Reference table

The embroidery machine hoop size chart

Every brand publishes a hoop chart for its own machines. This is one table across all of them, which is the table you need when you are choosing between brands.

By Scooter M., enthusiastPublished September 1, 2026How we pick

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An embroidery machine’s maximum embroidery area is the largest design it can stitch in one hooping. It is a hardware limit set by how far the carriage travels, and no accessory hoop lifts it. Hoops can go smaller than the field; nothing goes bigger. Below is every machine on this site, in inches and millimeters, with the area calculated and the manufacturer page each figure came from.

The chart

Read on 1 September 2026. Where a maker publishes in millimeters we converted to inches; where a maker publishes in inches we converted to millimeters. Area is calculated, never quoted.

Maximum embroidery area by machine, in inches and millimeters, with the source of every figure
Machine	Field (inches)	Field (mm)	Area	Source
Brother SE600	4 x 4 in	102 x 102 mm	16.0 sq in	Brother SE600 product page
Brother SE700	4 x 4 in	102 x 102 mm	16.0 sq in	Brother SE700 product page
Brother PE800	5 x 7 in	127 x 178 mm	35.0 sq in	Brother PE800 product page
Brother PE900	5 x 7 in	127 x 178 mm	35.0 sq in	Brother PE900 product page
Brother SE1900	5 x 7 in	127 x 178 mm	35.0 sq in	Brother SE1900 product page
Brother SE2000	5 x 7 in	127 x 178 mm	35.0 sq in	Brother SE2000 product page
Brother NQ1600E	6 x 10 in	152 x 254 mm	60.0 sq in	Brother NQ1600E product page
Brother NQ3550W	6 x 10 in	152 x 254 mm	60.0 sq in	Brother NQ3550W product page
bernette 79	10.2 x 6.3 in	260 x 160 mm	64.3 sq in	bernette 79 product page
Janome MB-4S	9.45 x 7.87 in	240 x 200 mm	74.4 sq in	Janome Global MB-4S product page
Brother PR680W	12 x 8 in	305 x 203 mm	96.0 sq in	Brother PR680W product page
Brother PR1055X	14 x 8 in	356 x 203 mm	112.0 sq in	Brother PR1055X product page
Brother Luminaire XP3	10 5/8 x 16 in	270 x 406 mm	170.0 sq in	Brother Luminaire XP3 product page

The four sizes that actually matter

The standard hoop sizes and what each is used for
Size	Area	What it covers
4 x 4 in (100 x 100 mm)	16 sq in	Monograms, pocket motifs, a name on a bib
5 x 7 in (130 x 180 mm)	35 sq in	Left-chest logos, towel and blanket work, quilt labels
6 x 10 in (160 x 260 mm)	60 sq in	Names across a back, borders, sleeve runs
8 x 12 in (200 x 300 mm)	96 sq in	Full-back designs, jacket work, commercial output

Every step buys proportionally less than the one before

4 x 4 in → 5 x 7 in: 16 to 35 sq in, +119%
5 x 7 in → 6 x 10 in: 35 to 60 sq in, +71%
6 x 10 in → 8 x 12 in: 60 to 96 sq in, +60%
4 x 4 in → 8 x 12 in: 16 to 96 sq in, +500%

This is the single most useful fact in this section. If your budget covers exactly one upgrade, the first one is worth stretching for and the third is the one to think hard about.

Why area is not the whole story

Two fields with the same area are not interchangeable, because designs have shapes.

The Janome MB-4S publishes 240 x 200 mm - 9.45 x 7.87 in, or 74.4 square inches. A 6 x 10 in machine is 60 square inches. The Janome has 24% more area, and a shorter long axis: 9.45 in against 10.

If your design is a name running across a back, the long axis is your constraint and the smaller-area machine wins. If it is a crest or a square filled design, area is your constraint and the Janome wins. Measure your design in both dimensions before you decide which number is your number.

The field is not the hoop

Two different limits get confused constantly, and it costs people money.

The embroidery field is how far the machine’s carriage travels. It is fixed in hardware. Everything in the chart above is a field.

