<p>First idea: buy a small embroidery hoop. Honestly, these things are usually quite cheap if you find them as &quot;home decoration&quot; in a cheap store like Woolworth. The quality of the decorative items is obviously not as good as dedicated crafting items, but it's good enough to fix one shirt hem.</p>
<p>One hacky idea I have involves empty food containers, but it might be hard finding one that is stable enough. You'll need a plastic container you're ready to destroy, but that has a tight fitting lid. Clean the container and lid and see if the fabric can be held stable enough (it honestly doesn't need to be tight as a drum). If you think this could work, cut a big hole in the lid, so that only the rim stays intact and you have room to work through the hole. Cut away the deepth of the container, so mostly only the part that's connected to the lid remains. Unfortunately this can make the whole thing so unstable that the fabric slips out.</p>
<p>If you have any ring-shaped item that is big enough and has a flat rim (I can't think of a specific example), you could fasten the shirt to it with many rubber bands or with a very sturdy string. Tie the string around the ring quite loosely, then push a nail or other stick between the string and the ring and turn it to twist the string and tighten it.</p>
<p>And lastly a frame challenge: do you <em>really</em> need an embroidery hoop? If the damaged area is small enough, you might get away with free-handing the repair. Or you could apply a small patch of iron-on interfacing to stabilize the area.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-20T17:34:42.753Z
2024-10-20T17:34:42.753Z
Elmy
<p>Inspired by a small repair loom I used a while ago, I might suggest the following two items, which you may potentially already have in your home:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A canning jar ring (I would imagine both regular and wide-mouth rings would fit into most shirt sleeves)</p>
</li>
<li><p>A sturdy elastic hair tie (or thick rubber band)</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>The ring will give you an open area in the center in which to work, while the hair tie will hold the fabric in place. Without testing the theory, I'd suggest using the canning lid &quot;upside down,&quot; so the small ridge around the edge will help hold the elastic in place while you work. It won't be as sturdy as a proper hoop, but it may do the trick long enough to manage the repair. You may also have some luck forcing a pair of rings together, though it may damage either the rings or the shirt, as they don't nest particularly well.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-30T22:57:43.627Z
2024-12-30T22:57:43.627Z
Allison C
<p>Two round clamps that tighten with a bolt that pinches the end together, one just barely smaller than the other?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-30T17:07:13.577Z
round clamps is a little vague. are you talking pipe clamps?
rebusB
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-30T13:47:16.340Z
2024-12-30T13:47:16.340Z
Misty
<p>If you have a wire coat hanger and a pair of pliers you could use them to form ad hoc embroidery rings (or rounded squares or any other shapes as appropriate to the task).</p>
<p>Form two &quot;rings&quot; of about the same size and you should be able to clamp the cloth between them. It may not be as stiff as using wooden hoops but it should be possible to make something that will give the cloth some tension. With a clever bit of bending you may be able to make the jig with one continuous wire doubled back on itself.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-25T15:13:38.873Z
2024-10-25T15:13:38.873Z
rebusB
<p>Good embroidery is best done with the fabric held taut and in shape by an embroidery hoop. I’ve done it before and am familiar with the process. I also have the usual equipment at hand. Now I suddenly find myself with a men’s shirt with a small damaged spot near the cuff. The placement is so that it’s always visible, any pure mending would be immediately recognized as such, and I am itching to cover it up with a bit of embroidery. But all hoops in my and my mom’s stash are too big to fit into the sleeve, which makes them unusable.</p>
<p><strong>Is there any way to make a very small embroidery hoop from household items that I may have around or that could be easily obtained?</strong></p>
<p>For context: It’s been a while since I’ve done any embroidery, and I’m afraid I won’t make too many projects in the near future (if any), so I’m fine with a just-functional hack-ish idea for now. I may buy a regular tiny hoop at some point when I come across one, but it’s probably not happening any time soon.</p>

<embroidery><tool-fabrication>
How to improvise a small embroidery hoop?
Stephie
# How to improvise a small embroidery hoop?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-10-20)

Good embroidery is best done with the fabric held taut and in shape by an embroidery hoop. I’ve done it before and am familiar with the process. I also have the usual equipment at hand. Now I suddenly find myself with a men’s shirt with a small damaged spot near the cuff. The placement is so that it’s always visible, any pure mending would be immediately recognized as such, and I am itching to cover it up with a bit of embroidery. But all hoops in my and my mom’s stash are too big to fit into the sleeve, which makes them unusable.

**Is there any way to make a very small embroidery hoop from household items that I may have around or that could be easily obtained?**

For context: It’s been a while since I’ve done any embroidery, and I’m afraid I won’t make too many projects in the near future (if any), so I’m fine with a just-functional hack-ish idea for now. I may buy a regular tiny hoop at some point when I come across one, but it’s probably not happening any time soon.

**Tags:** embroidery, tool-fabrication


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-10-20. Score: 4

First idea: buy a small embroidery hoop. Honestly, these things are usually quite cheap if you find them as "home decoration" in a cheap store like Woolworth. The quality of the decorative items is obviously not as good as dedicated crafting items, but it's good enough to fix one shirt hem.

One hacky idea I have involves empty food containers, but it might be hard finding one that is stable enough. You'll need a plastic container you're ready to destroy, but that has a tight fitting lid. Clean the container and lid and see if the fabric can be held stable enough (it honestly doesn't need to be tight as a drum). If you think this could work, cut a big hole in the lid, so that only the rim stays intact and you have room to work through the hole. Cut away the deepth of the container, so mostly only the part that's connected to the lid remains. Unfortunately this can make the whole thing so unstable that the fabric slips out.

If you have any ring-shaped item that is big enough and has a flat rim (I can't think of a specific example), you could fasten the shirt to it with many rubber bands or with a very sturdy string. Tie the string around the ring quite loosely, then push a nail or other stick between the string and the ring and turn it to twist the string and tighten it.

And lastly a frame challenge: do you *really* need an embroidery hoop? If the damaged area is small enough, you might get away with free-handing the repair. Or you could apply a small patch of iron-on interfacing to stabilize the area.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-12-30. Score: 2

Inspired by a small repair loom I used a while ago, I might suggest the following two items, which you may potentially already have in your home:

* A canning jar ring (I would imagine both regular and wide-mouth rings would fit into most shirt sleeves)
* A sturdy elastic hair tie (or thick rubber band)

The ring will give you an open area in the center in which to work, while the hair tie will hold the fabric in place. Without testing the theory, I'd suggest using the canning lid "upside down," so the small ridge around the edge will help hold the elastic in place while you work. It won't be as sturdy as a proper hoop, but it may do the trick long enough to manage the repair. You may also have some luck forcing a pair of rings together, though it may damage either the rings or the shirt, as they don't nest particularly well.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-12-30. Score: 0

Two round clamps that tighten with a bolt that pinches the end together, one just barely smaller than the other?

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: round clamps is a little vague. are you talking pipe clamps?  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2024-10-25. Score: 0

If you have a wire coat hanger and a pair of pliers you could use them to form ad hoc embroidery rings (or rounded squares or any other shapes as appropriate to the task).

Form two "rings" of about the same size and you should be able to clamp the cloth between them. It may not be as stiff as using wooden hoops but it should be possible to make something that will give the cloth some tension. With a clever bit of bending you may be able to make the jig with one continuous wire doubled back on itself.


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