How to Create a Hoop Gallery Wall
One of the most frequently asked questions I get is… what do you do with all of your finished embroidery hoops? Up until recently, my honest answer would have been… nothing. I had over 20 hoops just sitting in a basket waiting for the day when I would finally find inspiration (and a big enough blank wall) for a hoop gallery wall.
When I moved the studio into our downstairs space, I finally had this big wall above the TV that was the perfect spot for all of my completed pattern club designs from the last two years. And I was right.. the hoops suit this wall perfectly and made my studio feel at home (you can see the before and after photos below). The bonus was that it creates a great talking point to explain to people exactly what I do in my business when they visit.
Now, there are infinite options for how to display your finished embroidery designs and I plan to share a blog with some inspiration in the near future. This option worked really well for us as we are still renting – so it needed to be able to be removed without causing any damage. Thankfully our landlords are super amazing at being ok with us using command strips etc.
what supplies i used
As a renter, anything by 3M command strips is life changing! I have used a variety of sizes and the velcro strips for different things all over my house. For my hanging gallery wall, I decided to use these small decorating clips in clear so they disappear against the wall. I found my set of 20 clips at Woolworths, but you can find them easily in most stores.
My top tip would be to just check the quality of the paint before using them and make sure if they are going to be in place for longer than 2 years that you replace them as I’ve found that if kept longer that they don’t remove as nicely.
The other supply I used was just some white twine. You can use anything for this step – clear fishing wire, embroidery thread, twine… whatever suits your space and vision for the gallery wall.
prepping your hoops
Before we start attaching our hoops to the wall we need to prep a few things first. I started by making small loops with the white twine that I can then wind around the screw on the embroidery hoop. You could just tie the thread through the small gap but I chose this method as it creates a flat loop that will easily slot over the clips and make sure the hoop is sitting nice and flat against the wall. Once you have created all of the loops, tie them around each of the hoops you are planning to use.
The other thing I recommend is to separate the clips and attach the glue to the clips. Take note of the directions of the glue strips when you attach them to the clips – they normally have a direction for which side to attach to the wall.
I also gave the wall a quick wipe down and clean to remove any dust or grease to help the strips attach better.
attaching to the wall
Now for the fun part! Time to attach your hoops to the wall and create your gallery. I didn’t have a plan for this… I just started by placing one hoop and then the next. If you have more hoops or are after a particular finished look, you can measure and mark out your placement before you stick the clips to the wall. I ended up with diagonal lines that created a diamond shape rather than square.
Then, it’s as simple as peeling the backing sticker off and press the hook in place. I like to hold the hook firmly against the wall for about 30seconds to make sure it’s secured. The instructions recommend removing the item you are hanging to allow it to properly stick but as my hoops are all light weight, I didn’t bother with this.
Don’t worry too much about the particular placement of the different hoops as you can easily change that by swapping around the hoops once all of the hooks are in place. I recommend taking a step back and looking at the spread of colours and designs to make an aesthetic gallery wall.
The thing that I love about the layout I created for my gallery wall is that I can easily add new hoops to it as I finished new designs. It can grow with me!! I am so happy seeing so many of my creations on display to be enjoyed (as they were designed to be) and of course it inspired an impromptu photoshoot with the dogs and to shoot a much overdue new profile photo.
