Embroidered Cute Baby Rainbow Nursery Decor
My friend’s baby girl turns one soon. So, I was looking for a perfect gift for this beautiful occasion.
I prefer to avoid giving clothes or toys, as parents often have their preferences for the brands, styles, or materials. Therefore I decided to embroider a hoop art for her room so that it would be a meaningful gift and a lovely baby room decor element at the same time.
I’ve put the process of creating a nursery decor hoop with a Cute Baby Rainbow into a step-by-step tutorial so also you could create a similar hoop art. Also, a video tutorial is available for more visual guidance.
Tools and materials for this project
Photo credit: Creative Fabrica
- Pattern. I used a Cute Baby Rainbow Nursery graphic from Creative Fabrica as a pattern. I downloaded the files, chose one of the rainbows I liked for the embroidery, resized it to fit my 17 cm hoop, and printed it.
- Fabric. I used off-white Duck canvas in size 25 x 25 cm. This fabric is sturdy and has an excellent structure.
- Hoop. I chose a 17 cm bamboo hoop that I will use for framing an embroidery too.
- Embroidery floss. I used DMC embroidery floss of Peacock blue (#807), Very light aquamarine (#9930), Very light dusty rose (#151), Very dark cranberry (#600), and Light moss green (#3819). I used all six strands of all the colors except Very dark cranberry – I used two, four, and six strands of this color.
- Scissors or snippets and pinking sheers.
- Friction pen or your favorite tool for pattern transfer.
Embroidery stitches to use
- Chain stitch filling
- Running stitch
- Seed stitch
- Long and short stitch
- Weave stitch
- Satin stitch
- French knots
In case you are unfamiliar with any of these stitches, read these articles first:
Step-by-step tutorial
1 Prepare the materials
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Choose, resize, and print the pattern. Choose the colors of the thread and gather all the materials.
2 Transfer the pattern to the fabric
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Attach the printed pattern to the bright sunny window, tape the fabric above it, and repeat all the pattern lines on it. Use a friction pen or a water-soluble pen for pattern transfer.
TIP. If your fabric is dense and you do not see the lines of the pattern well, outline the shapes of the rainbow with a black marker first.
Place the fabric with the pattern into the hoop and tighten a tension screw well.
3 Embroider the first shape of the rainbow
Use six strands of Very light dusty rose (DMC #151) embroidery floss for the first section and a Chain stitch filling stitch.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
First, embroider one row as an outline, then add more rows inside the shape to fill in all the space. Do not worry about the dots of the pattern. Embroider over them. We will address this part in the 8th step.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
4 Embroider the second shape of the rainbow
Outline the subsequent shape of the rainbow with a running stitch. Use six strands of Peacock blue (DMC #807) embroidery floss.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Now, fill the shape with a seed stitch. Use the same color embroidery thread. Leave the contours of the hearts empty, placing the stitches around them.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
5 Embroider the third shape of the rainbow
For the third shape of the rainbow, use six strands of Very light aquamarine (DMC #9930) embroidery floss. Use long and short stitches for this section. Start at the bottom and make a row of alternating long and short stitches.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Now, embroider only the stitches that correspond to a short stitch below. All the stitches are of the same length now.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Finish with a row of long and short stitches. Leave out the heart shapes, do not fill them.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
TIP. Drawing some additional guides will make it easier to embroider a curved shape of the rainbow. Follow the directions to adjust the length of the stitches on the curve.
6 Embroider the fourth shape of the rainbow
Fill the final shape of the rainbow with a Weave stitch. First, embroider horizontal stitches with six strands of Very light dusty rose (DMC #151) embroidery floss.
TIP. Draw additional guides for the horizontal stitches to align the Weave stitch. For example, I drew a vertical line, measured 3 mm gaps, and marked them on both sides of the shape of the rainbow.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Add vertical woven stitches with six Light moss green (DMC #3819) embroidery floss strands.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Outline the shape with a Chain stitch (six strands, Light moss green, DMC #3819).
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
7 Embroider the hearts
First, outline the shape with Very dark cranberry (DMC #600) embroidery floss using Split stitch. Use four strands of the floss.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Then, fill the shape with a Satin stitch. Use four strands of the same color floss. Start filling at the center and move towards the side of the figure. When one side is filled, return to the center and fill the other side of the heart.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Repeat the steps to fill all the hearts of the pattern.
8 Add the dots
Add French knots on the outer side of the rainbow.
First, embroider the most prominent dots with six strands of embroidery floss. Use a Very dark cranberry (DMC #600) color.
Then, add medium-sized dots. Use four strands of DMC #600 floss.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Finally, embroider the smallest dots. Use two strands of DMC #600 floss.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
TIP. The embroidery has covered some dots on the first section of the rainbow. Look at the pattern and add the marks by hand.
9 Before framing
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
The embroidery is finished. Remove the marking signs. Wash and iron the embroidery.
10 Frame for display
Frame the finished embroidery in a hoop for the display. Place the embroidered fabric in a hoop with the image centered. Tighten the screw and adjust the tension.
Cut the excess fabric, leaving 3-5 cm from the border of the hoop. Use pinking shears to avoid fraying the fabric.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Make a running stitch around the circle, 1 cm from the edge, but leave the ends of the stitch free – do not make a knot. Use a robust thread like pearl cotton or six strands of embroidery floss.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Pull both ends of the thread to gather the fabric and tie a knot to keep the material on the back of the hoop. Weave in the loose ends of the thread under the stitches.
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
Your beautiful work is ready for display
Hoop art is very versatile, and there are many ways to display the embroidery framed in the hoop:
- Create a hoop art gallery wall displaying many hoops in the same space.
- Mix hoop art with other art pieces like photos, posters, and wall hangers.
- Place a hoop art piece on the bookshelf.
- Display a hoop art on the fireplace mantle.
- Hang a hoop on a door.
How will you display your fresh piece of art? Please, share with us in the comments!
Photo credit: Tatjana Iljaseviciute from Practical Embroidery
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