Scroll/lap frame pro/con

[feywood]

So I've been looking at getting into more detailed stuff (25ct work and such) and in my nosing around, I've found some pretty vocal people going "lap/scroll frames forever, hoops never" and explaining how hoops damage your stitches and your fabric gets dirty and whatnot.

While I can understand the dirty fabric thing from the oils on your hands and such (though I've not personally had the problem), I'm wondering if the other stuff is true or if it's just opinion since from my knitting experience, I know people can get vocal and very defensive just on the way you hold a needle.

So frames vs hoops!
Pros? Cons? Personal opinion and anecdotes?
I am all ears.

Comments

[fluffybunnyslippers]

The one scroll I had, I hated. It is possibly because it was cheap, but it didn't hold my fabric tight. I like hoops for their abilty to hold fabric tight, but I really hate what it does to my fabric and stitches. It leaves creases that I have trouble/am unable to smooth out completely.

I have heard wonderful things about Q-snaps. I have no experience with them, but they sound amazing.

[feywood]

Interesting. I'd seen a couple stores online with those, but hadn't given them a closer look yet.

[xinef]

I love Q-Snaps. Easy to put on, tighten and remove. And being square, they don't stretch the fabric in directions other than warp and weft, in the way that hoops do.

[mosibah_jane]

I have a scroll frame that my step-dad made. He also made one for my Mom. We both love them. I still use hoops for pieces that are smaller/larger than my frame, but I try to use it as much as possible.

[feywood]

How much space does a frame really need? I tend to sit at my computer and watch movies while I watch and my flat is kind of tiny.

[mosibah_jane]

At it's largest, mine holds a piece of fabric that is about 14 inches with about 6 inches between the rods of workable space. I don't know the exact dimensions, I can't find a tape measure at the moment. I think my step-dad plans on making my Mom and I some longer rods eventually.

[ariandar]

I use both for different reasons. If I am working on a fairly large piece that will have stitching covering a big swathe of the field, I hate to have the hoop crushing or tweaking the stitches I've already made. So for those I use a frame. For smaller pieces, a hoop is handier and more portable.

I have a frame that fits into a stand, which then sits over my lap. It fits in a recliner chair seat or on the couch, but wouldn't work on a office-style chair, I think because one foot or the other would fall over the side. But I have seen frames that have only one foot that slides under your thigh for stability. Very clever those. What I like about it, aside from having a larger field available to me, is that I can feed the needle through the top with one hand and feed it back with the other hand. Also, because then I don't have the hand fatigue from holding the hoop.

The key for frames is putting the fabric in properly. You can't just load it in and scroll it tight and have it be taut; rather, it is best to baste on some waste fabric on the sides (muslin or canvas), then I take some heavy thread (like upholstery thread - something that can handle tension) and lash it to the sides of the frame. Of course as you move through the project, you have to re-do this lashing, but it's the best way IMO to keep even tension on the sides of the fabric.

Now I'm itching to put down the knitting needles and stitch a big nature scene. :)

[feywood]

Ah, that's annoying. All I have is an office style chair.

And that sounds so fussy. :x Knowing me, it's not going to work.

[aunty_marion]

I've got a holder that has a sort of pear-shaped (flat!) base, that goes between your legs, on any chair. It folds up for storage, and has various articulated points so you can position it at exactly the right height and angle for working.

[mmegaera]

I was given a scroll-type frame once. I have very small hands, so holding a frame doesn't work well, and I don't like having one hand on top and the other on the bottom while the frame is on a stand, either (I like to lean back in my recliner while I stitch, for one thing, for another it just feels awkward). So I use a hoop, and always have, unless I'm stitching something like a bookmark, in which case I don't use anything.

I've never had a problem with the hoop damaging the stitches or the fabric.

My little hands are also why I don't use a hoop or a frame when I'm hand quilting, either, which seems to boggle some in the quilting community [g].

[lilacsigil]

Same for me! I tend to work on smaller pieces because I can hold them properly, as I have small hands and arthritis in my left hand (my hoop holding hand) and propping up a frame is just too much. I've never tried a stand, but I don't think it would work well with the way I like to stitch.

[ysobel]

I switched to frames (particularly q-snap, which is basically a square frame of pvc pipe, although I tended to combine two sizes to make a rectangle) mainly because of a personal preference for, well, rectangles.

I have heard that there can be problems with hoops distorting the fabric (especially if the project sits in the hoop for long stretches), and with the fact that some of the stress is non-orthogonal. Rectangular frames pull vertically and horizontally, but round or oval frames can pull in all directions.

[feywood]

Q snaps is what I've been looking at since pretty much the first comment and a discussion with my grandma last night, so good to know that's an advantage too.

[tropicsbear]

I actually just roll up the part that I'm not working on and hold in place. That way, my hand comes in contact with the back of the cloth.

[lilacsigil]

The only time I've had trouble with a hoop is in working bigger pieces, and even then if you only leave the hoop in place for a short period of time, it's fine.

[aunty_marion]

I use something called Siesta Bar Frames, which are made of softwood (something like balsa wood); they're bars with a square cross-section, and a dovetail joint at each end, and come in lengths from 3" to about 24", so you can put any two pairs together to make a square or rectangle of whatever size you like. And then you use the three-pointed drawing pins/push pins (I think they're often sold for silk painting - they're a small flat ring-shape about 1cm across, with three points on the 'underside'; they mark the fabric a LOT less than standard drawing pins!) to fasten the fabric in place. I learnt that the best way is to have the fabric fastened to (as it were) the underside of the frame, so you can get to the back easily to weave in ends. These hold the fabric beautifully taut.

I often use masking tape along the edges to give the pins something extra to hold onto and to stop the fabric fraying; obviously, you either need to cut the fabric to size or use a frame exactly the size of your fabric, or tape along the fabric where the frame touches and accept that you have a bit on the outside - whichever suits you best. It may take a bit of practice to get the fabric perfectly squarely pinned down - I mark the centre of the design, and also, often, the outside dimensions, to line them up with the frame.

I've used the roller frames and clip-frames (the plastic pipe stuff), but I do prefer the Siesta ones.

If you wash your hands before you start stitching, and put the work away somewhere clean, it shouldn't get too grubby; and I always wash my work before framing/finishing it anyway.

[kikotei]

I've used hoops, and they are great as far as being easy to handle, but you generally want to take your fabric out of the hoop when you're done for the day as the hoop can sometimes damage the fabric or stitches.

For scroll frames I use this set http://www.herrschners.com/product.aspx?sku=320023&sk=scroll+frame+
I've been using it for several years now and love the versatility of it. The only thing is that the fabric can still get dirty, So I make sure to handle the frame by the wood only.

[explorer0713]

Q-Snaps are a love it or hate it thing.

Personally, I hate them. I need to have my fabric taunt when I stitch and Q-snaps only the hold the tautness for a short while before I have to re-adjust the fabric. Re-adjusting gets old real fast.

I never have that problem with hoops - but use wooden ones. They hold much better than the plastic ones and the metal ones absolutely will leave marks. If you can find them, try to find some older wooden hoops - maybe at a charity shop -- they used to be made with thicker and much more solid wood with smoothly finished edges. The newer ones work, but do not have the same quality workmanship.