Do hoops get tired?

[Shuffletown Embroidery]

I am getting a lot of puckering and registration problems on sew outs using the plastic 36x30cm jacket back hoop. The current project is done on quilter's cotton. I'm using a stock design. I have reduced the density and added underlay. I have increased the stabilizer, added a hooping blanket and changed the thread feed to standard and raised the number to 6. I have NOT stood on my head and whistled "Dixie", but if I thought it would help.... you get the idea.
Is this a common problem with this hoop? I have 2 of them and I seem to have trouble more often than not.
I'd love to hear other's experiences.... and solutions, if you have them.
Thanks in advance,
Mary

[Body Cover]

What we have done with this hoop to help it grip better, is to wrap a little strip of cutaway backing around the straighter sections (Middle of all 4 sides) if you wrap at an angle you can wrap a section around 5 or 6 inches and then secure both ends with some tape, oh and if it wasn't clear then you wrap the stand alone ring part not the part with the hoop brackets. in effect it give the outer hoop something more to grip on. The corners grab fine but the straight sections have to much give to grip tightly, this trick will help a little on that front. There are many things you can use to wrap with such as athletic tape or some bandage wrap product I've heard about but we needed a right now fix and this si what we had around the shop. Now you know why most hoops are round, because they will give uniform grip and tightness around the whole hoop where other shapes will always be loosest away from the corners. Good Luck
Ron

[Terri H]

I love the size of the hoop but have difficulty with it holding the product well. What I've done with some success, wrap the all 4 sides with vet wrap (do not use a color as it can get stuck on fabric after time) - this is left on all the time. Sometimes it will need to be replaced. Vet wrap is basically an adhesive gauze, it sticks to itself. Once an item is hooped, I stick in slim pieces of cardboard (NOT corrugated) and/or business cards from the top, between the fabric and the outer hoop. Sometimes also from the bottom, fabric and outer hoop. I've precut various lengths of cardboard, a tiny bit taller than hoop height. I place as many in as to keep the fabric taut without stretch.

Terri
Embroidery Creations

[Shuffletown Embroidery]

Thanks for the tips. I forgot to mention that the hooping blanket I had concocted was only on the sides, not the corners. But I did only have one layer. Maybe more would have made a bigger difference. I don't know if I feel better or worse that others have the same problem.

I am wondering if I have the outer hoop upside down. Is the barrel screw supposed to be on the bottom left or the bottom right?

Thanks again,
Mary

[Judy]

This is going to sound strange, but I use pins.

Mostly, I use pins because I just don't have the shoulder/arm strength to fight the vet wrap, or spraying the inside of the outer hoop and the outside of the inner hoop.

After I get the hoop on and the fabric taut, I fold the fabric over on itself OUTSIDE of the hoop, right next to it, and on the outside of the hoop, at the top, as close as I can get to the hoop, I pin it all of the way around. It can't slip back in at all.

[Shuffletown Embroidery]

I really LIKE that! Pins I know how to use.
I will definitely give it a try tomorrow. Thanks!
Mary

[Shuffletown Embroidery]

Hi all,
I like to see how problems were resolved, so I thought I would post what I finally did with this. First of all, thanks for all the suggestions.
As much as I liked the pins idea, I decided that it wouldn't work as well for clothing and I really needed a generally applicable solution.

Solution: I wrapped the four straight edges of the outside hoop ring with @1" strips of muslin, taping it with masking tape at the beginning and the end and trying to keep the thickness uniform. I used muslin instead of stabilizer because mine are silicone treated. I thought they might be too slick and the tape might not stick (poet).
I was able to go back to the lighter weight (more appropriate) stabilizer, increase the stitch density (but not as much as original), and go back to acti-feed. I did adjust my bobbin tension, which was a tad bit too tight.
Sorry for the long-winded post. I hope this helps someone else.
Mary

[Body Cover]

Hey Mary, That wasn't very long winded at all!
Anyway I didn't read if the reults were good.
I liked your solution but I'm curious if the end results were good. How did it come out?
Let us know...

Ron

[Shuffletown Embroidery]

I was very pleased with the results. I'm getting ready to work with the finished embroidery right now.
Rectangular hoops are a problem. We have a tendancy to tighten them down too much because they don't hold as well. Consequently, I believe they have a shorter useful life.
I have a home embroidery machine, a Bernina Artista, with an oval hoop (only 2 straight sides). The Swiss gurus engineered an inner ring with a reinforced superstructure that helps it to perform as well as a round hoop. I wish that Melco could do a better job with this 36x30cm hoop. It's a very useful size but a bear to work with.
Mary