Looking for a fabric hoop for silk, any ideas?

jenniewb

I want to hand sew silk -chiffon and other delicate types of silk. I have done this in the past and always need a fabric hoop to hold the silk taut. However; I always end up with the silk being pulled ad snagged and I lose the exact effect I want.


Is there such a thing as a fabric hoop designed especially for silk or other delicate fabrics? I have tried the basic wooden versions and they all cause snags I did see a massive wooden hoop in John Lewis for around £30 which I was thinking could be an option for causing fewer snags if I have a larger surface area to sew/don't need to move the thing around so much around my fabric but to be honest I'd far rather find a hoop which doesn't snag at all.


Does anyone have any ideas on what I could try at all?

liney

My first thought is to make a channel of material to pass your hoop through so that there is fabric on fabric, so no snags?

PlymouthMaid

I would wrap a wooden hoop with something like bias binding or strips of bandage. Not sure if you can buy a ready made version.

katsu

I was taught to wrap bias binding around the inner hoop and stitch the ends down. You could do the same to the outer hoop I presume, if needed. Do you need to sand the open edges of the outer hoop by the tightening screw - are they the bit that catch your silk?

jenniewb

liney wrote: »

My first thought is to make a channel of material to pass your hoop through so that there is fabric on fabric, so no snags?

It's not backed onto anything- just the silk to embroider on to and I am not sure if I'd be able to stitch on just the silk alone if there was say a cotton fabric behind it. The thing that causes the snagging is the wood as well as the pulling it taut. I'd reduce some of the snagging though, but am thinking I'd possibly need to fix the hoop in place and then cut the backing fabric away? I'd be worried about accidentally cutting the silk to do this though! I have enough silk to go wrong to a point but would be annoyed at myself if I messed up something I was part of the way through on!

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

I would wrap a wooden hoop with something like bias binding or strips of bandage. Not sure if you can buy a ready made version.

This is an idea I can try- am not sure if the tension will be as tight as there is always a little room for movement with all fabrics but will try this, it should reduce the snagging, only hang up is if it will sit flat or not. A round hoop could make it difficult to not have any fabric binding the hoop to sit flat and not disturb the silk on top.
I'm planning on stitching both by hand and machine so the laying flat thing is quite important- the design isn't that intensive but it is important it's clear to see for the idea to work.


I have done a bit more research myself and seen that it is possible to buy a water soluble fabric to lay delicate fabrics on to. Am worried about residue- I'd used water-muslin way back when and it never completely washed off unless you put it through a washing machine cycle. But by doing that you can risk the fabric losing it's subtle sheen which comes with newly off-the-roll fabrics.


Hmmmm....I think I'm going to need to experiment a bit before I start this!

jenniewb

katsu wrote: »

I was taught to wrap bias binding around the inner hoop and stitch the ends down. You could do the same to the outer hoop I presume, if needed. Do you need to sand the open edges of the outer hoop by the tightening screw - are they the bit that catch your silk?

That's a good point- I'd not thought of that; thanks. It does tend to be the whole hoop rather than just where the clasp is though- it seems even the smoothest feeling hoop seems to have micro-pulls all over it! But I'd not actually thought of sanding it down first- such a simple but great idea I can't believe I'd not already thought of this!

liney

By making a channel, I mean basically enclose the actual hoop with another material, not back your silk.

Callie22

Rather than using a hoop, might a square frame - the kind you often see used for tapestry - work better? Also, might you get a little less pulling if you carefully tack the silk to some thin silk wadding? You could pull out the tacking threads once you're done.