I’ve never really been fond of the embroidery hoop.
Even when doing cross stitch, I have held the fabric and sewn the stitches without a hoop. The wood hoops just don’t ‘feel’ right to me, which is somewhat surprising considering that I am a woodworker and love wood. For me, they feel tiny and rather flimsy. The fabric eases out of them, no matter what prep I’ve done for the hoop. The plastic hoops just don’t give off the right feel either. They feel more “fun” than the wood hoops, but they just lack serious stitching substance. To me, they are slippery, and for some reason, attract dirt. Yes, when I try to use them, there is a collection of dirty brown stuff that just always appears on the edge of the fabric. It’s an odd phenomenon. lol
So, when discovering hand embroidery this past March, I was dreading the ‘hoop’. Until I found the QSnap.
I shop at my local needle-fun store, Fiddlesticks. They have an inconspicuous little shelf in the back of the store with these little packages of plastic sticks. Hubby saw them and said, “Hey, look at these!”. He was convinced of their potential and insisted that I try several sizes of them. So, I have the 8″x8″ and the 11″x11″.
They are the best by any standard. At least for me they are!
They assemble by easily snapping together.
I can place “guards” (material strips) on the edges of the working fabric to keep any stray “magnetic dirt” from finding their its way to my working fabric.
I just place the fabric over the frame and ‘snap’ the edge holders on. Easy peasy.
If my fabric starts to loosen while I stitch, then I just gentle “turn” the snap cover until the fabric in taut again.
The frame is hefty. It has substance. It won’t fall out of my hand. It just feels good.
I was stitching several clusters of French Knots when hubby saw that I was balancing the QSnap between my knees to do ‘hands-free’ stitching. So, he did some research, went out to his wood shop, and built me this great stand.
I sit cross legged everywhere. So, he made this stand so that I can tuck it right under my legs, in any direction, and stitch hands-free.
The QSnaps make all the difference. I can change the tension across the fabric with any little ‘twist’ from the QSnap cover.
The stand is fantastic! I can clamp in my QSnap hoop and sit and stitch. Here are the jaws that open and clamp to the QSnap. He formed the channels inside the jaws to match the QSnaps perfectly. It looks just like little face…with a little mouth.
Just slip in the QSnap with the fabric…and tighten the jaws.
It’s all ready to go!
The stand adjusts to angles, heights, and positions that I need and I can leave the QSnaps in the jaws and just put the whole stand and all away overnight and just pick it all back up again the next time with no extra prep.
And best of all, it is complete with hubby’s signature. (See the little heart…on the foot of the stand…his enclosure for me when completing the project!)
Off to stitch the monkeys! I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours! What do you use to stitch with? Hoop? Frame? Stand? Tell us about it in the comments.
Your life needs fun. Go ahead, have some fun!
Stumble It!
Curiosities 808 
Awesome! I bought a stand on Amazon similar to what you hubby made but it stands from the floor, I don’t use it as often as I’d like since CQ blocks sometimes don’t want to be hooped! LOL Anyway when we were putting it together I thought, my hubby could have made this for me easy, and he agreed! I’ve been eyeballing the Qsnaps for sometime but haven’t tried them yet I think they look promising for CQ blocks though since they are square!
Hi Melissa,
You’ve got to try QSnaps! I think they’d be great for CQ blocks. They have really big ones too…and extensions for the QSnaps. One thing hubby did say about making the stand…it takes quite a bit of time to tweak it, so it doesn’t ‘save’ you much in money…if you think about the hours put into it…but, you could get your own little signature heart! 😉
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii
I like these hoops as well… here is a link to a project I made not to long ago using one of these hoops:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikismami/2386726199/in/set-72157602113712691/
I have the 6″ and the 8″. I just WISH I had such a nice stand ;-). Your hubby did a great job ! I think is really nice and the fact that you can seat on it makes it more stable than one that is standing (I think) and you can tilt it any way you like…wow !!!
Enjoy stitching with your new hoops and stand !
Great!!I don’t have QSnap and stand.
I useing hoop only.
I like you living place!I love HAWAII!
I went to HAWAII Three times a few years ago.
Very beautufl maoutain,sea,pereson…
I want to go to HAWAII once again!
from Japan
That is so sweet of your hubby to just go out and make something for you! The QSnap looks like an awesome tool. I will have to go do some looking around for one…thanks!
Hi Monika,
You’ll have to try the larger QSnaps as well then…since you have the 6″x8″! The stand really does help a lot and having one that is made to fit you and the way you stitch is really the best. Thanks for the ‘wow’ and for the visit.
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii
Sachiko,
You need to try the QSnap. I think it is much easier than just the regular hoop. I have seen your embroidery on your blog. It is great! The pincushions are so dainty and your little animals are so cute! I think the QSnap would work with the items that you stitch.
