Hi Norah, this is what i was wondering also. If we used a huge quilting hoop wouldn't it make it hard to hold and do the small stitches around the pattern. For an example what if I wanted to do a giant dahlia. From what i understand you first have to make the dahlia and then applique it to a larger piece of material. I'm going by what i read about the different projects i want to do. But for now i'm starting small, I'd like to do a large rose approx. 20 inches in diameter. I hope I can do it. Denise.