This is what someone suggested to me and it worked well. Take a half yd. of fabric or whatever size you need. Draw a block 1 inch bigger than it will need to be for the quilt before sewing. draw as many as you can on the 1/2 yd. Do your hand embroidery, then iron and cut to the before sewing size needed. It gives you room to maneuver the hoop and plenty of trim room. I don't remember my finished size of the block I made, but I remember I had about 9 on the 1/2 yd. Good luck and I sure would like to see it when it's finished.