How to Hoop for Embroidery - Including the Floating Technique for Towels and Shirts

One of the most common questions beginners have when they get their first embroidery machine is how to actually get their project into the hoop correctly. There are actually two ways to hoop, and knowing which one to use makes a huge difference in your results.

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Today I'm going to walk you through both the traditional hooping method and the floating technique - which is what you'll use for items like dish towels, shirts, and anything else that's too thick, too large, or too awkward to hoop the traditional way.

What you need before you hoop

You'll of course need an embroidery hoop in the right size for your design. The Brother SE2000 embroidery and sewing machine uses a 5x7 inch hoop. Make sure your design fits within the hoop dimensions.

Tear away stabilizer is a must and goes on the back of your project to prevent the fabric from bunching, puckering, or moving while the machine stitches. For most woven fabrics like canvas dish towels I use tearaway stabilizer. For stretchy fabrics like t-shirts you'll want cutaway or a water-soluble stabilizer.

A disappearing ink fabric marker and a ruler are helpful for marking placement on your project so your design lands exactly where you want it.

Temporary spray adhesive. This is essential for the floating technique - it holds your project in place on the stabilizer without actually hooping the item itself.

Water-soluble stabilizer (optional but recommended). This goes on top of your project before stitching and helps keep the threads sitting up on the surface instead of sinking into the fabric.

Traditional hooping - when to use it

Traditional hooping is what most people picture when they think of machine embroidery. You sandwich your fabric between the inner and outer hoop frames, tighten the screw, and the fabric is held securely inside the hoop.

Use traditional hooping when your fabric is flat, stable, and large enough to extend past the edges of the hoop on all sides.

To hoop traditionally on the Brother SE2000, place the outer frame on a flat surface with the screw facing you and the frame attachment on the left.

Lay your fabric over it with the stabilizer on the back facing down.

Place the inner frame on top and press firmly until it snaps into the outer frame. Tighten the screw so the fabric is taut with no slack.

The floating technique - when to use it

The floating technique is what you use when you can't directly hoop your item. This may include dish towels, kitchen towels, baby onesies, finished garments, hats, bags, and anything else that's difficult or impossible to put in a traditional hoop because it's either too big, too small, or too thick.

Instead of hooping the item itself, you hoop only the stabilizer - and then you float the item on top, using spray adhesive to hold it in place.

Here's how it works step by step:

Step 1 - Mark your placement

First, figure out exactly where you want your design to be embroidered on your item. For a dish towel, I like to center the design from side to side and place it a few inches up from the bottom so it's visible whether the towel is hanging or folded.

Use the grid that came with your hoop to find center. Then use your disappearing ink fabric marker to make small dots on your item at the center point. Use a ruler to draw light crosshairs through those dots - these are your alignment guides.

The disappearing ink marker fades with water and disappears completely in the wash - so don't worry about the marks showing up permanently.

Step 2 - Hoop the stabilizer

Cut a piece of tearaway stabilizer that is larger than your hoop with some overhang on all sides.

Hoop ONLY the stabilizer - no fabric yet. Tighten the hoop screw so the stabilizer is nice and tight with no give.

Now take your grid and place it back into the hooped stabilizer. Use your disappearing ink marker to make the same crosshairs on the stabilizer. These marks will help you align your item correctly when you float it on top.

Step 3 - Apply spray adhesive and float your item

Take the hoop away from your machine before spraying - you do not want adhesive getting anywhere near your embroidery machine. I spray inside a cardboard box or grocery bag to catch any overspray.

Spray a light, even coat of temporary spray adhesive onto the stabilizer. Then carefully lay your item on top, lining up the crosshairs on your item with the crosshairs on the stabilizer.

Press it down and smooth it out so it's sitting flat with no bumps or wrinkles.

Step 4 - Add water-soluble topper and secure with pins

Lay a piece of water-soluble stabilizer over your item. Then use pins to pin everything in place.

Just make sure you put the pins outside of the sewing area. If your needle hits one of the pins it will likely break so you want to avoid that.

The pins are helpful so your item doesn't shift during stitching since it's only held by spray adhesive and not actually hooped.

Step 5 - Stitch your design

Load your design, attach the hoop to the machine, and stitch as normal. The floating technique works exactly the same as traditional hooping since the machine doesn't know your item isn't actually hooped.

Step 6 - Clean up when you're done

When stitching is complete, clip any jump stitches. Unpin the water-soluble topper and tear it away. If any residue remains just spray a little water and wipe it off, or throw your item in the wash and it will dissolve completely.

Flip your item over and tear away the stabilizer from the back. Clip any loose threads on the back.

Shop embroidery machine supplies

Brother SE2000 Embroidery & Sewing Combo

Brother SE2000 bundles

Iron-on tearaway stabilizer

Want more beginner embroidery help? Check out my complete Brother SE2000 beginner's guide which has every tutorial in one place.

And if you want 1:1 same-day support, come join us at Silhouette U!

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