When doing a dense satin stitch I recommend some kind of stabilizer on the back to prevent tunneling. Tunneling is when the stitching pulls up the fabric on both sides to make a bump or tunnel and it distorts the surrounding fabric. I've never used a hoop so I can't offer any advice on that. Try a few sample letters on a scrap and see what technique you like best before trying it you good piece.
Last edited by Tartan; 10-19-2012 at 06:31 AM.