I pin my fabric to my stabilizer for thick items and some ready to wear. When I bought my Baby lock and Brother, both said to hoop fabric.

I have a babylock, I would say it depends on the fabric. I do not hoop much anymore, I just spray kk2000 or likewise. I also have a machine now with heavier hoops, which work much better. Having said that, I do not do may towels and sweatshirts and many things that we use to hoop all the time.

I hoop 95% of the time. That's the way I was taught in Bernina class. I pin to stabilizer or used a basting stitch only when the item is too small to hoop. Like a size 0 Romper that I just did.

I hoop most of the time and I have a brother.

I watched a Craftsy class with Deborah Jones, and she said that it's better to hoop the fabric. But, like you, I've also heard some people say they don't hoop the fabric, only the stabilizer. So I don't know if a general rule really exists. As for hoops, I've seen 'no name' brand hoops on Amazon that are pretty inexpensive. They might be worth a try.

Some machines have a fix stitch.Hoop the stabilizer ,pin the fabric or item down into place ,press the fix button which stitches a rectangle or square in a large stitch , in which the design you have selected will be stitched out.This is my preferred method of hooping.
Yes I have had to buy a new spring for a hoop which lost its spring because I hooped a towel.Ordinary spring from the hardware shop wasn't strong enough ,a more expensive one from Husqvarna .

The Husqvarna 6 inch square "Hoop it all" hoop does a good job for extra thin and extra thick items but that is not always the size I want to use. As a general rule I do not hoop thick items like towels or premade potholders; or fabrics that would show hoop burn, like velvet or corduroy.
I never broke a hoop but had to replace the screw and bold of a (Brother) hoop once in 24 years of machine embroidery - bought those in a hardware store instead of the expensive replacement the dealer offered.

I have 2 brothers, I hardly ever hoop the fabric, when I place on top of stabilizer, I always do a full frame tacking down run first, this works well...wendy

When I was a beginner, I hooped everything. Gradually I have changed to hooping just the stabiliser. My machine has an excellent baste feature which will tack the fabric down a few mm away from the design area.
If the item is small or you want to embroider close to the edge or in the corner of something there is really no alternative.

I seldom hoop the fabric. I normally use tape to attach to the stabilizer and then a basting stitch before stitching to ensure the fabric is secure in place and does not move.

Like the many below I don't hoop everything, usually pin or baste to stabilizer.

I float everything, hoop nothing.

Ah, to hoop or not to hoop...that is the question...I sometimes hoop and sometimes do not...it mostly depends upon the fabric and/or size of the item...I do have a built in basting frame feature in my BabyLock...but to be honest, I have never used it...probably because so many of the things I embroider take up the entire hoop size....and when they don't, I just don't think about it...perhaps I need to try it out! When I don't hoop (like for small baby onesies and towels or fleece, I usually pin or use a temporary basting spray....or both...

I like hooping my fabric when possible. I did purchase a second set of hoops for my first machine and because they were not Brother had a bit of give to them. I used this set for felt and other thicker materials. Today I do not hoop for felt as it sticks to the tear away well enough. I use the hoop with thinner fabrics that I have used the liquid goo method of stabilizing. I goo all satins, organza and even velveteen.

I think the advice to hoop the fabric is given because, if you are inexperienced, it gives you more reliable results. So when they are introducing a new machine to you, they to hoop everything. But just because they say that doesn't mean much as you will want to monogram a towel and you just can't hoop them. As you work with designs and different fabrics you'll discover what works for you. For example, I can't get a towel inside the hoop. I have to pin it to the stabilizer. But I have a difficult time getting it square in the hoop and often don't have it in the exact place I want the design to be because of it. Someone suggested that I mark the backside of the item instead of the top when hooping such things as towels, sweatshirts, fleece, etc. That helps, but I find marking both the top and bottom works best for me. It makes me crazy when I can't see the hoop because the towel covers all of it.

Thank you for all your advice. I think part of the reason that I'm insecure about the whole hoop/no hoop issue is that I had a bad experience with sticky stabilizer, and I haven't tried it again. I also haven't used the basting stitch. So I've got some practicing to do, and skills to get better at. Thanks again. Love how willing all of you are to give advice.

I would say, try both ways to see which suits you and your machine.
My Brother machine's hoops would not stay apart when I loosened the screw, so I bought tiny little springs from Echidna to hold them open.
I was told, when I bought the machine, to hoop everything and shown 2 ways to do it; her way & everyone else's way. :-)
I was 'ordered' not to do anything other than woven cottons, till I was confident with that, then to go back to the store to learn how to do knits and towelling.

Thanks for asking this. It always seems to be a dilemma for me. I do both and it seems ( for me ) that the more dense the design the more need for hooping. Unfortunately it doesn't always work. My rule of thumb is test, test, test. Reading all the comments here always makes me feel more confident and I never fail to learn a new technique. Cuties are the best!
Hugs, Nadyne