Dianne wrote:
That is utter biased nonsense by whomever wrote it. I've done several
Mountmellick pieces - all in a 4-inch or 6-inch hand-held hoop. All on
cotton satin jean. Hoops do absolutely no harm to either the fabric or
the stitches. Not the satin jean from Ireland nor the satin jean sold
in America and made who knows where. I made several tray mats out of
the stuff, as well as drapes for my den. The mats with drawn thread
work . . . in case somebody decides to say you can't do drawn thread on
satin jean.

This fabric would work simply fine in your seat frame.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't purchase another type frame if that is
something you want to do. But your fabric in a hoop, whether tambour,
seat, or hand, once suitably bound and screwed tight, will hold fabric
as tight as you need it until you loosen it up. And it won't cause hoop
marks on satin jean, linen, cotton, blends. It will mark velvet, but
that can normally be steamed back in shape. I've used hoops for velvet
several times.

Not scolding *you* . . . just being emphatic about this myth that just
doesn't want to die a natural . :-)

Dianne



Well Dianne - since I am rather new to all of this and have
self-taught myself with the aid of a 1/2 dozen or so books - I went
back to my sources to see who "wrote" that hoops are bad for satin
fabrics. I looked through every book until I found it in Erica
Wilson's "Crewel Embroidery" from 1962. That was probably my
source... plus the RSN recommends the square frame for the "Fish
Samler" in RSN's Embroidery Techniques... I hope to get that project
done by next Christmas. Still need to buy supplies for it AND,
especially, work on my skills a bit more.

I am still in that steep learning curve... thanks for all the help!
Susan