Hooping troubles

[Maureen]

Hi, I'm having trouble hooping thin materials. The material at the top of the hoop comes out right but towards the bottom it becomes "wavy." I am using the regular round hoops right now (all I have at the moment). I need to use an 8" hoop for a monogram on a linen tablecloth. I am practicing on material I bought at the fabric store first.
Please help!

[Steve]

Sounds like the material is either hooped to loose or the underlay isn't correct for the design/lettering you running. Also make sure you have the correct needles and backing for the material.

[signman]

From a note posted probably 2 years ago...we took all our hoops-plastic and wood....and cut adhesive backing in 1/2" strips-then stuck around the inside of the top hoop, outside of the bottom hoop.
When you hoop any material, the backing gives it a 'grip' and there is less chance of slipping. Nylon totes, jackets are the worst-and the 'wedge' or 'paper' clamp is the best solution-but bend the handles down (like the little clamps on the WCCF hoop) so that the needle bar doesn't run into them! Also make sure you ALWAYS do a design trace-to make sure the clamps don't pop off.
Material that is rippled or loose in the hoop means it is NOT tight enough, or you have a hem, button hole, button-something in between the hoops that is preventing a good tight clamp. If that happens, you have to go to a larger hoop!

[veena]

I have a felt material cut to the backing size of a the hoop (12cm, 15cm etc., ) and cut a window inside the hoop. This keeps the hoop stable and the material taut. You can do this with cut away backing / thick canvas cloth, or felt. Something that does not slip.

You can save the window for later use.

[levelbest]

Try some Bias Tape (google it - I think JOANN Fabrics carries it) - and wrap it around the hoops you are going to do the nylon with. A couple guys I met in tech training who do HUGE business with OGIO and have about 10 heads (can't remember the exact number) use it to help with just such situations!

[Maureen]

Thank you to everyone - we wrapped the hoop and the monogram was beautiful! For me, it's very hard to measure where the hoop should be placed. We used the End Scroll monogram per the client's request but my son (the graphic artist) changed the fill stitch to a satin stitch because on our test, the fill stitch was really pulling the material (linen blend). The result was less stitches, no pulling and a very elegant monogram.