How To Put Your Aida Fabric Into An Embroidery Hoop

Whether you're picking up a needle for the very first time or you just want a quick refresher, getting your fabric sitting beautifully taut in your hoop really does make all the difference to your finished stitching. Follow our simple steps below and you'll be ready to stitch in no time!

What You’ll Need

• Aida or your preferred fabric
• An embroidery hoop in your chosen size
• A flat surface to work on
• A small scrap of thread
• A needle
• A small screwdriver (optional, but handy!)
  

Step 1: Find the Centre of Your Aida

Before your fabric goes anywhere near the hoop, it's really worth taking a moment to find the centre of your Aida - this tiny bit of preparation makes such a difference when you come to start stitching!

To do this, take your fabric and fold it in half, making sure the two edges line up neatly. Then fold it in half again. That little corner where all four layers meet is the very centre of your fabric. Give it a firm press with your thumb and finger to create a crease, then open it back out - you'll see the crease point clearly marked right in the middle.

Step 2: Mark the Centre with a Small Stitch

So that you don't lose track of that all-important centre point, take a small scrap of thread and stitch a tiny partial cross stitch right at the crease. You're not completing a full cross stitch here - just a simple little mark to act as your guide. This centre stitch will help you line up your fabric in the hoop and ensure your stitching is nicely centred on your pattern.

Step 3: Press Your Fabric

Before you hoop up, give your Aida a gentle press with a warm iron to remove any fold lines or creases. This is especially important if your fabric has come straight from a kit, as it may have been folded for some time. Starting with a smooth, flat piece of fabric means your finished stitching will look much neater.

Set your pressed fabric to one side whilst you prepare your hoop.

Step 4: Separate the Two Parts of Your Hoop

Embroidery hoops come in all sorts of lovely sizes and shapes and they're usually labelled with their size, which can be handy for matching to your pattern. Whichever size you're using, the principle is the same.

Your hoop is made up of two rings:

• The inner hoop the plain ring with no screw
• The outer hoop the ring with the tightening screw

To separate them, loosen the screw on the outer hoop a little to widen it slightly, then gently pull the two rings apart. Pop the outer hoop (the one with the screw) to one side for now, you'll come back to it in just a moment.

Step 5: Place Your Fabric Over the Inner Hoop

Lay your inner hoop flat on a table. Place your pressed Aida fabric over the top of it, centring that little guide stitch you made as closely as you can in the middle of the hoop. You can feel where the edges of the inner hoop are through the fabric, which helps you to position things. Don't worry about being absolutely perfect at this stage, you can adjust as you go, and that's one of the great joys of using a hoop!

Step 6: Press the Outer Hoop Down Over the Fabric

Now take your outer hoop and place it over the top of the fabric and inner hoop. Working on a flat surface really helps here, as you can push down firmly and use the table as resistance.

Press the outer hoop down steadily until it sits snugly around the inner hoop, sandwiching your fabric in between. The fabric should be held in place at this point, though you'll tighten things up properly in the next step.

If the outer hoop feels too tight to push down, loosen the screw a touch more to widen it slightly - this is especially useful if your Aida has a thicker weave.

Step 7: Tighten the Screw and Tension Your Fabric

Once your outer hoop is in place, begin tightening the screw to secure your fabric. As you tighten, go around the edges of the hoop with your thumb and finger, gently easing the fabric outwards so that it sits nice and taut - rather like a little drum skin. You want the Aida to be firm and evenly tensioned, with no sagging or puckering.

It's quite normal to tighten the screw a little, ease the fabric, and then tighten a bit more and just keep working your way around until you're happy. If you find your fingers aren't quite giving you enough leverage on the screw, a small screwdriver slipped into the screw head can help you get that extra bit of tightness.

Step 8: Check Your Fabric is Ready to Stitch

Once you've tightened everything up, take a look at your hoop from the front. You should be able to see:

• The back of your work this is the inner hoop side
• The front of your work the outer hoop side, with your little centre stitch visible in the middle

To check the tension is just right, give the fabric a gentle tap, it should make a lovely soft drum-like sound, which tells you it's perfectly taut and ready to go. If it feels a little slack, simply ease the fabric out a little more and tighten the screw again.

You're Ready to Stitch!

And that's it - your Aida is beautifully hooped up and ready for your cross stitch to begin! That centre stitch will guide you to the starting point of your pattern, and the even tension across your fabric will help ensure your stitches are neat and consistent throughout.

Happy stitching!