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embroidered wallhanging {tutorial}

    For nearly two years I’ve had this tutorial in a file on my desktop just waiting to be posted. I have no idea what took me so long, but I thought it would be good to finally share it.

    I selected a scripture for Audrey {you can read the story here} and wanted to hang it over her crib. Coming up with a solution for a lightweight, non-permanent solution was the challenge. I didn’t want something heavy that could fall on the baby and while vinyl or handpainted letters would have worked, it wasn’t exactly the look I was hoping for.

    So I invented this very thrown together wall hanging.

    Here’s what you need to make one of your own:

    :: a piece of heavy fabric slightly larger than your desired finished size {I used a piece of IKEA lenda curtains – a nice cotton canvas}

    :: embroidery or crochet thread

    :: embroidery hoop & embroidery needle

    :: scissors and pencil

    STEP ONE: lightly write the verse, name or other wording on the fabric with a pencil. Be sure to center it.

    STEP TWO: secure embroidery hoop where you would like to begin your stitches.

    STEP THREE: thread the needle and make a knot in the end. Now make your first stitch from the back. We are using a back stitch {here is a good tutorial}

    STEP FOUR: make a stitch in the desired length {approximately 1/8 – 1/4 inch} and push the needle back down through the fabric.

    STEP FIVE: To continue the backstitch, push your needle back up 1/8 – 1/4 inch from where you finished the first stitch

    STEP SIX: make a stitch pushing the needle back down just above the first stitch mark

    STEP SEVEN: pull the thread tight and make another stitch in the same backstitch manner

    Once you have finished each letter, you will have a beautifully {and painstakingly} embroidered piece of fabric.

    This is where you can finish your piece as you wish … and where mine became a total hodgepodge of a project.

    I had a piece of foam core that I cut to size and wrapped the fabric around it, securing with packing tape {remember I was going for light weight}.

    Then I poked in upholstery tacks for a fun border. Because the tacks are not completely secure, once Audrey was old enough to stand in her crib, I removed the verse from over her crib and it is now on a different wall in her room where she can not reach it.

    Want more embroidery inspiration? Here are a few great projects {click on image for source}:

    Ā  Ā 

    And sources for embroidery help:

    the purl bee

    thirty handmade days

    wild olive

    27 thoughts on “embroidered wallhanging {tutorial}”

    1. Hi Emily! I just quit my job to stay home with my son, which is going to require lots of financial belt-tightening. One thing that is going out the window is our Christmas gift budget… so I’m doing some research on thoughtful and inexpensive gifts I can make. I’m going through your tutorials and pinning so many of them as ideas! Thank you so much for sharing them!

      How would you suggest transferring a printed font onto the fabric, if my freehand writing isn’t quite up to par? I love your handwriting and am thinking of purchasing your font. Thanks again.

    2. Oh, thank you for sharing this! I love this verse…my life verse! I’m not an embroiderer, but I just might give this a try! What a gift you have, and what a gift you’ve given!

    3. thank you thank you thank you for this post. I have have day dreaming about some hand stitched stuff on my walls but just haven’t mustered up the courage just to do it. This post gave me some tangible steps and now I will get moving on it. Love your blog/site, nice to meet you!
      -jules

    4. My mom embroidered our art as a child. It was so sweet and something I’ll treasure. She just took a drawing we had made and transferred it to fabric, embroidered it and then put it on a pillow. You could frame it or make a quilt. Just a fantastic idea from a fantastic lady that I’d share with regard to this topic. Thanks for the inspiration.

    5. Love this! On my way to purchase what I need to make this for my grand daughter Ellie! I would really like to use the font that your personal handwriting created on the canvas! Any ideas how I could copy that exact handwriting font for my project for my Ellie?

    6. Emily what a beautiful piece of art for your sweet daughter! She’ll treasure it forever I have no doubt :) And what a great tutorial! Thank you so much for sharing (i’ll be pinning it on my pinterest right after I finish this comment;)…gets me thinking of a few different projects/gifts I’d love to start.

      And I really enjoyed looking back at the story of why you chose that touching scripture from Zephaniah…you’re so inspirational! Your faith in God and His love for you in incredible :) I know I felt His love while reading the post…thank you so much for that :) And Audrey’s room…BEAUTIFUL. what a lucky little girl :)

      xo
      Haley

    7. Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial. It gives me a project to add to Landon’s room re-do. I love that you did this on the porch. It makes me think of time on the porch with my grandma, whom I miss dearly.

      If you have a moment, check out the new subway print I put up today. I’m so proud of it. ;)

    8. Emily … i LOVE the embroidery, but more importantly thank you for directing me back to your post of how you chose the scripture. I’ve been reading your blog for a while now, but I must have missed that post. That’s always been one of my very favorite verses, but boy did it hit me fresh & anew reading your post! Thank for our Heavenly Father who is SO might to save & rejoices over us with singing. I’m in the midst of what feels like such a “stuck” place .. so very thankful to receive this message today!

    9. I’ve been obsessed with this and trying to figure out how to make my own!!! Thanks for the instructions :) Zeph 3:17 is my favorite verse and I’ve been trying to figure out how to incorporate it into our girl’s nursery. Thanks, Emily!!

      1. I did the stitching over the course of several days … so it took a while. Maybe 6 hours total? I did most of it while sitting on my grandparents’ porch on a lazy summer day so it really was the perfect project to be working on!

    10. This is PERFECT! I have a blank wall over the soon-to-be-reassembled crib, and baby #4 arriving in a few weeks. It’s a great time of year for an embroidery project, too. Thanks for the inspiration!

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