Are you indecisive about which mini embroidery hoop will work for you? I have used the 3 hoops in this article on a regular basis for my mini hoop patterns. All 3 mini embroidery hoops have their advantages and disadvantages which I want to share with you in this review.
Advertisement – Disclaimer: The mini embroidery hoops from Dandelyne and artbase were sent to me for free. This, however, did not happen to bribe me into a good review. I do not write anything that I don’t mean exactly how I write it. This article contains affiliate links.
1// The Dandelyne mini embroidery hoops review
The mini hoops by Sonia from Dandelyne are laser cut wooden mini hoops. They come with a screw just like the large embroidery hoops. Depending on which pack you choose there is also a lot of hardware included like a ring, necklace or brooch pins. Also included is a little instruction manual.
What I like
- They are easily accessible all over the world. I have found many shops who carry the Dandelyne hoops
- With 3 round & 2 oval options, the range of sizes is nice.
- The price is affordable compared to a big hoop.
- The sets contain hardware for finishing like necklaces or brooch pins, so you don’t have to buy them separately.
What I don’t like
The laser cutting results in a burnt wooden surface where it’s cut on the inside and outside edge. This results in two things I don’t like but are no dealbreakers for me. Other than that, the Dandelyne hoops are great!
- You have to wipe over the inside ring of the hoop and inner plate to get the burned remnants of. I don’t know if this happens with all hoops, but I noticed a very noticeable round mark after removing an embroidery piece out of the hoop. If you want your embroidery to stay in 100% that’s no problem. If you want to test out which place you want the embroidery to go or exchange it, make sure to clean the burnt edges first.
- The burnt outside edge is very hard to paint over. I don’t know why, but even after painting 3 times over it with acrylic paint it still shimmers through.
2// The artbase mini embroidery hoops review
There are two different kinds of mini ‘hoops’ by artbase. The first is a mini hoop alike to a regular embroidery hoop with screws and all. The second is the bezel version which has a closed back and you attach your embroidery from the front. The pendants are all made and finished by hand. The edges are rounded and very smooth.
The artbase mini hoops come with a backplate and an inner plate and a ring to pull your necklace through or a pin for brooches. The bezels have an inner plate to put your embroidery around.
What I like
- The quality is superb! You can see how much work went into these mini hoops. The backplate is rounded off, so it doesn’t irritate the skin. The inner plates can be bought with padding which is a huge plus, too.
- The options are gigantic. From the many shapes like birds, leaves, circles, ovals, squares, to the different kinds of depths and wood options. There are bezels and hoops with two different kinds of wood, painted ones and also unfinished ones.
- The price is very good for a handmade quality product.
What I don’t like
For the hoop version, the ring is a little bit too thick. When I tighten the screw the ring blocks it too soon. You can easily replace the ring with a thinner one. Some necklace chains even have them included.Artbase fixed that with the new mini hoop models!
3// The DMCxKircum mini hoops with ears review
The kircum hoops are a cooperation between flocoretti and DMC. These hoops are very rare at the moment. These mini hoops are quite new and seem to be a minimized version of the bigger ones.
The hoops come with an inner ring instead of a plate, a backplate, and a silver-colored necklace chain.
What I like
- The idea. Hoops with ears – what is not to like about that?!
What I don’t like
The inner ring is … a ring. I guess DMC just shrunk the big version – where a ring makes sense – and did not think any further. There are a couple of problems with the ring instead of a plate on the inside. I bypassed it by taping masking tape over the ring to mimic a plate.
- There is not much room to glue the backplate on because the ring is so slim. Also, you can’t glue everything over because the glue could spoil the front layer. There is no barrier between the front and the back of the embroidery.
- The ring is visible from the front. With a plate, there is no edge, with a ring you can see the inner edge of it on your front side.
If you would like to read more about mini embroidery hoops, here are some articles for you:
Mini embroidery – learn all about tiny embroidery
The best 6 mini embroidery hoops
Interview with the make of the Dandelyne mini hoops
Online course: Embroidery hoop toolbox
This course shows you how to avoid common mistakes that can cause problems with your embroidery and how to use hoops to make your embroidery shine!
Do you want more tips and tricks on hand embroidery?
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