A hoop is the frame that holds the fabric. You can own several, in any size up to but never beyond the field. Brother’s SAMF180N is a 4 x 7 in magnetic frame that works within a 5 x 7 in field - smaller than the field, deliberately, because the magnets need somewhere to sit.

Skip this

Do not buy a hoop without checking the machine list

Hoop mounts are model-specific and are not interchangeable across generations. Brother’s SA444 5 x 7 in hoop lists the Designio DZ820E, Innov-is 1000, Innov-is NS1150E, PE700, PE700II, PE750D, PE770, PE780D and Simplicity SB7900E. It does not fit a PE800 or an SE2000.

Brother publishes those lists. Many third-party sellers do not, and a hoop that almost fits does not mount at all.

Verified 1 September 2026

Every row was read on that date from the linked manufacturer page. We re-check the reference tables monthly and update any figure that changes, with a new date. If a row no longer matches its source, tell us - corrections are the one message we always act on.

The picks

The three largest fields you can practically buy

Ranked by published area rather than by the dimension quoted first, because 260 x 160 mm and 6 x 10 in are not the same rectangle.

Brother

Brother Entrepreneur PR680W

Multi-needle tier

Six needles, a 12 x 8 in field, 1,000 stitches per minute and cap frame capability. This is the machine that turns embroidery from a hobby into something that can invoice, and it is genuinely on Amazon rather than dealer-gated.

Skip it if: Everything you stitch is one color on flat goods. Six needles buy you color changes you never make, and a single-needle 6 x 10 in machine costs a fraction of this.

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bernette

bernette 79

Premium combo tier

The most completely documented combo machine in this comparison. bernette publishes the embroidery field in both unit systems, the space to the right of the needle in both, and both speed figures, which is more than Brother does for any machine in its own range.

Skip it if: You are already inside the Brother design and hoop ecosystem and own hoops. Switching brands means re-buying them.

Check price on Amazon

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Brother

Brother NQ3550W

Premium combo tier

The largest embroidery field on a machine that still sews: 6 x 10 in, with 8.3 in of usable width beside the needle. This is the point at which one machine genuinely covers both jobs.

Skip it if: You embroider for money. At this price the four-needle machines start, and a four-needle machine changes colors without you.

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How this was ranked

Machines we claim to have tested: none. Everyone in this category says they tested twenty. We have not tested any, and we say so. What we did instead: built the candidate set from what Amazon actually stocks, read the published specification off each manufacturer’s own page, normalized every measurement into the same units and the same order, did the arithmetic on what each step up buys, and left every figure the maker does not publish visibly blank rather than filling it in. Every number on this page links to where it was published, so you can check the work in about five minutes.

Sponsored placements: 0
Free machines accepted: 0
Specs linked to a maker page: All

The full method, including what we refuse to claim

Questions people actually ask

Frequently asked

What are the standard embroidery machine hoop sizes?

4 x 4 in (100 x 100 mm), 5 x 7 in (130 x 180 mm), 6 x 10 in (160 x 260 mm) and 8 x 12 in (200 x 300 mm). Those are 16, 35, 60 and 96 square inches respectively.

What are embroidery hoop sizes in inches?

The chart on this page lists every machine in both inches and millimeters. The four common sizes in inches are 4 x 4, 5 x 7, 6 x 10 and 8 x 12; makers who publish metrically use 100 x 100, 130 x 180, 160 x 260 and 200 x 300 mm.

Can I use a larger hoop than my machine came with?

Up to the machine’s maximum embroidery field, yes. Beyond it, no - the field is how far the carriage travels and it is a hardware limit. A larger hoop cannot be stitched to its edges even if it physically mounts.

What is the largest embroidery hoop size?

On this site, Brother publishes 10 5/8 x 16 in for the Luminaire XP3 - 170 square inches - and 14 x 8 in for the ten-needle PR1055X. Both are far beyond the 4 x 4 in and 5 x 7 in fields most home machines have.

Do hoops fit across different machines?

Rarely, even within one brand. Brother publishes an explicit compatible-machine list for each hoop - the SA444 fits the PE770 generation and does not fit a PE800. Check the list before buying anything.

Sources

Every specification on this page was read from one of these pages on 1 September 2026.