The larger the better. The 4x4 is so small that I find it difficult to find the embroidery patterns to fit. Remember that the actual embroidery space is even smaller than 4x4. I have a machine (Janome 11000) that has a very large hoop and I find even that is too small - I usually use the larger hoop for most of my designs. I'm hoping for an upgrade for Janome to be able to use the really HUGE designs especially for quilting.