I’m excited that you have been to Hawaii. It truly is a beautiful place. Maybe you will visit Hawaii again soon. I have never been to Japan. I don’t know if I would ever get there. I do have a friend who visits Japan every 2 or 3 years. Her brother still lives and works there. She was an English teacher there too.
Thanks for visiting my blog and for writing a comment.
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii
Tracey,
Hubby really is a nice, nice guy! 😉 He’s a keeper.
The QSnaps are nifty and they do hold pretty tight…at least mine have so far. I know some people say that they move their hoops around so they are afraid to use the QSnap, but I think that they make the QSnaps big enough to hold down big quilt chunks. I know it’s perfect for a pillow sized project, so for me, so far, so good. I haven’t signed up to do a massive project yet, so I wouldn’t know about the larger areas to cover.
Share photos if you get one!
Oh, and I read your blog…(Tracey is Giggleface Studios) about the crayons and the texture. I can’t wait to try it!
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii
I was very amazed at your article and am looking forward to trying one of those Q-snap frames. I even called my hubby out into the family room to see the picture of the stand your hubby made and told him “that is exactly what I want!” I was thinking though, what if you took it a step further and put some kind of swivel mechanism so you could easily turn the frame/work over to knot or begin/end your threads? Just a thought – or how do you do it?. Good job and thank you for sharing.
Hi “Marysewfun” 😉
I’m am very happy that you enjoyed the article.
I’ve heard mixed reviews on the QSnap from some people that use beads with their embroidery. However, I know that with beading, the whole tool realm changes.
For me, those QSnaps are the best creation ever! No fiddling with that little screw top on the hoops, no wrapping the hoop…and it’s a really great heft. I stitch with it out of the stand as well and it’s very easy to hold on to and can adapt easily to using a ‘protective fabric’ over the edges.
I would imagine you could use a mechanism to swivel the head for knotting. (Maybe a ball and socket idea.) You’d have to be mindful that the swivel would be ‘easy to turn’ yet, you’d want the head to be ‘hard to turn’ at the same time so that it doesn’t just flop down when you clamp the QSnap in it. I’m not sure if you can have both features. Hubby says you’d have to have a knob to adjust tension or a 2-set position with a pin. With the pin, you wouldn’t worry about the friction knob wearing down. It’s do-able. (Send pics when your hubby has your done…lol)
When I have to finish off a thread, I just lay the whole frame over. It’s light and sturdy so it works that way. I’m also kinda an impatient stitcher. lol So, I don’t know if I’d even bother with all the steps to turn the head… 😉
I use the frame a lot when doing french knots. It’s a really handy dandy tool for that! Talk about a quick way to french knot! 😉
Thanks for visiting! And thanks for the comment. Hope you come back often…and share your projects and photos…especially of your new stand that your hubby is going make for you!
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii
How sweet of your hubby! That frame is really cool. And insisting you buy the q snaps to try…he’s a keeper for sure! I really wish we had q snaps available here in New Zealand. I think they are a bit pricey to buy online but I might have to look into it because of all the problems you mentioned. The dirt drives me nuts and the fabric slipping does too.
Hi Lovestitches,
Heehee, he really is a keeper, and yes, he really did insist. He’s a total enabler when it comes to art and creativity! In fact, he surprised me yesterday. We roamed the craft store and I thought this little kit was a sampler of oil paints. I was so excited, until I realized it was not oil paint at all but oil pastels. (We have those already, lol) He is so sweet! He went around the store while I was off wandering and he found a whole LOAD of Oil Paint on SALE!! Clearance tags even! And he bought them all! He had them all in the car before I was even done with my browsing and I didn’t even know any better. Then he surprised me with the package! We now have tubes and tubes of oil paint…and at a mere fraction of the cost! (some tubes are HUGE, like bigger than your hand HUGE…and those were only $2!!!) He found a great deal and it was a great surprise.
I will post an entry about how I use the QSnaps…some people have commented about some troubles they have with them, but I have had great luck with them. I think it is the way I set up the fabric. (and yes, I have not gotten that dirt ring so far with the QSnap)
If you run into trouble getting them, I’m not sure if it’s cheaper to buy here and send your way. Email me and we could see.
Always willing to help a fellow artsy creative person! 😉
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii
Pingback: Embroidery Tools - QSnaps Tutorial « Curiosities 808
Dear Alicia,
I’m looking for a stand that could incorprate a magnifier, since I have some vision difficulties.
Thank you,
Margaret in Ontario
we are interested in making a stand for ourselves, but we find it hard without knowing the materials used. Is it possible your husband tell us the supplies he used to make your stand for the q snap embroidery frame? If yes, thank him in advance.
Sincerely,
Cary
Is there a stand that can be ordered for the q snap? thanks I will give the q snaps a try Happy stitching