Patented Allied Grid-Lock™ Plastic Hoop Advantages 

Allied Grid-Lock™ (AGL™) Plastic Tubular hoops are truly innovative and highly engineered products that have been awarded U.S. PAT. No. 6,298,800. AGL™ hoops have unique features that help you save time and money:

1) Centimeter scale grid lines on the top face of the hoop arms

Customers can use the horizontal and vertical grid lines on the arms of most AGL™ hoops as a quick ready guide for straight hooping of an article, the very first time and every time. The ability to check and confirm the straightness of the framed article prior to embroidering enables the operator to avoid making rejectable articles due to crooked embroidery. Each line is one centimeter away from the adjoining line and can be separately identified by numeral or alphabet letter. The grid lines become an instant distancing guide, enabling the user to align the desired numbered or lettered line on the hoop with a selected reference line or point on the garment to achieve accurate placement of the embroidery. 

2) Dot markings on the dial face

Dot Marks on the dial face of AGL™ frames provide another time-saving instant guide for alignment during hooping of an article without needing separate markings on the article.

3) Distinguishable single and double vertical lines on the ID of the inner hoop

All AGL™ frames are engineered to have vertical lines covering the circumference of the inner frame ID in a symmetrical and graduated manner. These lines provide yet another easy and time-saving tool for accurate vertical and/or horizontal alignment of the article as well as a means for hooping with correct positioning from a line or a point of reference on a patterned article. These lines can also be used as an Instant Distancing Guide on the rectangular frames.

4) "Double" height inner hoops

While many other ordinary frames are available in only a single height version, Allied Grid-Lock™ round hoops & rectangular frame sizes 24x30 cm and 30x30 cm are available with some or all of the inner frame in an extra tall height. This additional height provides added strength and sturdiness and therefore extends hoop life. It also provides more surface area for tighter gripping than typically possible with single height frames. 

5) Exclusively engineered plastic offering superior flexibility and sturdiness

Allied Grid-Lock™ hoops are made with a proprietary plastic composition which makes them strong and durable. The quality difference is easily noticeable when compared to other brand hoops which are often flimsy and prone to wear or break over time.

6) A specially textured surface finish to allow for better gripping of fabric

AGL™ hoops are uniquely engineered for an ideal non-slippery surface texture, enabling a tighter locking grip of the garment. Our frames provide highly consistent tension across the hooped area yielding better embroidery results.

7) Straight-Edge lips on Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ (PAGL™) rectangular hoops

PAGL™ rectangular hoops feature straight-edge lips on all four sides of the embroidery window with 1 centimeter spaced markings to help make alignment even easier and more consistent. 

These unique features work together to produce superior embroidery results. The cost savings add up over time by decreasing the amount of rejections and throwaways as well as any potential consequences of improper embroidery. Producing great embroidery will also make your customers satisfied and eager to do future business. Allied Grid-Lock™ hoops help save the operator time by offering quick, efficient, and accurate alignment of articles without having to use a more time consuming process of creating separate distance markings on the garment for embroidery location and/or setting up hooping tables for every new garment. Some customers may even find purchase of separate hooping tables or hooping presses too expensive and unnecessary when using Grid-Lock™ frames and thereby avoid incurring major expenses. In addition, for many non-apparel items, conventional hooping tables are simply not practical to use for a proper line-up or for a distance guide. The exclusive features of AGL hoops greatly help to hoop apparel as well as non-apparel items in an accurate, secure and time efficient way.

Allied Grid-Lock™ hoops are available in a full range of six round sizes:

07 cm (2.8"), 09 cm (3.5"), 12 cm (4.7"), 15 cm (5.9"), 18 cm (7.1") and 21 cm (8.3")

as well as four rectangular sizes:

19 x 20 cm (7.5" x 8.0"), 24 x 24 cm (9" x 9"), 24 x 30 cm (9" x 12") and 30 x 30 cm (12" x 12")

Additional hoop sizes with the same unique features are under development. Most frame sizes are available in different versions engineered to fit various popular brands of tubular embroidery machines in their varying pantograph arm spacings (AS) or embroidery field specifications.

Allied Wooden Hoop Advantages

Allied wooden hoops are engineered to provide a strong grip on a wide range of fabrics being framed. One of the natural characteristics of wood is that it has a grained texture. This provides a more effective capacity in framing all sorts of articles, fabrics, and garments tightly. This characteristic is great for framing slippery fabrics such as satins and silks, as well as for thicker fabrics that may be difficult to hold tightly using the regular plastic hoops.

Allied International Inc. pioneered the concept of "double height" wooden hoops over two decades ago, and they are popularly used in the commercial embroidery market for framing thicker fabrics. The added height of "double height" wooden hoops provides additional surface area to hold the fabric which is needed for framing very thick articles. Regular "single height" inner hoops tend to slide out when there is insufficient height engagement between the inner and outer hoops. Also, both the inner and outer hoops of our "double height" variety are extra tall, unlike some plastic hoops which typically have the outer hoop in single height.

Allied has the largest variety of wooden hoop sizes in round, oval, rectangular and square shapes. This allows the end user to choose the optimum hoop size and shape based on the embroidery size so that fabric tautness would be at its optimum and the embroidery results would be superior. Allied’s range of wooden hoops also includes some specialty shapes and sizes, such as hoops ideally suited for long and narrow embroidery on sleeves of long-sleeved shirts or legs of pants. Such hoops enable the embroiderer to use the machine for embroidery applications which otherwise would not be possible using conventional hoops. Try out Allied's line of versatile wooden embroidery hoops!

Hoop Sizes / Dimensions

All of our hoop dimensions are listed on the product pages as the distance in the Y direction (top to bottom) by the X direction (left to right), i.e. Y by X. The Inner Dimension values given are the measurements of one inside wall of the inner hoop to the other inside wall.

What Do We Mean By Hoop Thickness?

Allied embroidery hoops are either "Single Height" or "Double Height".  This refers to the thickness (height) of the hoop.  Single Height hoops measure approximately 1/2" thick.  This is the ideal choice for thinner fabrics such as t-shirts & golf shirts.  Double Height hoops measure approximately 3/4" thick.  The extra thickness provides additional gripping surface area compared to "Single Height" hoops and therefore is the ideal choice for thicker fabrics and also slippery fabrics such as satins and silks.

What Do We Mean By Arm Spacing?

To verify which arm spacing you need, please measure the total width across of an existing hoop including the metal brackets.  This measurement should be slightly less than the required Pantograph Arm Spacing measurement.