Embroidery Hoop DIY(ish)

Maybe you noticed, but we love our embroidery hoops around these parts! They are an inexpensive item, that can be used in a multitude of ways. I am always looking for new ways to use a hoop to create a custom piece of art for my home.

Today I am going to do a little DIY (and I use that term VERY loosely) to make a simple stitched embroidery hoop. You need minimal materials which makes for a cheap project! The thing you need most is time and patience.

To start you will need:

1. embroidery hoop, any size
2. embroidery floss, color of your choice, if you don't have any invest in black or a charcoal gray, very multi use.
3. scraps of fabric to embellish
4. needle

Let's begin (please keep in mind this is my first attempt at a DIY, I am kind of an off-the-cuff crafter who just makes things as I go along. Because of this I kinda forgot a few pictures. Let's pretend the pictures I do have are amazing, and the ones I forgot you don't need!)

The very first thing I did was create my picture using word (or some such program) and print it out. I forgot to get a picture of my "template" but you can see it here taped underneath my material. Once you have your picture created and all set,  you will be tracing the words you want to embroider onto your main fabric. This becomes a guide for your stitches. I love to use muslin as a background fabric because it's see through! I can trace my words very easily.

Make sure to tape the pattern and the fabric so it doesn't shift when you copy the words!

 I use a heavy duty heat and bond to adhere my pictures since it's just going on the wall and doesn't need to be stitched down. The possibilities are endless here!

Here are my words traced in pencil and I added my embellishments.

 Here is where you imagine a picture of a half stitched picture! I do a simple embroidery back stitch to make my words. Just up and down in neat stitches along your pattern. There are many tutorials online, so I won't bore you with those details here.

Now for some finishing touches, I used to leave the hoops naked, but a crafty lady I adore wrapped her hoops in fabric and I've been doing it ever since. I think it adds a special touch, and makes the final piece look that much more complete. Just tear or cut strips of fabric hot glue one end under the beginning clasp of the outer hoop and wrap. It's that simple! I don't hot glue the whole thing, just the beginning and end of each piece. Saves time, and your fingers.

just keep wrapping!

I tore these strips because I wanted the shabby look of the frayed edges for this one. You could just as well cut them and you have a nice and neat fabric layer on your frame.

 Here's the back! When you are done with your picture, and the frame is wrapped it's time to get it in there nice and snug. Tighten the hoop as much as you can, gently pulling the fabric taught. Trim the excess material, leaving just enough to fold over and glue down. Using a small bead of hot glue fold over the excess material and glue it to the inside hoop. This will keep your picture in place.

 

I love to hide all my mistakes with a nice circle of felt.Cut a square bigger than your hoop. Put a small line of glue on one section of your hoop, and lay it on the felt. Working slowly and carefully finish gluing down the felt. When the glue has dried trim off the excess, trying to be sure that no felt shows in the front. 

I like to add my label too. :)

 And voila! A sweet finished product made just the way you want!

 If this is super confusing, or I missed a major step please comment with any questions! I am happy to help. I hope you will try your hand at making a special hoop, these make great gifts, and I think they look pretty sweet hanging up in almost any room of the house!