New to stitching

You will find a lot here who swear by Q-Snaps, but I prefer the old wooden
hoops. Besides being much more affordable, I find they hold the fabric more
securely, are more lightweight and for someone with small hands, like
myself, just more comfortable to hold onto for any period of time. I only
have found need for two sizes, a 5-inch and a 12-inch. I have had the same
two hoops for several years and have not worn them out.

How interesting! I've stayed away from wooden hoops - found they never
held the fabric tight enough! To each their own, it's largely a matter
of personal preference. I have a metal and plastic tension hoop that
keeps fabric tighter than the wood hoops. I use the tension hoop for
small projects (really small projects I do in-hand). I primarily use
Q-snaps, especially for larger projects. I have Q-snap adapters on my
floor stand. The Q-snaps come in a variety of sizes and can be combined
to make bigger hoops.

Best of luck, whatever you choose!

Barbara

I must be plain incompetent, because I can't seem to make Q-snaps hold the
fabric tightly. I have been using it on 24-count congress cloth and it will
not stay taut! Hints please? I hate feeling so stupid.

Pat in Illinois

Unlike another poster in this thread, I can switch from frame to
no-frame with no visible difference in tension or stitch quality, so
you may be able to as well.

To tell the truth, I haven't actually tried--it's just the commonly-heard
wisdom.

I have a piece that I stitched in a scroll frame, very large blocks of color,
and I can see definite lines where I arbitrarily broke long horizontal stretch
of 30-50 stitches into two smaller sections. When I do something similar with
an in-hand project, the line, while still there, is definitely less noticeable.
Now, the project with the line is Misery, which was my first and only attempt
at one over one and on black, so perhaps the size of my stitches is more of a
factor than frame vs. no frame.

Jenn L.
View My Webshots: http://community.webshots.com/user/jaliace
Current projects:
Chicago Skyline (The Needlecraftsman)
Lady of the Flag (Mirabilia)

I usually do use stretcher bars. My LNS was out of the sizes I needed for
this particular piece so I decided to try the Q-snaps. Fortunately, I am
almost done with it.

Pat in Illinois

"Bmciowa" wrote in message
...

I must be plain incompetent, because I can't seem to make Q-snaps hold
the
fabric tightly. I have been using it on 24-count congress cloth and it
will
not stay taut! Hints please? I hate feeling so stupid.

IMHO, Congress cloth is too stiff for qsnaps. If I were you I'd use
stretcher
bars.

Sara
WIPS: Delaware (Oberlin Samplers)

If your Q-snaps are older they might be stretched out some. Running them
through the dishwasher (if you have one) will tighten them up nicely. Soaking
in a pot of really hot water for several minutes also works. Or take a paper
towel or paper napkin and lay it over the fabric before putting on the outer
layer of the Q-snap. This will generally add just enough thickness to keep the
fabric taut. It will also stretch the outer layer more so that you will need to
eventually do the dishwasher/hot water bath.

I use the paper towel trick when I am in the middle of a project and then do the
hot water trick when the project is complete.

Anne (in Ellicott City, MD)

Patricia Rogers wrote:

I must be plain incompetent, because I can't seem to make Q-snaps hold the
fabric tightly. I have been using it on 24-count congress cloth and it will
not stay taut! Hints please? I hate feeling so stupid.

Pat in Illinois

On 08 Aug 2003 09:45:05 GMT, Wneedlej muttered
something like:

Bertha, the beauty of a tension embroidery hoop is that you can remove it and
put it on a new project when you get tired of stitching on your current one.
Very versatile! Small, 6", Q-Snaps work well also.

Thanks--if doing it in hand does seem to make the stitches look too
different, I'll have to try one of those.

-Bertha
--
On the outskirts of every agony sits some observant fellow who points.
-- Virginia Woolf