Do you ever see something at the thrift store, and your heart just about stops? You don’t want to draw attention to it, on the scary chance that someone else will spot it and make off with it before you get your hands on it. So you do a subtle power walk over to your item, and snatch it up. Then you feel all smug, because YOU found the awesome “thing” before anyone else did.
That may have been what happened when I found this ginormous quilting hoop at Goodwill a few months ago. Seriously, I might have squealed. Quietly though, to avoid drawing attention to the awesomeness that is this hoop. This thing is 26″ wide. Twenty. Six. Inches. It was like the embroidery hoop fairy shined a little spotlight on it for me and made my day, for the low low price of $2.99.
So of course I had to put something colorful and fun and giant in it – and what is more fun than a big fabric US map!!
I used a combination of vintage and new fabrics – and this super cool black and white swiss dot fabric. You can’t really tell in the photos but the little black polkadots are raised just a bit. Love.
I made it a completely no-sew project since it would just be hanging on the wall – but if you make your own you could sew around the states with a machine or embroidery. That would be so cute too!
Here’s how to make one – and you can adjust this to make any size hoop – though if you make a 5″ hoop your states are going to be realllllly tiny.
Print out a US Map the size you’d like for your hoop. Mine is pretty large. \
UPDATE: I have the USA Map Pattern for you!! I’m providing the map I used as a free download! You just need to tape together the pages and do a little connecting of the lines where the pages are separated. Easy peasy!
Lay a piece of white fabric over the map. Cut a piece of fusible webbing larger than your map and iron it onto the white fabric. Remove the paper backing on the webbing.
I backed the map in white fabric because I didn’t want the polka dots to show through the thinner fabrics.
Print out another map the same size as your base map. Use the states as patterns to cut out your fabrics. I did this by hand, so my states aren’t perfect. That’s ok with me, but if it would bug you, you could use a cutting machine to make them. Lay out your states onto the fusible webbing, using the map underneath as a guide.
Continue cutting out all your states and lay them on the map. Carefully iron the states down, but make sure not to touch the white fabric where the fusible webbing isn’t covered. Trim the extra white fabric off around the map, and then completely iron the map so the states are all fused to the backing fabric.
Cut another piece of fusible webbing a little larger than your map. Iron the map to the webbing, then trim the extra from around the map. Peel off the paper backing and iron your map to your background hoop fabric.
I wanted to personalize mine a bit more, so I added in hearts in all the places we’ve lived! I just fused them on like I did the map.
Then all you have to do is put your fabric in the hoop and glue the edges to the back side of the hoop! All done!
I really can’t get over how big it is – I just love it so much!! It’s so fun to have the little hearts on there for where we’ve lived too!
Doug and I were both born in Phoenix and went to college in Flagstaff, so we have two hearts in Arizona. From AZ we moved up to Whidbey Island in Washington for just a short time, then down to Carlsbad!
We have a new adventure heading our way too. This summer we’ll be adding a new heart to the map – in Tennessee!
Gosh it feels weird to type that – but exciting too!
So our map is super cute and colorful, but it’s personalized too!
I love how it turned out!
This is absolutely amazing!
So awesome!!!
How exciting that you are moving to Tennessee. That is where I live and we will be happy to have y’all here!!
I. Need. This. In. My. House. Stat.
Such a wonderfully sweet hoop & I love love the fabrics you picked! Especially the swiss dot. Love it! Thanks for sharing :)
What a terrific idea..love how your map is so personal. Thank you for sharing and for the tutorial.
tennessee?! how exciting!
Wow — this is really beautiful! I don’t want to make one for myself… but I’d buy one if you sold them! :)
Bev, this is so amazing! I absolutely love it and will now be on the lookout for a huge hoop. Those are so hard to find. I’ve only found the quilting ones with the HUGE doohicky at the top. It’s so fun!
Also, TN?! How exciting!
What a lovely thing to have hanging on your wall! It’s so pretty, and I love the personalised aspect of it. Good luck with the move to Tennessee!
Bev, I love everything about this! The large size, the fabric, webbing and that you personalized it. It’s so awesome! Best of luck on your move. You’ll be closer to me now…haha
A huge welcome to TN lady! :)
Where’s Alaska? :( haha born and raised in the last frontier, so I had to ask, but I absolutely LOVE this project!
Love this Bev!! So cute!
Adorable! Major score. If you are near Murfreesboro I have a good friend there in mt. Juliet. Her blog is confessionsofafabricaddict super lady!
eep bev, this is so so cool!
This is awesome, Bev! I can’t believe your luck at finding that giant hoop. It is so YOU!! And yay on the move!!!!!
Love the map and I know you’ll love Tennessee. I lived in Knoxville for 4 years and absolutely LOVED it!
I love this! What a great idea!
Hands down one of the cutest things I have ever seen…I totally want one! You will love Tennessee…it is beautiful, we live in KY and travel through TN a ton!
