Embroidery hoop serves an important purpose - keeping your fabric taut while stitching.

1. To start, loosen the screw at the top of the hoop. Unscrew the top ring and separate the inner ring from the outer ring. The outer ring will hold the fabric over the inner ring once you have inserted the fabric.

2. Lay the piece of fabric over the plain inside hoop. Place the outer hoop on top of the fabric.

3. After you have the fabric over the inside hoop, push the top hoop down over the inside one. This will sandwich the fabric between them.

4. Now you'll want to tighten the screw a bit and begin pulling the fabric taut. After the fabric is taut, keep tightening the screw until it feels secure to you. But not so tightly you can't budge it!

The fabric floating between the hoops should not move - this will make the embroidering much more complicated than it should be.

You will be pulling the fabric taut during your embroidery process from time to time - it’s ok, just keep your fabric tight and your stitches will be smooth.

To select the right hoop for your project - make sure your hoop is slightly larger than embroidery design.

The fabric should extend about 1-2 inches beyond the edges of the hoop to allow you to position and secure the fabric properly.