I’ve been enjoying embroidery my whole life, and in particular creating hoop art designs to share on my blog. But I’ve only recently discovered the extra level of creativity you can gain from decorating your embroidery hoops! Today I’m sharing the method of painting your hoop, and then embellishing with lace. These finishing touches do give your final piece of hoop art that extra bit of finesse – read on for step by step instructions.

For this project I used:

• Poster paint mixed with some PVA glue (but you might prefer to use primer and varnish)
• Paintbrush and pot for paint
• Lollipop stick for mixing
• Pegs – for keeping my hoop upright while the paint dried
• Craft glue
• Cotton lace trim (the same thickness as my hoop)

I began by painting the majority of my hoop with black paint. Even though much of the underside of my hoop wouldn’t be seen, I decided to paint the whole lot just so I didn’t risk any tiny gaps of wood peeping through.

I did however leave a small gap at the bottom, so that I could use my pegs as a stand while the first coat of paint dried.

Once the paint had dried, I returned for a second coat.

Once fully dry, I painted on craft glue in sections, and added my lace trim over the top bit by bit.

I continued all the way around until the whole of the outer hoop was covered with a layer of lace. The white against the black paint made a great contrast.

I simply trimmed my lace at the start and finish of the hoop, either side of the screw mechanism.

And once dry, my hoop was ready to use!

This is a really simple and enjoyable way to give your hoops a finishing flourish. You can plan your decorations around a particular project (for instance, I knew I’d go on to use this hoop for an embroidery of my daughter’s spider drawing…hence the black!) Or you can just have a lovely afternoon painting and embellishing a whole collection of hoops ready for whenever they might be needed.

And if you love to get creative with your time, why not join my Creative Sewing Challenge? You sign up for free to receive monthly prompts, which our community uses to inspire their sewing in whatever way they fancy. All types of sewing and sewing abilities welcome – its just a fun way to keep fresh ideas flowing. Find out more here or sign up below:

And here’s a lovely pin – thank you for sharing!