Late for Tea – Wonderland Embroidery Hoop Set

Last year I had the fun of working with Melissa Mortensen’s gorgeous fabric line, Wonderland. I made up a fun hoop set and a pillow – they are still some of my favorite projects to date! Well Melissa has worked her magic again and her new fabric line, Wonderland Two is out in stores now. It’s a twist off her first line, with more bunnies, gorgeous florals, and all sorts of Alice in Wonderland inspired prints. I just couldn’t resist making up another hoop set – so I’m excited to show off my new Late for Te – Wonderland Embroidery Hoop set today!

One of my favorite themes of Alice in Wonderland is the tea party! I thought it would be fun to create a hoop set just for the hatter’s party. I dressed up a teapot with one of the rabbits in the fabric, and made a matching tea cup. The two hoops are connected with a bit of “tea” – isn’t it fun?!

Those bunnies just kill me. There are some with flowers, some with bows, and of course this little guy, with the awesome top hat!

The fabrics are so pretty – I love the colors and the florals. This is most of them, there are a few coordinating prints I’m missing. You can check out the whole line at Riley Blake!

I’ve decided that Melissa needs to work her design magic and make up a tea set with these prints. I neeeeed this little floral teapot and gingham teacup in real life!

So let’s get started on the tutorial!

Materials:

• Wonderland Two Fabrics –
  • White Sparkle –  fat quarter
  • Gingham Teal – 5″ piece
  • Main Mint Sparkle  – enough for a rabbit
  • Floral Mint – 1/4 yard or fat quarter
  • Brown scrap fabric – small piece for tea
• Embroidery Hoops – 8″ and 4″
• DMC Embroidery Floss – Gray for lettering and Brown for Tea
• Fusible Webbing
• Thread for stitching
• Marking Pen
• Hot Glue/Gun
• Late for Tea Hoop Set Pattern

Cut a square of fabric about 10″ for the background fabric of the large hoop. Cut a 6″ square of the same fabric for the smaller hoop. Begin by tracing on your lettering pattern onto the white sparkle fabric. Embroider the lettering with a back stitch, filling in the open spaces in the lettering with back stitch as well.

Remove the fabric from the hoop. Iron fusible webbing pieces that are just a bit bigger than the pattern pieces onto the wrong sides of the fabrics. Cut out the teapot, rabbit, teacup, saucer and tea. Remove the paper backing and place the pieces onto the background fabrics according to the layouts in the pattern. Press all pieces in place.

Place a free motion foot on your sewing machine and lower the feed dogs. Stitch around the designs a few times, adding an outline and detail lines on the teapot, the cup and saucer. Stitch around the rabbit as well. Once all the stitching is finished, press everything really well.

Place the fabrics back in their respective hoops and tighten the fabrics. Finish the backs of the hoops by trimming the fabric and gluing the edges to the inside of each hoop.

Cut lengths of brown embroidery floss and thread them through a needle, then knot the ends together. Bring the needle up through the hole in the teapot and down through the hoop with the teacup, just along the top edge of the tea. Adjust the alignment of the hoops so the “tea” floss hangs the way you’d like. Knot the floss on the back side of the teacup hoop. Repeat until you have enough floss to give the look of tea pouring.

Now your hoops are all ready to hang! When you have them, make sure the alignment is correct for the tea floss. I think this set would be so fun in a kitchen, or library, or anywhere really!

I hope you like it!

Be on the look out for a quilt project coming soon with Wonderland Two as well! I can’t wait for you to see it!

You can check out my projects for Melissa’s first line here too!

Simple and Sweet Wonderland Pillow

We’re All Made Here – Wonderland Hoop Set