Choosing the Perfect Embroidery Hoop Stand: Every Stitcher’s Must-Have

Embroidery is a relaxing and rewarding hobby, but holding a hoop for long hours can strain your hands. A good embroidery hoop stand keeps your fabric steady and lets you stitch comfortably. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced stitcher, choosing the right stand makes a big difference.

This guide explains different types of hoop stands, their uses, pros and cons, and how to choose the best one for your needs.

Take-away Container Embroidery Hoop

By piggleliggle Follow

More by the author:About: O.o More About piggleliggle »

Here's a quick and easy way to make a lightweight embroidery hoop out of a plastic take-away container. It only took me about an hour for my first try, figuring it out as I went.
I used my completed hoop to embroider something for another 'ible, please check it out too!

Cut tongue depressors

First, we're going to start with these large tongue depressors, which you can get at the craft store and we're going to cut those in half.

Cutting a large tongue depressor

I marked them with a ruler and easily cut them with scissors. You're going to need about seven or eight of these.

Pulling apart an embroidery hoop

My personal collection of hoop stands

I gathered a small collection of hand embroidery hoop stands during my long years practicing hand embroidery. Here are some:

The first was a vintage hoop stand gifted by my mother-in-law. It is a tabletop hoop stand with an integrated hoop. The downside of this hoop holder is that the outer hoop has no tension regulation screw. Therefore, it does not hold the fabric tension well.

This seat embroidery hoop stand by Elbesee has a clasp to hold hoops or frames and a stalk with the hoop. I use my lap hoop holder for various embroidery and mending projects I make in the evening while spending time in the living room with my family.

I use this adjustable tabletop hoop stand to film my video tutorials. It is rather heavy and stays firm on the table while I stitch. My hoop can accommodate embroidery hoops and frames from 10 to 36 cm (4 to 14 inches), so it’s relatively universal.