How to Bind an Embroidery Hoop
Binding an Embroidery Hoop
Binding an embroidery hoop helps to improve the grip and tension of the fabric. It can also help protect your fabric from the frame. This method will not work well on plastic hoops that have a lip. If you are short of time, you can makeshift a binding by wrapping the rings of the hoop with plastic food wrap. You can bind both the inside and outside rings of an embroidery hoop or just one. I would start by binding the inside ring to begin with.
In order to bind an embroidery hoop you will need:
- An embroidery hoop
- Cotton Twill Webbing or Bias Binding
- A few clothes pegs
- A needle
- A length of cotton thread
- A pair of scissors
Method
Begin by laying your webbing at an angle on the inside of the hoop. Leave a short tail at the end and then begin to wrap the webbing around the hoop, keeping it at an angle to reduce bulk. Once you have put the first wrap in peg the end with a clothes peg.
Continue to wrap the webbing tightly around the hoop at an angle. Peg the webbing at about halfway to secure, this way if you loosen your tension or drop it the webbing will hold in place.
When you get to the end, trim the tail that you left at the beginning. Making sure that it lies on the inside edge of the hoop. Wrap the longer piece of webbing over the beginning end, overlapping them. 
Trim the end of the tape so that it sits on the inside of the hoop. This means that the end does not create a bulge between the two hoops when they are put back together. Peg the end of the webbing in place and thread the needle with the cotton thread.
It is now time to stitch the end down. For this you can use a simple whipping stitch. This goes through the end of the twill tape and the lower layer of tape, binding them together. You can stitch between the wraps but if they have been wrapped tightly this is not necessary.
You can now put the two hoops back together until they are ready for stitching. If you wish you can bind the outside hoop as well but you need to ensure that the join is on the outside of the hoop. This is so that it doesn’t create a bulge or rub when the two hoops are put back together.
Binding Complete!
Et voila! One bound embroidery hoop ready for stitching!