Sew-a-Garden Wall Hanging

First, we will prepare fabric for the front of the wall hanging. Create a paper template of the design by printing it at full size using embroidery software. If you don't have embroidery software, you can cut a piece of paper the shape and dimensions of the design to help with placement and centering.

Arrange the templates on top of the solid colored lightweight canvas how you want them. Allow about 2 inches of space between the edges of the design and the sides of the fabric. Also, allow 5 inches of space between the edges of the designs and the top and bottom edges of the fabric. Remove the templates and cut the fabric to fit your designs. We cut our canvas 22 inches wide by 36 inches high.

Using an air-erase pen or other marking tool, measure and mark 4 inches down on each side starting at each corner. Then, draw a line connecting these marks. The area inside these lines will be the embroidered area - the area outside the lines will be folded over to create pockets later on.

Cut a piece of print canvas large enough to cover the bottom 1/3 of the solid colored canvas (starting at the bottom line and ending 1/3 of the way up the fabric). Pin in place and draw a curved line across the top edge of the fabric to create "hills."

Then, trim the top edge of the fabric along the line you just drew.

Sew a zigzag stitch along the top and bottom edges of the print fabric. Also, sew a 1/4 inch seam along the side edges.

Return the templates to the fabric and arrange them how you want them. Poke holes in the center of the templates and mark the fabric. Also, mark the horizontal and vertical axis points of each template.

Remove the templates and draw lines connecting the marks. The lines will be used for hooping.

Spray a piece of medium weight cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive and smooth the fabric on top. Hoop the fabric for the first design by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric. Attach the hoop to the machine and load the first design. Move the hoop so that the needle is aligned with the center point on the fabric. Embroider the design. For more information on embroidering Crafty Cut Applique  click here .

When the design has finished, trim away the excess stabilizer on the back of the embroidery. Repeat the hooping and embroidering process for each design.

Next, we are adding "fun fur" (eyelash) yarn to the bottom of the wall hanging to create a grass effect. Cut lengths of the yarn to extend across the bottom edge of the print fabric. Then, you can hot glue them or zigzag stitch them in place. We zigzag stitched ours in about five different places to hold the yarn.

To prepare the back fabric, lay the embroidered front panel on top of the solid colored canvas (wrong sides together), pin in place, and cut out the shape.

Wrap the quilt binding around both layers of fabric at the side edges only. Pin in place and sew a seam along the inner edge of the binding.

To create the pockets at the top and bottom of the wall hanging first fold the top and bottom edges over 1/2 inch to the back and press with an iron. Then, fold the top and bottom edges over inches to the back and press. Pin in place and sew a 1/4 inch seam along the inner edges of the folds. Insert the curtain rod inside the top pocket and your wall hanging is complete! Also, you may add weight to the bottom pocket by inserting a wooden dowel inside. This will help to keep the fabric of the wall hanging taut and straight.