hoop template question
 

Hello everyone,
I have a Husqvarna Ruby Royale embroidery machine, that I bought several years ago and hardly used... (I know, shame on me).
Now I'm trying to teach myself machine embroidery and doing not too bad considering the beginners lessons I had were probably 10 years ago....
So, on to my question.... I struggle to get things centred as well as I should. I noticed a couple of my hoops have a plastic template that has markings for lining things up - Great!!!
However, these templates all have a mark for centre that is centred right to left (once the hoop is in the machine), but the top to bottom template centre mark is not centred. The 200mm (8 inch) square hoop is actually rectangular in shape and the template only has a square marked on it, it rests with the 8 inch square being to the bottom of the hoop. Empty space fills the rest of the template.
I went to the dealer today (not the one I bought from years ago as they went out of business). The salesperson kept telling me it was because the hoop was classed as an 8 inch square hoop. When I pointed out the actual hoop work area was rectangular and larger she really didn't have any answer. She finally said she just measures her fabric and marks where she wants centre to be, and through trial and error gets the embroidery centred based on her marks...
To me, this does not make sense, why would the company produce a template if it wasn't meant to be a helpful tool and why isn't it accurate for the entire possible embroidery space?

Can anyone provide some guidance?

I bought some gridded template plastic with the intent to make a couple templates for my hoops that don't have any and that's when I noticed this issue/discrepancy...

Can you post a picture of the hoop/template?

It may not be the right template for that hoop.

I hoop the stabilizer and mark center cross hairs right on it using a ruler and marking pen.

Fold the item in quarters and then place in center out.

Helpful tips in the videos. Scroll down for hoops.

https://www.purelygates.com/videos

I would guess it's because the machines embroidery foot needs the room. The foot can sew closer on one end inside the hoop than the other end. So you would center your embroidery design center with the center mark of the hoop template. The hoop is actually larger than the machines embroidery area.

Can't figure out how to post a pic, so this link shows what I mean about the hoop template. The blank section at the top is space for the foot. The machine can only sew inside the red (design) area:

https://www.sewingpartsonline.com/5-...SABEgLG6PD_BwE

It shouldn't really matter what the exact size your hoop is, because the embroidery area used by the machine will be smaller than the hoop, and the design will be the correct size. Normally when you bring up a design to stitch out the machine will move the needle to the centre position of the sewing area (which will be 8" square), not the hoop which will be larger. I have never found a use for that plastic template. Also does the hoop have centre marks on the frame, if you have those use a ruler to mark the middle of each line after setting up your fabric, to make a cross. Hope this helps.
Also, as Feather says, you need room to accommodate the foot.

I also have a VIking machine and yes, the center on most all their hoops is not the center of the hoop itself. I got tired of forgetting this fact and started marking the stabilizer once it's hooped if I'm not going to hoop the fabric itself. Otherwise, I place my hoop on my cutting table between marks on the table to align my fabric/stabilizer and hope I get it just right. You should be able to adjust the hoop once it's on the machine to move it to "your" center though.

Most times I'll cut my fabric a bit larger so I can trim it to make the center where it should be once embroidered.

I assume you have a manual for your machine, if not you can download it from the Viking site. Your specific machine will be found in "other machines" on the list of machines under the support tab as it is an older machine. I may have used my templates once or twice, but I really can't remember. Most of the embroidery I have done is not on garments so I don't have to be that precise as I can just cut the excess background fabric off. If all your hoops are Viking hoops, you should have gotten templates with them. I think maybe as you are just getting into embroidery, you should not really have to be that concerned about precise positioning if you are not doing a garment or doing a continuous design where you are needing to rehoop? I had a Viking D1 when I did a lot a embroidery and I honestly don't remember using the templates except in my beginning class I took and when I took some continuous embroidery class and one where the design was too big to fit in the hoop and I had to exactly match up the join points.

First off - thank you to everyone for your responses, suggestions, and links! You are awesome!!!
It is the right template for the hoop, it was brand new from the box. The other hoops/template combos I have are similar.
The thought that the front of the machine vs the back of machine room for the foot may differ never occurred to be but I bet that's it!
The owners manual (which I had already consulted) did not mention anything about why the markings/centre was not centre of the hoop....go figure.... I can't be the first one who wondered that....
Folding the fabric, marking the crosshairs, making oversized and trimming to where I wanted it, all those things I'd already been doing, but I just thought "why don't I use this handy template since they gave it to me!"....

I was really surprised that the dealer, who is a large, well known dealer for this brand of machine did not know the answer to this question and another question I had....

Thanks again!
Elaine

I only use the in-hoop template when doing continuous or oversize designs. I find it very accurate and no more than 1/16th off which I can adjust with the machine nudging tool. I don't print out crosshairs or any oddball setups. I suppose everyone has their own way of sorting through oversize setups. More people should talk on the forum about how they set up large and continuous designs.

Generally I hoop the stabilizer. I then use the hoop template & mark the dots on the stabilizer, center & all sides. I then use the template & mark the fabric. Then using a pin, thru the dots on the fabric, I line up the dots with the fabric & the stabilizer.

I suppose everyone has their own way of sorting through oversize setups. More people should talk on the forum about how they set up large and continuous designs.[/QUOTE]

I for one would be extremely interested in knowing much more about this!

The local dealer seems to be only interested in having classes on a particular brand of design that also requires buying expensive software packages and embellishments. While those products are lovely, they are not what I want to learn....