When is tighter looser? Many embroidery hoops, including those manufactured by Durkee Embroidery, have brass adjusting screws that fit inside sleeves hidden within the hoop. This type of screw is designed to be tightened with the thumb and forefinger before the inner hoop is inserted.

When the inner ring is placed in the outer ring, the adjusting screw is set; further tightening only breaks the lock achieved with the insertion of the inner hoop. Never tighten this style of hoop with pliers or another tool. Hand tighten only, and only before the inner hoop is inserted.

Which Hoop Size Is Right?

For optimum design registration, it is important to use a hoop that is closest to the size of the design. This will help eliminate puckering as well as wasting other supplies, such as backing or topping.

Size	Common Uses	Actual Sewing Area
9 cm	cuffs, collars, pockets, hat sides	8.1 cm diameter (3 3/16")
12 cm	hat backs, hat sides, smaller left chest	11.2 cm diameter (4 3/8")
15 cm	most popular left chest size	14.2 cm diameter (5 5/8")
18 cm	larger left chest, small jacket backs	17.1 cm diameter (6 3/4")
15 cm x 15 cm	tote bags, back packs, small jacket backs	15.5 cm (6”)
24 cm x 24 cm	children's clothing, ideal for larger square designs that round hoops cannot accommodate.	23.2 cm x 23.2 cm (9.25" x 9.25")
30 cm x 15 cm	hoop may be used 30cm wide and 15cm deep or 15cm wide and 30cm deep, ideal for long narrow designs on bags, sleeves, pantlegs or shirt yokes.	30 cm x 15 cm (11 7/8" x 6")
335 mm x 329 mm	jacket backs, accommodates large designs, adult full fronts, widest double-height hoop on the market for popular 360 and 380 needle spacing.	29.5 mm x 29.5 mm (11 5/8 " x 11 5/8")
410 mm x 300 mm	accommodates very large designs, double-height, ideal for the largest designs on jacket backs, blankets, flags, etc.	29.5 mm x 40 mm (11 5/8" x 16")

Needle Spacing Guide

We thought it might be helpful to share a simple way of determining needle spacing or sewing field. The easiest way is to measure one of your current hoops from the tip of one metal stamping to the tip of the other. Another way is to measure the distance between arms on your tubular machines. Here is a list of conversions from millimeters to inches for the needle spacingsthat we carry.

Machine Brand	Needle Spacing	Conversion (approximate)
Tajima, Brother, Toyota	360 mm	14 inches
Happy	360 mm	14 inches
Happy	500 mm	19 1/2 inches
Barudan	380 mm	15 inches
Barudan	520 mm	20 1/4 inches
Melco	400 mm	15 1/2 inches
SWF	360 mm	14 inches
SWF	400 mm	15 1/2 inches
SWF	450 mm	17 1/2 inches
SWF	500 mm	19 1/2 inches
ZSK	400 mm	15 1/2 inches
ZSK	495 mm	19 1/2 inches

Am I sewing flat or tubular?

Determining whether you are embroidering flat or tubular is the first step in deciding which hoop is right for you. Generally speaking, most tubular embroidery is sewn with the machine table dropped or removed so that the garment may hang freely around the bobbin arm. The entire hoop is removed from the machine when each garment is completed then re-hooped with a new garment.

Flat embroidery is sewn with a spider hoop setup. The adjusting ring and inner ring are hooped and inserted in the spider frame, which remains attached to the machine. All flat sewing is done with the table in the "up" position. There are certain instances, on some machines, that tubular hoops may be used with the table up.

Durkee only manufactures tubular hoops at this time.