Tea-tip : finishing an embroidery hoop

Welcome to the very first tea-tip post! This post will show you how to finish off the back of an embroidery hoop. I love stitching a design and leaving it in the hoop, I think its simple, thrifty and a bit quirky. Your finished piece will be also be lovely and light, hung on the wall with a single nail or standing up on a shelf or mantelpiece.

To finish the back of your stitching, you will need sharp scissors, a glue gun, a pritt stick, felt and your finished piece. I normally use white felt for the backing but if you have used dark fabric you could use a coordinating colour.

The first step is to check that you are happy with the placement of your stitching within the hoop, pull the fabric taut and tighten the screw at the top. Then turn your stitching over so that you are looking at the back. Using the pritt stick, gently stick any loose threads down. Try to use a small amount of glue and stick threads down onto a patch of the same colour. This means your finished hoop will look super tidy from the front too!

Next, you need to use your glue gun to put a small amount of glue directly onto the inside ring of your hoop. Pull the fabric over the glue and hold in place until it has cooled and dried. Repeat this all the way around the hoop, sticking small sections at a time.

Once all the fabric is stuck into place, trim off the excess, close to the hoop.

Next you need to cut yourself a circle of felt which is very slightly smaller than your hoop. To measure this, draw around your hoop onto the felt, then cut it out inside this line.

Pop your felt onto the back of your hoop and carefully line it up so that it covers all the edges. Using your glue gun again, stick the felt onto the hoop. I normally stick it down at the top and bottom and then at each side. Then I fill in the gaps between each of these points, so that the felt fits nicely all around.

One completed hoop! I hope you enjoyed your cup of tea (and biscuit)!

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