I absolutely LOVE this Bev! I’m a map geek, so anything maps appeals to me, but the combination of this cool shaped hoop and the beautiful fabrics is over the top. And I love that you personalized it! And Tennessee! It’s so beautiful there. I’m in Wisconsin, but have been through TN a few times, even bought a motorcycle off eBay and had to drive down there to pick it up :) Lovely place!
This is gorgeous, Bev! Would be so cute in red, white and blue for 4th of July!
Bev I love your hoop art SO MUCH. This is beautiful. I need some of your talent to rub off on me. Can’t wait to meet you at SNAP.
That is so amazing! I totally saw a huge hoop at Savers last week and passed it up. Soooo bummed now!
SO beautiful, I love it! Nice texture and mixture of colors. Pinning!
VERY CUTE….but there are two states missing. Where are AK and HI??
I super love this! And I can’t wait to hear more about your new adventure.
Holy Cow ~ I could not love this more! I inherited a huge quilter’s hoop just like this and can’t wait to use it! Thank you so much for the awesome tutorial!
I would love for you to share your creativity at my Show-Licious Craft and Recipe Party. Join us each Saturday morning at 8:00 am EST!
~ Ashley
I love this so much! You did a fantastic job — and what a great decorating piece. I want to do this also, but, since I’m a papercrafter, I’d like to do it with Designer Series Papers. Thanks for the inspiration! :>)
That’s so great Linda, I’m so glad you like it. I think it would be so cute with fun papers.
I saw this somewhere on another blog & had to get instructions. I really like this a lot & am gonna attempt to create something similar. thanks for the inspiration.
This is such an adorable map! I have never seen or found a hoop that big! That is just awesome! Also, you’ll love Tennessee. I am from there (recently moved to TX) but Tennessee is always going to have a huge part of my heart (and my family!).
This is brilliant! I love all the fabric choices. Perfection.
What an amazingly beautiful idea! Thank you for sharing!
Love it!!
Love this! What size map did you use for yours?
Hope you enjoy Tennessee. I’ve lived here for nearly 10 years now. Cost of living is reasonable and there are lots of parks and lakes to enjoy. Welcome
Do you happen to have a link to the map you printed for this project? Thanks!
I love this idea. I might even make it using my mother’s oval quilting frame; it’s really BIG.
But, I can’t get page 4 or the last page to load.
Oh my gosh! This is so wonderful! Thank you for sharing this DIY no-sew project! Wow!
LOVE this project and can’t wait to make my own! Plan to share on my blog
THIS map would make my heart stop, wow. Wow. I have to make this’s.
On another note-I live in Knoxville now and lived in Whisbey Island as a child for a few years. Dad was a Navy guy. Funny!
This is adorable! I LOVE IT!
Do you by any chance have the outline for Alaska or Hawaii?
:) Emma
that is such a great idea and it turned out so cute!!!
This is so gorgeous! Going to make an Aussie version :)
I just LOVE how you made this and am so excited you shared it, especially the free printable! And what a fabulous Goodwill find, am I right?! You can’t even buy the smaller new ones for that price…lucky girl! Thanks for sharing–new follower of the blog and looking forward to seeing what you come up with next. :-)
thanks for such a cute idea. I already have a hugh hoop ( from the 70’s) hanging in a closet & just wasn’t sure what to do with it. I really like your creative mind!!
Our travels are in reverse! I’m moving from TN to Whidbey island WA! If you’d email me I’d love to get the scoop on any great fabric shops on Whidbey or nearby. What part of TN are you moving to? We just left Chattanooga, it’s definitely worth a weekend visit! Awesome TN Aquarium, nice little zoo and SPOOL my favorite local quilt/fabric shop!
I love, love, love this idea, and I love the download map, but I seem to miss page 4 and 8, and it makes me feel so sorry. I want to make this with hearts on the states I’ve been to.
Torunn from Norway.
I saw this via a link on Ravelry where I’m [torunnb]
this is so beautiful and i love how colourful it is, such a great idea! thanks for sharing it :)
i am gonna use for my granddaughter for all the places she traveles to should be fun
Love this! I have tons of fabric scraps, and I like collecting maps. This is the perfect combination. :) We are redecorating our entry way right now and painted everything white. I am looking for wall decor with bright pops of color. I’m adding this to my list of possibilities! Thanks for sharing the map pattern!
I just printed this map off, wish me luck! I am trying to put non-breakable wall art in the playroom. I just love this!!
Hi Bev,
I want to thank you for the fabulous idea! I finally made it!!!!!
It’s going to be a gift for my son and dil who live and work in DC- they are going to love it!
I have one of those teeny iron things that was perfect to iron the individual states. It was a lot of fun- now I have to get a hoop. JoAnn didn’t have any of the oval hoops so I may have to get it online.
Thanks again!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Sue
Hi Bev,
I ended up making two of these- one son saw it in the making and loved it so I made him one. He was so happy! I couldn’t find hoops anywhere so I mounted them on art boards (not sure what you call them) and they turned out great. Thanks again.
Love it, what a great idea!!
Very cute but what about Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands!