How To Paint Embroidery Hoops, Tutorial

• A paint brush - a small flat
• Embroidery hoops (I chose a set of three in various sizes.)
• Acrylic paint of choice
  
• Varnish or Modge Podge - optional. 
  
• None stick surface 
  

Once you have picked out your hoop sizes you will need to select you paint colours.
Before getting stuck in think about what you plan to use the hoops to frame and where you plan to hang them. This will help you pick out appropriate colours. 
My starting point is a piece of  Cath Kidston print fabric so I picked out a nice spring green and sky blue to match the fabric with a sunshine yellow for a bit of a contrast. 

It is often best not to use the colour straight out of the tube. For instance I added a little White to soften the yellow and mixed the yellow and blue to make my green. This way the colours give the impression of belonging together. This is good for grouping frames together.

Before you begin, mix your paint to a nice fluid constancy. If your paint is to thick it will will look gloopy and if it is too thin and you won't get the required coverage. If the colour looked patchy once dried (Like the ones pictured on the right here) give your hoop another coat of paint. 

• Remove the inner frame before painting. Usually this will not need painting.
• Begin painting around the metal fixing. Make sure to paint all the wood but don't worry if you get paint on the metal, it is east to remove once it is dry. I found the easiest way was to simply scratch it of with my thumb nail.
• Once you have painted around hold on to the screw fixing while you paint the rest of the hoop. 
• Once finished lay to dry on a non stick surface.
• Once dry it is up to you whether or not you want to varnish you hoops. If you are framing something precious I would recommend you do to minimise the chance of colour transfer from the paint. I used Modge Podge on mine. This dried quickly and it gave a lovely shine. If you would rather varnish I recommend Ronseal interior varnish in clear. This is the only truly clear varnishes I have found and has the added bonus of being quick drying and water soluble.

All you need to do now is decide what to put in your beautifully coloured hoops! 
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For more information about 'How To Frame Work In An Embroidery Hoop' take a look at my tutorial showing you how.

Click here to purchase some lovely hoops from my Stitch Supply Store.