See & Do: Craft a Wedding Dessert Table Backdrop with Embroidery Hoops!

If you were smitten by the embroidery hoop wedding craft ideas we recently featured, you probably wondered about making some for your own wedding. Well, you’re in luck! We happen to have an embroidery hoop backdrop in our own Vintage Garden Wedding set. We used it to complete the dessert and favors table which was set up out in the garden with no wall or other structure behind it. So this vintage-inspired backdrop of lace-covered embroidery hoops was just what we needed. And it was a breeze to assemble too, as you will see. Come join us in this new how-to on the Wedding Bistro at Bellenza!

Make Your Own Embroidery Hoop Backdrop for Ceremony or Reception

Our previous post on these amazingly versatile needlework frames showed how lovely they are when used in so many different ways!

So imagine creating this backdrop for your ceremony area—to hold the welcome sign, to display escort cards, to frame the two of you as you exchange your vows! Or craft it to call attention to key areas in your reception—the cake and desserts table, your favor display, even your photo booth—to match whatever color palette, decor style, and theme you’ve chosen!

Materials to prepare:

– embroidery hoops in varied sizes (available in craft stores) – quantity will depend on the size and complexity of your intended backdrop
– your choice of lace fabric or lightweight printed fabric
– pencil
– fabric scissors, regular scissors
– nylon fishing line
– your choice of decorative elements to match your theme and color palette (ribbons, flowers, leaves, signs, lights or votive candles, others as we suggest in Step 9 below)
– 3 thin tree branches (each about 4 ft. long) to be assembled into the backdrop’s frame
– 2 large potted plants to serve as an anchor for the frame

Procedure:

1. Select which fabrics you will use for which embroidery hoop. You may use all sheer lace or all printed fabric, or a combination of these. You can even opt for an overlay effect, with a solid colored fabric to be placed behind sheer lace.

2. Lay the first piece of fabric flat on your working surface, and position a hoop on top of it. Using the hoop as a “template,” sketch a circle in pencil on the fabric leaving an allowance of at least 2 inches all around the hoop.

3. Cut the circle out of the fabric using the fabric scissors. Set it aside, and repeat the process with other pieces of fabric until all the hoops have fabric circles to match.

4. Now, take each hoop and separate the inner ring from the outer ring. To do this, you will have to loosen the screw on the outer ring that secures the 2 rings together.

5. Lay the inner ring flat on your working surface. Position the fabric circle that it is paired with flat on top of it. Lay the outer ring on top of the fabric and press down firmly, so that it sandwiches the fabric edges between the 2 rings.

6. To stretch the fabric taut, pull on its edges that are extending beyond the hoop. Then secure the hoop shut by tightening the screw on the outer ring once more.

7. Take the nylon fishing line and cut it in lengths needed to hang your fabric-covered hoops in the manner you have planned.

Note: For our dessert and favors table, we constructed a rustic-style frame out of bare tree branches and painted it white. This frame was anchored in large pots, as you will see in #8 below. But you may have an existing structure, like a fence, a garden trellis or even an actual tree to attach your backdrop to. To assemble the frame, attach connectors (example, wire or rope) at the top left and right corners of the frame. Be sure to secure them with tight knots.

8. Anchor the base of the frame in 2 large potted plants. Then, hang the hoops from the frame or the available structure at different heights.

9. Add the decorative elements you’ve prepared to match your theme and color palette. Depending on the purpose of your backdrop, these could be: ribbons, flowers, leaves, calligraphy signs, hanging votive holders—maybe photographs, escort cards, blank note cards for wedding wishes, or whatever you wish!

Note: For ours, we continued the garden look with faux ivy vines wrapped around the frame, and hanging bottles of assorted fresh flowers.

10. Enjoy the compliments from guests come your wedding day with a beautiful backdrop!