Hoop Master Mighty Hoops - First Impressions

[edr]

Hi all,

Thought I'd start a new thread on Hoop Master's new "Mighty Hoop" system since they have been called other names, including "Magic" hoops. I understand why now after working them. These should not be referred to as the grossly inferior Magna Hoops manufactured by another company. I have two 11x13, one 10x10 and two 5.5x5.5 hoops with the Hoop Master, free arm and Mighty Hoop fixtures that are used with the Hoop Master.

I'll provide you with my first impressions below:

- Expensive, but after getting them, I understood why. These are truly designed for the commercial embroidery machine. The Mighty Hoop system is very well made and designed to meet the rigorous requirements of a commercial embroiderer.

- Strong magnetic hoops - yep these hoops have industrially strong magnets. There are "pinch, heart pacemaker, credit card, etc." warnings all over the edges of the hoops. You can pinch your fingers if you are not paying attention. It takes some effort to separate the lower and upper hoops if the tabs were not there.

- But hooping is a dream! Believe the video http://www.hoopmaster.com/mighty%20h...in%20page.html, that you can actually just throw the upper hoop from across the room and it will squarely and precisely land on top of the lower hoop with the garment in between. But I don't recommend you do it that way. I would just place the lower hoop in the hoop bracket that is attached to the Hoop Master, place your fabric/garment over the lower hoop and then carefully hover the upper hoop over the fabric/garment until the hoops snap together.

- The bottom hoop is actually a "flat ring" that snaps to the bottom of the top hoop. Consequently, the fabric is not sandwiched tightly between the outside of the inner hoop and inside of the outer hoop in conventional hoops, virtually eliminating hoop burn. The magnets of the bottom flat ring and top hoop only orient a certain way.

- Is hooping accurate? Yes, even with the 11x13 hoops. I was afraid with the instantaneous snapping of the hoops the backing and fabric would get shuffled, but no....the tautness of the backing and fabric are just perfect! I didn't have to make any adjustments afterwards.

- But how well did the hoop keep the backing and fabric stable and secure during embroidering? Again, I was amazed even with light fabric (is silk dupioni delicate enough for you??) the Mighty hoop kept the backing and fabric secure and taut even through very dense designs and even with the 11x13 hoop!

- Better than SlimLine or FastFrame systems? Well those are designed to be used differently, but in being able to secure delicate projects, the Mighty Hoops win hands down. I tried delicate to medium fabric projects in my Slimline and the backing and fabric would always shift, compromising the finished product. I find the SlimLine better for heavier projects. I don't have the FastFrame system because I don't like using that sticky backing on anything. With the Mighty Hoops, you can use "any" backing that you prefer.

- Ease of using in the Amaya XT? Just as simple as putting any other conventional hoop in the XT. And there are no clamps that you have to worry about that will screw up your machine like the SlimLine system has. That makes me sooo nervous! I used the Mighty Hoops with my large XT tabletop. The Mighty Hoops do not interfere or scratch the tabletop (like my large SlimLine clamp did).

- One of the biggest advantages to the Mighty Hoops are that they are "SQUARE"! YEA! How many designs do you embroider that are circles or ovals?!?! Wish there were more hoop sizes though. May get the 4x4 hoops next and then I will have them all!

- Does it sound like I LOVE this system? You bet ya!

Cheers,
Ed "Kanga" Roux

[ May 17, 2010, 11:18 PM: Message edited by: edr ]

[Juli in Kona]

Just one question - Does the 4 x 4 hoop actually have a sewing area of 4 x 4?

[Japhel]

I am dying to get one of these....

[KNC Designs]

They are on our list of things to get as well. Thanks for the review, I will look at them first hand at the I.S.S. show in Fort Worth if they are there. And maybe they will offer a show deal.

[Greenwing]

The show deals are offered on line for all,
They are keeping th intro price for a "While" they said.

FYI

[edr]

Hi Juli,

Don't know the sewing area of the 4x4 hoops since I don't have them...yet. Perhaps someone who does can answer you.

The inside dimensions of the 11x13, 10x10 and 5.5x5.5 hoops are 11" x 13", 9 7/8" x 9 7/8" and 5.5" x 5.5", respectively. So the sewing area of these hoops are those dimensions less the minimum clearances you need on all four sides for the Amaya XT pressure foot and needles, and also considering the rounded corners. The hoops do not obstruct the blade thread grabber.

