Home Sweet Home: Canvas Embroidery Tutorial

Next up on my home decor checklist: canvas embroidery art!

I came up with this idea when I was looking back at some old birthday cards I used to make and stumbled on one I made of an embroidered heart. And seeing that I had some leftover blank canvases from older art projects, I figured why not make use of them here!

Blank canvases are super affordable, and at Michael's there are often sales or coupons to take advantage of. I used these canvases from Michael's and purchased an set of threads in assorted colors from Daiso.

I wanted to have a cohesive theme for the pieces I would be making, but also wanted the theme to be broad enough so that each art could be different and have its own character, which is why I settled on Pixar! So each of the canvases I made were based on a different Pixar movie!

To start, I came up with a symbol or icon that I felt represented the movie - obvious or otherwise - and sketched it on a piece of printer paper. Because I like to plan everything out, I actually took a picture of the sketch and added the dots and lines that would represent the holes and thread digitally so I could know exactly how it would turn out.

Here’s an example of how I digitally created by design

Once I was happy with the design I had planned, I transferred the dots onto the sketch, then attached the paper onto a blank canvas and secured it with tape. Following the dots, I used a push pin to poke holes into the canvas at each point. Then I removed the paper sketch, and began threading the pattern onto the canvas until it was all complete!

Then all I had to do was repeat the same process for the rest of my canvases!

Bonus points if you can guess what movie each canvas represents!

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Canvas Embroidery

Supplies

ºoº Pencil
ºoº Paper
ºoº Tape
ºoº Colored threads
ºoº Sewing needle
ºoº Pushpin (optional)
ºoº Canvas

Directions

1. Sketch your drawing on a paper

2. Determine where the holes in your embroidery should go and add that to the sketch

3. Attach the paper to a blank canvas using tape

4. Use the pushpin or sewing needle to poke holes in the canvas according to your sketch

5. Remove the paper

6. Using the sewing needle to guide the colored thread through the holes of the canvas and create the desired pattern

7. Tape the end of the thread to the back of the canvas to secure it