I hope you like this super easy project idea and make a lovey DIY embroidery wall hanging for your home too! It was fun to do and requires no sewing machine, however, I did choose to use mine. You decide which method suits you best. You can also make this in whichever size you want so I’m going to be loosy goosy with measurements here. The size of your project will be determined by the length of the hanging bar at the top. I chose a paint stir stick so that’s how wide I made my banner.
Materials Needed:
- Canvas
- Contrasting fabric
- Thread in desired colour
- Embroidery floss in desired colour
- A suitable item to top your banner (I used a paint stir stick)
- Tapestry needle
- Buttons
- Glue (I used a standard glue stick)
Process:
The first thing to determine is what to use for your hanging bar across the top. I used a wooden paint stir stick and I painted it with craft paint. You could use a natural piece of wood, a stick or even a wooden spoon (oh man, that would be cute!)
Once you’ve selected your hanging bar, measure out a piece of canvas that is the same width and the length can be whatever measurement you want for your design – you might want to do a larger heart or a series of different sized hearts. This part is up to you.
Next, I drew a heart on a piece of paper and cut it out. I placed my template on the canvas and made sure I liked the size and shape before using it as a pattern for cutting out my contrasting fabric.
Next I secured the heart to the canvas lightly with some glue so I wouldn’t lose the placement I wanted – you could use dressmaker’s pins if you prefer or any suitable spray adhesive. At this point, hand stitch it in place or use your sewing machine. I wanted to use one of the fun stitches that came programmed into my Brother sewing and embroidery machine so I chose to go that route. A variegated thread made such a fun result with this candlewicking stitch!
Once the heart was sewn on, I worked on the ‘love’. To do this I wrote out my letters on paper and used a pencil to transfer the image onto my canvas. There are several ways to go about this. I found it easy to put the paper template on the window, my canvas over top and just trace the design onto the canvas but you can use graphite transfer paper or create an iron on template if that’s something you’re comfortable doing.
I wanted a simple, rustic look so I didn’t worry too much about having perfect stitches. I just went at it with my needle and thread until I liked the look. There’s not much to fret about here – if you make a mistake, just pull the stitches out and try again. Note, I used all the strands of the embroidery floss together to get this chunky effect.
To hang I simply used my glue stick to attach more embroidery floss and the buttons to my hanging bar and then I glued the embroidered canvas to the back of the bar. Done! I left the edges of the canvas raw to keep things simple.
See More Valentine’s Ideas!
** Thank you to Brother Canada for facilitating this post by sending me an incredible machine to work on!
We “Love” this project.