Stretcher bars - concern

[predawn]

Hey everyone! I recently got stretcher bars to replace my embroidery hoop, but I'm a little concerned. I put the frame together and put my canvas in, but the bars are made from wood, and I'm concerned about damaging the stitches and/or fabric, and also, when I took the fabric out I noticed that it had gotten all these little wood shavings on it from the bars.

Has anyone else ever had this problem, and if so, how did you deal with it? Advice would be appreciated. I looked around but it seems all stretcher bars are wooden. :/

[pinkcatflower]

Hmm, I don't know much about them but I've heard of people covering wooden hoops in fabric.. Maybe that is a solution to the wood shavings problem? Well I'm sure someone more experienced than me will come along and help you more, but good luck

[Pyper]

Mum has one at home, it has thick material stapled over everything in contact with projects. It also has a tendancy to come untightened, so keep an eye on the tension

[carand88]

maybe you could try sanding the bars a little bit. or you could glue a piece of fabric around it and make it extra long so you could sew it up with the aida fabric for a little more support than velcro.

[Eliste]

It depends a lot on what kind of bars you have, and how you are attaching your project to it. Stretcher bars often allow you to squash the fabric between the bars to hold it in place, which I'm guessing is what you have, but I prefer to use my bars differently. I usually use them as a frame and stretch it and thumbtack the project into it from all four sides.

I'd suggest trying to use the bars in a way that your stitching isn't near the edges. Stretcher bars are great because you can mix and match them to get a nice large frame that fits your project, and if you put them on a big enough frame made with the bars, you'll never have to take it off until it's finished. Alternatively, you can (and probably should) cover your frames with fabric. Bias tape works great for this and it's dirt cheap. Just a white/cream/offwhite cotton bias tape. Wrap your bars in them and then stitch it in place. You'll avoid any splinters or anything else like that from there on but I'd suggest sanding it first just to be sure.

[amneufeld]

If you have an old t-shirt or pillowcase, I've seen a couple friends use those to wrap their bars (glued or stitched in place).

[predawn]

Well, it looks like the general consensus is using fabric to cover the hoops. I know what I'll be getting at the store later this week! I also didn't know you could mix and match them; that sounds like a great idea. I would me more comfortable if it was large enough that I don't have to move the fabric all the time, that was one of the main reasons I decided to replace my embroidery hoop. I'll have to look for bars that are the right length when I go to Michael's as well.

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I really appreciate it! <3

[boatofcar]

I use Q Snap PVC frames. They don't pose the risk to fabric that hoops do, and are resizable for larger projects.

http://www.qsnap.com/needlework_frames.asp

[amneufeld]

I got my first q-snap about two weeks ago and adore it. I bought the 11x11, I can't say enough good things about it.

[predawn]

The Q-snap looks nice, but it's a little above my budget at the moment, especially with shipping. I had a coupon for Michael's. ^^; I'll bookmark that site though and keep them in mind if the ones from Michael's don't work out. Thanks!