HANDMADE THERAPY

PROJECT 2: FRAMED FABRIC
I am ridiculously excited about this project as it is so simple and creates a fabulous effect. I discovered this great trick of framing beautiful fabric in embroidery hoops to hang on the wall providing an instant burst of colour and pattern easily, and more importantly cheaply. My talent is firmly in the "No Sew" arena so it is right up my street. Your choice of fabric does all the work, and there is no shortage of beautiful choices out there. As you can see my wall needs a huge splash of colour!

Yikes! This wall needs serious help.

Simply buy a scrap or fat quarter of fabrics you love. No piece that I chose cost more than $3.00, and I had some left over (next project: what to do with scraps of fabric?). Heather Bailey, Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett have fabrics that I would gladly sell my soul for.

Embroidery Hoops: I used both Plywood (top) and Hoop-La (bottom) hoops.

Embroidery hoops come in all shapes and sizes, as well as prices. I can't see a reason to spend anymore than $3 on a simple wooden hoop that is up to 12" in diameter. Try Michaels for a great selection. If you want to splurge and create a different effect, then go for the Bates Hoop-La range in vibrant candy colours (the biggest are only just over $3.00). These are also much sturdier and make more of a feature of the frame.

Once you have your chosen fabrics and hoops, simply layout the fabric over the inner hoop and pass this inside the outer hoop. Tighten the screw at the top to create the right amount of tension on the fabric and then tidy up any wrinkles in the framed fabric by pulling gently from behind.

If the fabric has an irregular pattern you will want to make sure that the frame encloses the area you like the most. Remember, the screw at the top will be your hanging hook. Your pattern should be placed the right way up when framing it, so that it hangs correctly in the end.

Turn over the frame and trim off the excess fabric, leaving approximately an inch that will later be tucked behind the frame when you hang it up. Alternatively you can trim away all the fabric neatly so you have no bulk or stray threads.

My fabric choices, framed up and ready to hang.

I am literally like a kid in a candy store when it comes to choosing fabric. I have a bundle of gorgeous fabrics I bought from Purl Soho that I am dying to do this project with, but they are currently on a boat somewhere across the Atlantic. For my fabrics I went to the Waterwheel House Quilt Shop in my neighbouring town of Londonderry, Vermont. I promise you I will do a feature on them as they really do have a spectacular range of fabrics and create the most amazing quilts with them. Anyway, I ended up choosing a range that didn't exactly compliment each other in their contrast but they will have to do for now.

The Finished Look!

As you can see, I don't get allot of natural light sleeping up in the eaves of our house. I do love how this came out and can't wait to try our different colour combinations and patterns. Can you believe each of these framed pieces cost on average no more than $3? I am discovering my inner-thrift and loving it.

All right, I think I am on a roll now...Next Project?