Making a Fabric Wall Display

One evening a couple of months ago now, I ventured into the sewing room and felt a sudden urge to do some making, as I felt like I'd not really made anything of late.  After seeing quite a few images of this being done in magazines and on Pinterest, I finally decided to have a go myself and make a display of fabrics for my sewing room wall. 

 

I used some of the same fabrics I had used for a patchwork cushion I made earlier in the year, which included some fabric from a skirt worn by Little Bird when she was a toddler, some vintage Laura Ashley fabric I really like, plus a few others that I love, such as an old lace doily bought from a jumble sale and which had a stain on part of it, and a lovely furnishing fabric that I've wanted to do something with for a while.  As per usual there is a grey theme running through it and also a bird theme, but you can make this as colourful as you want and you don't need to have any particular theme.  I already had a few embroidery hoops I'd picked up from charity shops and managed to find some others quite cheaply to form a group. 

 

Well, a couple of months passed and I kept meaning to put a few nails in the wall, hang them up and take some photos, but never seemed to feel motivated.   This Saturday afternoon, however, it was quiet and I was at a loose end so I decided to venture up to the sewing room and actually get the deed done.  I took one of OH's hammers whilst he was out and some small nails and off I went.  Well, when I put up the five that I had already made, they didn't quite look right and I decided to make a few more to add to them.  I also decided to try adding a few appliques to some of the fabric to add a bit of texture and interest.  So I can now finally do a reveal of my display and here it is.

Odd numbers of frames work better, unlike the even number I've got here, and different sizes do give a bit of  variety to the display too. 

You can't really see from the photo, but the top frame has the lace doily in it.  It would show up a lot better if it were on a coloured wall.

 

I also used a piece of this to make the owl.

 

 

The bird I hand appliqued on to the fabric in the frame.

 

 

And the birdhouse I machine appliqued.

 

 

 

I was quite pleased with the overall effect and so was Little Bird who asked me to make her an owl too.  This was hers.  It goes with the décor of her bedroom.

 

 

This is so simple and inexpensive and if you have some favourite small pieces of fabric that you don't know what to do with, what better than to display them in a creative way and look at them every day.  You just cut out a circle of fabric a few centimetres larger than the inner frame and stretch it over the inside ring of the hoop and then add the outer ring and tighten and they are ready to hang once you have cut away any excess fabric.  I have read that you should sew the fabric onto the ring but I didn't think it necessary for my own display as they seemed secure enough caught in the frame.  If you wanted to hang them as part of a mobile or from the ceiling, you might need to do this to make them look tidy both sides, but when hanging them on the wall the back cannot be seen. 

 

I may add to the display if I find any more frames in the charity shop, but for now I'm quite happy with it.