they do not, the hoop is too big to hold while you stitch.
3. If the hoop you need is too big for your hand, use a smaller one and move it as you go, or set the big hoop on a stand.
4. Square and rectangular designs need more hoop. A round hoop has to clear the corners, so measure the design from corner to corner, not side to side, before you add the inch (2.5 cm).
5. Match the hoop's depth to the fabric. Wooden hoops are typically about 3/8 inch (1 cm) deep, and one well-made line comes in 5/16, 5/8 and 7/8 inch (0.8, 1.6 and 2.2 cm). The heavier the fabric, the thicker the hoop should be.

Kinds of hoops and what each is for

How much fabric to cut

Cut the fabric generously. It is easier to trim it later than to add to it.

• If you will frame the piece in its hoop, leave at least 1 1/2 inches (about 4 cm) beyond the hoop all around. That is the margin you trim to and gather at the back. Add 3 inches (7.5 cm) to the hoop size and cut a square.
• If you will frame it another way or make it into something, leave 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) of clear fabric around the design on every side. Add 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) to the design's width and height.
• Either way, the fabric has to be bigger than the hoop you stitch in. If it barely reaches the rings, you have nothing to pull on when you tighten it.

The last column takes the largest design from the first chart (the hoop size less 1 inch, or 2.5 cm) and adds 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) on every side.

If your fabric is already cut and comes up short, sew it onto a larger piece of plain scrap cotton and cut the cotton away behind the area you will stitch. Now the hoop has something to hold. Before you start, stop the cut edges from fraying: sew around them with a zigzag or a running stitch, or trim them with pinking shears.

When the stitching is done, how to finish a hoop shows what to do with that margin.

When the design is bigger than the hoop

The design does not have to fit inside the hoop. On a tablecloth, a towel or any large piece, you stitch one area, then move the hoop to the next. This is normal.

• You can close the hoop over finished stitches in most ordinary surface embroidery. They may flatten a little and recover when the piece is rinsed and dried. Be gentle, and do not leave them clamped for long.
• Do not do this over beads or goldwork. Those pieces need a frame that holds the whole design. A needlework manual from the early 1900s and at least one frame maker warn against hooping over any stitching at all, so on anything delicate, pick a hoop or frame that surrounds the design.
• Take the work out when you stop for the day, or at least loosen the screw. This lets the fabric relax and helps prevent lasting creases and dirt rings.
• Keep the spare fabric out of your way. Roll it up and hold the roll with clips or clothespins.

Binding the inner ring

Binding means wrapping the inner ring with tape. It is not essential, but it adds grip so the fabric stays tight longer, and it cushions the fabric and any stitches under the ring.

1. Use cotton twill tape. Bias binding also works, but its folded edge makes a less even wrap. Use narrow tape on thin hoops and wider tape on deep ones: 1/4 to 3/8 inch (0.6 to 1 cm) tape on a 5/16 inch (0.8 cm) hoop and 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) tape on a 5/8 inch (1.6 cm) hoop.
2. Clip one end of the tape to the inside of the inner ring. Starting and ending on the inside keeps the lump away from the face that meets the outer ring.
3. Wrap the tape around the ring at a slant, pulling it snug, so each turn lies right beside the last without overlapping. Clip it as you go.
4. Back at the start, trim the tape so the ends overlap neatly on the inside, and sew them together with small tight stitches.

Bind only the inner ring; that is usually enough. Binding does not work well on plastic hoops that have a lip.

Setting the fabric in the hoop

1. Lay the inner ring on a table and center the fabric over it.
2. Loosen the screw, press the outer ring down over both, and tighten the screw until it just grips.
3. Work around the hoop, pulling the fabric evenly until it is taut, then tighten the screw. Tapped with a finger, the fabric should sound like a drum.
4. Give the screw a last turn with a screwdriver if your fingers cannot. Stop when it is tight. Forcing it strips the screw.

If you are right-handed, set the screw at the top left, at about 10 or 11 o'clock. If you are left-handed, set it at about 1 or 2 o'clock. Your thread catches on it less there. Expect to pull the fabric taut again from time to time as you stitch.

Common problems

• The fabric keeps going slack. Bind the inner ring, and finish tightening with a screwdriver. Some slackening is normal, so pull the fabric taut again as you work.
• The hoop left a ring. Take the work out after every session. A ring mark on a washable piece can be washed out; see how to wash embroidery. On silk, velvet or anything you cannot wash, the mark may stay, so consider a frame instead of a hoop.
• There is a grubby ring where you hold the hoop. Wash your hands before you stitch. On fine work, hoop a piece of scrap cotton over the fabric and cut a window in it, so your fingers touch the scrap.
• You cannot reach the middle. The hoop is too big for your hand. Use a smaller one or a stand.
• Your needle is cramped at the edge of the design. The hoop is too small. Go up a size so there is half an inch (about 1.3 cm) clear all around.
• The fabric is too small for the hoop. Sew it onto a larger piece of scrap cotton and cut away the cotton behind the stitching area.
• A big, cheap hoop wobbles. The larger the hoop, and the lower its quality, the more it wobbles. Use a smaller hoop or a sturdier one.

New to all of this? Start with how to start embroidery. Stitching on a shirt or a towel? The placement chart shows where the design goes.