Circular Yarn Wall Hanging

Sage and I have been feeling pretty good about how this blog has been going. We’ve been hitting the “major topics” in the DIY/craft blogging world, including gallery walls, crafting with corks, crafting with silverware, succulent planters, cats, and copious use of modge podge.

So you can imagine our shock and concern when the blog police stormed our business and let us know that we cannot be a DIY/craft blog today without making a wall hanging out of yarn.

I had been looking for the right piece to round out the decoration of my office/dressing room, anyway, so I figured this was a good chance to make something to fit.  I came up with a plan to make a circular hanging with some graphic pops of color.

To create the circular shape, I finally found a use for a wicker hoop that I have been hoarding for some future project since I was like 11. Literally.  I don’t even remember where it came from anymore, but I’ve been holding onto this thing through my teen years, college, and multiple moves and apartment clean-outs.

Who said I would never find a use for it?  My young hoarder heart is vindicated!

While I was fortunate to have this on hand, this project would totally work with any other circle, like an embroidery hoop, narrow wreath base from from a craft store, or a metal ring (affiliate link – read our policies). I also picked out yarn in a variety of colors that I thought would go along with the room’s decor. I figured that white would make up the largest share, and that the red, blue, and yellow/mustard would be bright accents.

On a rainy, lazy Sunday I started cutting the yarn. I tested one piece to find the right length.  This ended up being about 42″ vs. a circle diameter of 16″, so about 2.5 the diameter (remembering that the yarn will be doubled over as it is attached).  I then marked that length on my coffee table with a piece of tape, and got to work cutting the yarn.

A lot of pieces needed to be cut! It was pretty fast going once I got into a rhythm with it, and it was very enjoyable to do while watching bad television.

This was about a quarter of the pieces that I eventually needed for the full piece.

Stringing them was easy. I just doubled each piece over, hooked the ends back through the loop, and tightened around the hoop.

Creating the pattern was pretty low stakes. For one, it is easy to remove pieces to redo, and I could also insert more pieces in between parts that had already done. Once I got about a fifth of the hoop strung, I realized that I was making the patten tighter than I had planned and it was looking too busy. It was simple to just go back through and add a few more pieces to some of the stripes to widen them.

The whole project took about three hours, and I wasn’t working particularly efficiently (stopping for snacks and to select new bad TV shows to watch). It would also have been a lot quicker if I was working with a smaller hoop!

I tied off the top with a small length of yarn to create a hanger, and then hung it on the wall.

I am very happy with the way this turned out! Originally, I had been planning on cutting off a squared edge on the bottom, but I ended up loving the looser, “raw-er” edge that it formed. I certainly could have been more careful about having the ends be uniform: I was a bit casual with cutting and finding the mid-point while hanging.  But I like the organic look, especially since the pattern on this project is so sharp and high-contrast.

I still might try another project with a squared off edge, but I don’t think it is right for this hanging.

I hung it with just a simple, stick-on command hook so I didn’t need to make a hole in the wall. As I’ve complained about before, the walls in this room are luan board rather than plaster or sheet rock, and it is tough to patch holes or hang heavy items. I love that this is light and can go up with a stick-on hook!

You can go right ahead and ignore that hole in the wall. Thanks.

I love the bright, high-contrast colors. It is great in this room (which is very colorful) and really cheers up this corner.

Now, an obligatory collage so the blog police will be fully satisfied that we have embraced the yarn wall hanging trend:

THERE we go.  But really, this project was a ton of fun to do, was easy, and I am thrilled with how it turned out.  Thanks for reading!

(Sharing at DIY Showoff, Think and Make Thursdays, Weekend Re-Treat Link Party, Two Uses Tuesday, Link Party Palooza,  Tip Me Tuesday, Remodelaholic, Totally Terrific Tuesday, and One Project at a Time – and featured at Craft Gossip)