hoop stains on embroidery

hoop stains on embroidery

I have a dirty mark around the area where I held the hoop while working my embroidery. How do I clean it without affecting the the fabric and embroidery?

Ah that is a question I am asked a lot, so thanks for bringing it up here.

What I like to do is use some gentle dishwashing liquid in warm water and just leave the embroidery to soak for a while. Every now and then I move it about gently in the water.

Then I rinse and rinse again in clear water and let the project dry naturally to see if the stain is still visible. DO NOT iron it dry at this stage or you may set the stain.

If it isn't quite clean I repeat the above.

Recently I have started using a spare piece of sheeting between the embroidery fabric and the hoop. I sandwich the fabrics together in the hoop and then carefully cut a hole in the sheeting to allow me to work on the embroidery underneath. Then if anything gets grubby it is the sheeting which gets thrown away after I'm finished.

You could also try wrapping your hoop with a finger bandage to try to avoid the problem of marks showing on the fabric.

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hoop stains on embroidery

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Hoop Stains on Embroidery
by: Anonymous

Try also soaking in shampoo or bubble-bath, my reasoning is if it is gentle enough for the skin it is gentle enough for embroidery! Use bias binding or bandage to wrap round the rings of the hoop.
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I also have put badly stained embroidery in a laundry bag in the washing machine on a 40 degree wash - OUCH!! you may say but desperation!
And it does work, they used to boil embroidered tablecloths/traycloths.

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hoop stains on embroidery
by: Anonymous

It sounds more like your hands were responsible for the mark, not the hoop. That is one of the problems with having to hold your piece up for stitching on it. Because the mark was most likely made by the natural oils in your hand, I would use a diluted soloution of mild shampoo, like No More Tears. Unlike dish detergent, shampoo is formulated specifically to handle human body oils and should be gentle enough for cleaning your work, provided you are using colour-fast thread. I sometimes will wash my hands every couple of hours when stitching for long periods because even though you may have washed before you started, oils build up and comes back to nurish your hands, whether you want them to or not. :>)
Here is an extra non-stitching tip: Use shampoo formulated for oily hair to clean collar and cuff stains, it works much better than most laundry aids! ~Valerie