4 reasons why you should consider binding embroidery hoop

Here's a question to new stitchers. Did you ever come across the pictures of embroidery where the hoop is wrapped in some kind of tape and it left you confused? Because it happened to me earlier in my “embroidery career”. 

Why would you need to wrap your embroidery hoop? Is it a simple whim? Because it looks fancy? Or is there an actual necessity of doing so?

As someone with experience I can say that there are unquestionable advantages of having your embroidery hoop binded.

And what might surprise you is that the ritual of binding embroidery hoops is more common than you might think. Because in many pictures that you stumble upon on the internet you can see the outside ring being wrapped. But the truth is, majority of stitchers prefer binding the inside ring. And because it is hidden under embroidery you don't even see that.

So, let's see why you too should consider binding your hoop.

Related: DIY embroidery hoop binding tutorial

Tension

Drum taut fabric is essential when you are embroidering – this is one of the rules you shouldn't neglect. And embroidery hoops serve exactly for the purpose of providing the right tension of your fabric.

The high quality product of course will maintain the right tension for a long time. But let's be real – there are way too many “okay” embroidery hoops out there that we buy. We adjust the tension perfectly but after some period of stitching the fabric loosens and we have to pull it and turn the screw again. Been there? Yeah, it's a very common thing.

So that's one of the main reasons why the hoop binding was invented. When you wrap one of the hoop rings, it serves as an additional padding and increases the friction. The perfect tension of your fabric lasts much longer and it makes the whole embroidery process more enjoyable!

Frankly speaking, after trying out the binding method I can't get back to using “bare” hoops. It just doesn't feel comfortable now??

Fabric protection

It goes without saying that ground fabric of your embroidery piece is extremely important and you should take care of it as much as you can, doting on it as if it were a precious baby.

Embroidery hoops might present danger for the fabric if they have rather low quality or if used incorrect way. 

Some of the problems that might arise because of the hoop include the creases on fabric which are sometimes very difficult to get rid of, and at times even stains. As for the latter, I didn't encounter this problem. But I did experience getting creases in the ground fabric which couldn't be removed in full despite my desperate attempts.

Either way, if you apply binding to your embroidery hoop, it will save you a lot of stress. The wrapping serves as an airbag of sorts, so the hoop goes easy on fabric without leaving creases. I mean, yes, there will be creases in the middle of stitching process, but they are easy to remove after ironing and stretching, so there's nothing to fret about.

Embroidery protection

Sometimes you might want to embroider a piece that doesn't fit entirely into the hoop, so you have to move it. You stitch one part first, then move the hoop to the other place. As you do that, the completed part of embroidery lies under the rings of the hoop under a high pressure. Needless to say, it can hurt the stitches, especially if they are dimensional, like french knots, for instance.

Again, if you wrap the hoop, it will serve as a cushion, so the stitches you worked so hard on won't be destroyed and marred.

It actually can look fancy?

Okay, so all the reasons above are very serious and important matters to consider because they concern the process and quality of embroidery work. However, there is a fun part to the hoop binding too – it can actually look nice and serve as an embellishment!

Majority of the stitchers resort to binding the inside ring of the hoop, but there really is not much difference in which ring to bind. Personally, I like it when my outside ring is wrapped in a nice strip of cotton fabric.

However, if you're not into decorating the hoop, you can use a usual twill tape that can be found in any sewing supplies store. The width and length will depend on the size of the ring you want to wrap.

And the last little joy I find in the binded embroidery hoop is that I can leave the needle in the wrapping fabric when I'm taking a break from embroidery - so convenient!

If you are still doubting whether to bind your hoop or not, just go for it! It will definitely bring more positives (actually I can't even think of any negatives) with it.

And if you don't want to lose the sight of the wooden ring around your embroidery (and it does look aesthetically pleasing), then you can simply bind the inside ring. 😉