Embroidered Family Tree Wall Hanging

First we will prepare the fabric for the front of the wall hanging. Cut a piece of the lightweight canvas 24 inches wide by 36 inches high.

Now let's prepare the pattern piece for the trunk of the tree.  Draw a 6 inch wide by 18 inch high rectangle on the large piece of paper or tag board.

To create the shape of the bottom of the tree, draw lines 2 inches out from each bottom corner of the rectangle. Then, make a mark 3 inches up from each bottom corner. Draw a curved line up from the end of each bottom line up to the marks you just made.

Draw curved lines at each corner at the top of the rectangle. Cut out the shape.

Now we will prepare the pattern for the branches of the tree.  Draw a 2 inch line on the paper, and mark the center at the one inch point.

Measure and mark 12 inches out from the center mark on the line. Then, draw a 1/2 inch line at that mark, making the mark the center of the line. Draw lines connecting the ends of the lines to create a tapering rectangle shape.

Draw curved lines at the short end of the shape.

Cut out the shape. Then, make marks along the shape at 3 inches, 6 inches, and 9 inches and draw lines across the shape at these points. These marks will be used to cut varying lengths of branches.

Pin the trunk pattern to the felt, trace the shape (with a dress maker's pencil), and cut out the shape.

Lay the trunk fabric piece on top of the front canvas piece. Position the trunk about 3 inches from the bottom of the fabric and center it on the fabric by measuring equal distances between the edges of the trunk and the edges of the fabric.  Pin the trunk in place.

Trace the branch pattern piece on the felt and cut out the pieces. We are starting with three full size (12 inch) branches. Spray the backside of the braches with temporary adhesive and position them around the trunk. Tuck the ends of the branches under the edges of the trunk and smooth the branches in place. Be sure to keep the ends of the branches at least one inch from the side edges of the fabric and about two inches from the top edge. This will apply to all elements of the wall hanging from this point forward (leaves and embroidered designs as well).

Decide how many branches you would like to add to the tree, then mark and cut out branches of varying lengths. Spray the backside of the branches with adhesive and place them around the trunk and the large branches.

If you have embroidery software, print templates of the designs to use for placement. 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 designs around the tree. You may overlap the designs on top of the tree and branches.

Once you have the designs placed, using an air-erase pen (or other marking tool), poke a hole in the center of the designs and mark the fabric.  Also, mark the horizontal and vertical axis points.

Remove the templates and draw lines connecting the axis points - these lines will be used for hooping. Also, label each design on the fabric so you remember were to place them later on.

Stitch all the way around the edges of the trunk using a zigzag stitch.

Also, zigzag stitch all the way around each branch.

Now we will embroider the bird designs!

Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with adhesive and smooth it on the back of the first area to be embroidered.  Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric. You will be hooping parts of the tree, but this is OK, the tree will not be damaged by the hoop. Later on you may be hooping parts of designs that you have previously embroidered; this is also OK. Attach the hoop to the machine and load the first design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point on the fabric. Embroider the design.

For more information on embroidering applique designs click here.

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

When all the designs have finished, it is time to create the name plate leaves! 

On a small piece of paper or tag board, trace about 1/2 of the edge of a small plastic lid.

Flip the paper around and trace the lid again over the first line to create a leaf shape.

Cut out the shape. We created two different sized leaves; one that is 4 inches wide by 2 inches high and another that is 3 inches wide by 1 1/2 inches high.

Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with adhesive and smooth the cotton leaf fabric on top. Decide how many name plate leaves you would like and trace the shape of the leaves onto the fabric.

Using a permanent marker or fabric marker, write the names inside the leaves. You may also embroider the names - we will show you how to do that also.

Cut out the shapes.

To embroider the leaves, trace the leaf shapes on the fabric that is backed with cutaway stabilizer. Then, draw a horizontal line through the center of the each leaf.  Measure and mark the center of the line by measuring and dividing by two. Then, draw a vertical line through the center mark. These lines will be used for hooping.

Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric. Next, set up your lettering design - click here for information on how to merge letters. 
Attach the hoop to the machine, load the design, move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point on the fabric, and embroider the design.

Repeat the hooping and embroidering process for each leaf. When all the designs have finished, cut out the shapes.

Arrange the leaves where you want them. Spray the backside of each leaf with adhesive and smooth it in place. Then, stitch them in place (we used a decorative "blanket" stitch).  You may also use a zigzag stitch if you like.

Using the leaf patterns, cut more leaf shapes from the felt.  Arrange them how you would like and pin them in place.

Stitch them in place with a single straight stitch down the center of each leaf.

To prepare the back of the hanging, cut another piece of the lightweight canvas 24 inches wide by 36 inches high.  Lay flat and align the back piece on top, right sides together. Pin in place. Sew a 1/2 inch seam around the side and bottom edges only - leave the top open for turning.

Turn the hanging right side out and press the seams. Also, turn the top edge in 1/2 inch and press.

To create the top loops, cut five 7 inch lengths of 1 inch wide ribbon. Bring the ends together to create loops. Insert the ends of the loops along the top edge of the hanging in between the front and back layers of fabric with the end of the loop extending about one inch inside. Add a loop at each top corner and pin in place. Then, measure and mark the top center by measuring and dividing by two - add another loop at this point and pin in place. Then, measure the center between the outer and inner loop and mark the center.  Add the remaining two loops at these points. Top stitch a 1/2 inch seam around the entire edge of the hanging - this finishes the edges of the hanging and secures the loops in place.