Swatch Portraits - How to do it

1. Place fabric in the hoop, pull taught.
2. Turn to wrong side, run a small line of glue around the inside hoop, just next to the fabric
3. Press fabric into glue, all the way around.
4. Allow Glue to dry.
5. Trim fabric to edge of hoop

 

 

Comments

[Regina]

What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!!

[Emily]

Another suggestion for a neater back (for all you other Type A personalities out there) would be to trace a circle and inch or two larger than the hoop (you can use a quilting template or a big jar of something)...edge finish the circle of fabric (even a zig zag would do) then follow the rest of the purl be instructions - but no trimming necessary! :)

[claudine hellmuth]

oh!! I love this idea! thank you for sharing!

[Kathryn]

Thank you for sharing this! I've been racking my brain for cheap art and this is brillant!!! I have a bunch of old hoops that my great aunts used so this will be extra special!! Thanks again!

[cooler*doula]

oh! what a great idea!! i love it.

[Amanda]

This brings back memories of when I first started painting on fabric back in the early 80's. I couldn't afford expensive framing, so I used hoops instead. I added eyelet lace trim, and ribbons. I wouldn't do that now, but that's what we did in the 80's. I love the idea for my sewing room!

[Whirledpeas00]

I just saw this same thing on Katie Brown's show.
Very cute!!

[Sharon]

I love this! I'm going to go through my fabric stash very soon!

[melissa]

This particular fabric is so pretty. I'd love to see a few sparkly beads sewn onto it!

[Laura]

This was completely inspiring! I have had a bare wall above my desk for over a year now, and when I stumbled upon this post, I knew immediately this is what I wanted to do! I made the portraits into bulletin boards as well and love the outcome--I added photos to your flickr group. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful idea!

[whitney johnson]

ADORABLE! Thank you.

[brandi]

hi.. i love this and am about to start this project... i am however wanted to do it with my collection of vintage hankies but dont want to ruin my hankies.. have any suggestions on how i could tuck my fabric back without cutting/gluing? maybe pin it??? thanks!

[Joan]

I love this idea. My house has a huge wall in the living room and I had no idea how to decorate such a large space. I think this will be a perfect accent! However, I think I will embroider along some of the patterns just to give the cloth a bit of textured detail.

[Bobbi]

It should be 'taut', not 'taught'. :-)

[Kerri-Ann]

Thanks for the tute! Think I might use this for some vintage souvenir tea towels to hang in the dining room. xo

[OnePerfectDay]

It's so easy to make you wouldn't believe the result can have such an impact on a wall!

[Katie - Cheaps{Kate} Blog]

I made these for my apartment a few months ago & used double sided tape instead of glue (got the idea from Martha Stewart) and that seemed to work well & will be easy for switching out fabrics later on. Thanks for the tutorial! I linked it to my blog post about my version of the project :)

[Lorina Daiana]

I finally did it! :)

http://s3.amazonaws.com/tadaa-us-east-static/ab2664d92bc656a678c0269d73a0a83c-m800le.jpg

I put them over my desk which ended up fitting perfectly :)
I'm thinking of adding some more little ones tho

[Heather]

Thanks! I was wondering how to finish the back!