Hi DTLB readers! My name is Angela, and I blog about decor, DIY, crafts and organization at Blue i Style – and, like Tasha, I am a lawyer who is clearly also trapped in a designer's body.
I love modern design and lots of color, so it's appropriate that my first contributor post to DTLB is a very colorful addition to our modern kitchen. Here's a quick look at our kitchen before this new addition. (If you are interested, you can also take a full tour of our kitchen.)
Teal and gray are two of my favorite colors, and they make a great backdrop for our seasonal decor. I add orange accents in the fall, and red at Christmas. With spring finally here, I was feeling like the kitchen really needed some pops of bright colors to welcome the new season and to carry us through the summer!
While out for a walk in our neighborhood a few weeks ago, I saw a gorgeous display in the front window of a consignment clothing store. I snapped a quick picture to share on Instagram, and then as I walked home I realized that a similar window display would be a fun and inexpensive way to add some color to our kitchen. Let me show you how easy it is! This post contains some affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Materials Needed for Embroidery Hoop Art:
- Embroidery Hoops in a variety of sizes (For my display I used six 8″ hoops, three 6″ hoops, and three 5″ hoops; I purchased my hoops at Hobby Lobby for between $1 and $1.49 each)
- Fabric in a variety of colors/patterns–purchasing a stack of “fat quarters” is a great way to get a nice variety. (You need fabric 1 inch wider than the size of your hoop, so for an 8″ hoop you need at least 9 inch wide fabric; I purchased a quarter of a yard of each fabric)
- Cotton Batting or Muslin (As with the fabric, you need 1 inch wider than the size of your hoop. I used Warm and Natural Cotton Batting because I had scraps from another project; Muslin is a less expensive option if purchasing the supplies from scratch)
- Baker's Twine or Ribbon
- Scissors
- Clear 3M Command Decorating Clips
There are a couple of factors you need to consider when purchasing your fabric. Most cotton fabric has a “right” side and a “wrong” side. If the fabric you choose is printed this way, then you will want to put two pieces of the fabric back to back inside the embroidery hoop so that when the hoop hangs in the window you will see the right side of the fabric from inside the room and from outside.
Additionally, if your fabric is light in color, when you place two pieces back to back and hold it in front of a window, you will see the pattern of one piece showing through the other.
To prevent this, I added a layer of batting between my layers of fabric (a layer of muslin between the fabric would also work). Hold your fabric up to a window to determine if you need a layer or batting or muslin.
Embroidery Hoop Art Tutorial:
STEP 1: Loosen the screw at the top of the embroidery hoop to separate the inner and outer rings. Lay the inner and outer rings on top of your fabric. Use the hoops as a guide for cutting two squares of fabric, each at least one inch bigger than the hoops
STEP 2: Cut a square of cotton batting or muslin approximately the same size as your fabric. Place your two fabric squares back to back, with the layer or batting or muslin in between.
STEP 3: Place the inner ring of the embroidery hoop underneath the fabric, and place the outer ring on top. Press the outer ring down until the inner ring is snug inside the outer ring.
STEP 4: Turn the hoop over, and you will most likely find that the fabric on the back side is a bit buckled.
Press down on the inner ring, then tug at the corners to pull the fabric taunt. If your fabric has stripes or lines, be sure to pull evenly on all four corners to prevent the lines from being stretched too far in any one direction (which would make the lines look wavy).
STEP 5: Tighten the screw at the top of the hoop to hold the fabric securely in place.
Repeat these steps until all your embroidery hoops are filled with fabric.
STEP 6: Now it's time to trim off all of the excess fabric using a sharp pair of scissors (using dull scissors will make this much more difficult, and will chew up the edges of your fabric). Cut the fabric off as close to the hoop as possible. I found it easiest to use a small, fine point pair of scissors. My favorites are the Cutter Bee Precision-Cut Scissors – they are inexpensive and I use them for everything.
Here are all of my fabric filled embroidery hoops after trimming off the excess fabric…
All of that color and all of that pattern! It makes me smile just looking at it!
STEP 7: The final step is to hang the embroidery hoops in your window using clear 3M Command decorating clips. These clear, mini hooks are my favorite because they are barely visible and they remove cleanly and damage-free. I spaced twelve of them evenly across the top edge of my long, thin kitchen window.
I then used some cute, pink and white baker's twine to hang the embroidery hoops from the Command hooks.
I hung the hoops at varying heights, alternating the 8″ hoops with the smaller 5″ and 6″ hoops.
The final product is a bright and modern window display that adds vibrant pops of cheerful spring colors to our kitchen!
The simple addition of these embroidery hoop framed fabrics has added so much color and life to our kitchen, bringing the warm feeling of spring in from the outdoors.
Because our home is south facing, the fabric in these hoops will get a lot of direct sunlight throughout the day. As a result, I know that the fabric will fade over time and will need to be replaced.
I like to display different things in this kitchen window for each season, so I plan to take these hoops down when fall rolls around. Because this project was very quick and inexpensive, I don't mind if I have to replace the fabric next spring. By purchasing a quarter yard of each of the fabrics, I have enough left over to re-hoop the same fabrics next year, but I also like the idea of being able to easily update this display year after year by choosing fun new fabrics that represent the latest decor trends.
If you liked this project, here are a two other easy DIY projects to add bright pops of color for spring!
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Thanks so much for making me feel so welcome over here at DTLB today! I'll be back in a few months to share another stylish project with you. In the meantime, feel free to connect with me over on my blog or on social media:
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Kim~madeinaday says
April 16, 2015 at 10:59 amLove these Hoops! They came out so pretty! I love the hanging them in the window idea! Stopping by to let you know I will be featuring them tomorrow in my P3 Party Post! So look for some social media action from me tomorrow! Thanks so much for pinning it to the board!
Kim
Angela, Blue i Style says
April 21, 2015 at 5:37 pmThanks so much, Kim!!
Jen @ Fresh Crush says
April 4, 2015 at 10:28 amSo good Angela! I love using every little scrap of fabric I have! This is a fantastic idea to use it all up! :)
Angela, Blue i Style says
April 21, 2015 at 5:38 pmThanks, Jen! :)
Ashley ~ 3 Little Greenwoods says
April 3, 2015 at 9:32 pmI could not love this MORE! Wonderful way to use all those brightly patterned scraps we all have in our fabric stash. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Angela, Blue i Style says
April 21, 2015 at 5:37 pmThanks so much, Ashley! :)
heather says
April 3, 2015 at 2:39 pmLove it Angela!!! And love your minimalist, modern, hip kitchen!!
Angela, Blue i Style says
April 3, 2015 at 7:18 pmThanks Heather! I love it to, but the kitchen needs those pops of color for the seasons!
Angela, Blue i Style says
April 3, 2015 at 9:51 amThanks so much for having me, Tasha!