Cheers,
Ed "Kanga" Roux

[gcannon]

edr- nice to see such enthusiasm; I am impressed and curious. I (99.9998% of the time) never use after-market parts; but, yet, I feel that I must invesigate this "Mighty-Hoop" thing. Could it be? I do love my Hoopmaster for shirts- so I trust the company already.

[edr]

Hi Gregory,

Well you have half the system, you only need the hoops and fixtures. I didn't have anything so I spent almost $1,400 for what I got. Do I regret it??? Naw!!

Cheers!
"Kanga"

[Ballyhoo]

I recently looked into slimline v mighty hoops for a job that I could not do with regular hoops. I have fast frames and that would have worked but I would have had to hold each backpack while it sewed (I could only do one at a time and have three old reds) so that was not a reasonable option for 80 backpacks. I thought that the slimline would be a better choice for this job, but the mighty hoop would be almost as good and generally more versatile, so I got those.

When I ordered, I was planning on ordering 6, two for each machine. However, Marge at Mighty Hoops told me not to "waste" my money because these hoops are so fast, you don't need two per machine. The problem with mighty hoops is that the magnets are powerful and when you stack hooped items, they will stick together and loose hoops will stick together much more strongly. So, to use multiple hoops efficiently, you need space to spread out. To me, the main time savings on general embroidery processes is that you never have to set the hoop tension. The only other time saving is maybe an extra second that it takes to push the top hoop into the ring with a little effort on the standard hoops.

With regard to the effort to hoop, the top and bottom do snap together totally effortlessly. However, there is almost as much force needed to pull them apart as is need to put standard hoops together. And, if you are not careful they wil pinch.

What is so good about them? They can easily hoop across zippers and seams. I did a left chest on a very heavy craftsman canvas quilted jacket that had to be hooped across the main zipper and a zipper pocket. The mighty hoop held together (just barely, but it held). I have done a couple of sweatshirt backs with the larger hoop and thought that it was much easier then using the standard wooden hoops. The primary function that was easier is that the hoop does not need to be adjusted and that I do not have the brackets for my hoopmaster for the larger hoops.

I am about to start a large job--144 golf shirts, left chest and sleeve--and will use my six standard hoops rather than the three might hoops. for small quick jobs and samples, I will grab the mighty hoop. If I had six mighty hoops, I am not sure which I would use, I intuitively think that the aggravation of keeping them apart would not be worth it.

I am not upset that I got them. They can often be handy, but I am not overjoyed either.

MHO

David Sklar
Ballyhoo!
Arlington VA

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

David,
Well written.
Thanks for sharing your experience.

Ed

[paulscyn]

Considering myself still a newbie to embroidery, I want to thank everyone that shared their experience with the fast frames, slimline, and the mighty hoop with us...it was very informative...and help me out alot. I still have a few questions though. I have a set of the fast frames, but don't really like them...they just seem to flimsy to me whenever I have tried to use them and then the sticky back is really hard to remove (sorry that I spent the money to buy them...(they are collecting dust)..I have a Melco EMT and love it...I am thinking about the Mighty Hoop and whether or not to purchase it...what is the Magna Hoop and is it for commercial or home embroidery machines...I also need a narrow hoop to be able to do sleeves, and pants legs..I usually take them apart and embroider the design and then sew them back together...I only embroider as a hobbie..but that doesn't mean that I don't want whatever I am doing to look professional. Any imput is greatly appreciated..thanks

[Juli in Kona]

I have the Mighty Hoops and absolutely love them! Can't say enough good things about them. I was just talking to them and they said that they will have a sleeve/pants leg hoop in the not too distant future. They are pricey, but very good!

Juli in Kona

[Rod or Sharon]

Fast frames are a very valuable tool in your embroidery shop and we have used them often. I do agree that we do not like the sticky stabilizer so we use appropriate stabilizer for the fabric we are stitching on and use small (very strong) little clamps from Home Depot to clamp around the edges. BE SURE THE CLIPS ARE DESIGNED LOW ENOUGH THAT THEY WON"T STRIKE THE GRABBER BAR WHEN TRACING OR SEWING.
Sharon Springer

[embroiderthee]

Where did you purchase your Mighty Hoop system?