How do I Gather Fabric & Wrap it Around a Canvas to Make a Wall Hanging?

Sew a fabric ruffle to frame your canvas wall hanging.

When creating a canvas wall hanging with a ruffled edge, a matching purchased ruffle may be difficult to find. Matching fabric is easier to locate, especially if the fabric was used in the wall hanging. Create a ruffle by gathering the fabric and wrapping it around the wall hanging to complete your piece. The ruffle is a nice finishing touch to the wall hanging and is attached to the back of the canvas frame, allowing the wall hanging and the ruffle to lay flat against the wall.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Fabric
• Scissors
• Iron
• Crochet thread
• Sewing machine
• Straight pins
• Hot glue gun

Instructions

1. Measure around the perimeter of your frame and multiply the measurement two and half times. This is the length measurement for your gathered fabric ruffle. Cut one strip of fabric twice as wide as the desired width of your ruffle and as long as the multiplied length measurement.

2. Fold the fabric in half with the wrong sides together and matching the long edges. Iron the fold.

3. Knot the end of a strand of crochet thread. Do not cut the thread from the spool. Place the crochet thread at one end of the folded fabric, on the long raw edge, 1/4 inch from the edge. Sew a zigzag stitch down the length of the fabric, straddling the zigzag stitch over the thread. The zigzag stitch creates a casing over the thread. Cut the crochet thread at the end of the folded fabric and knot the end. The knots on each end of the strip will prevent the thread from slipping out of the stitches.

4. Pull the crochet thread to gather the fabric and form a ruffle. Gather the fabric until the ruffle is the same length as the perimeter of your canvas.

5. Place the canvas face down on your work surface. Place the end of the ruffle at the center bottom edge of the wall hanging's canvas frame. Lay the raw edge of the ruffle 1/2 inch from the edge of the frame, with the remainder of the ruffle width hanging over the edge. Poke a straight pin through the ruffle and into the frame to hold the ruffle in place. Continue to pin the ruffle to the frame, all the way around the canvas. Adjust the gathers where the ends of the ruffle meet, overlapping the ends 1/2 inch.

6. Remove the pins one at a time and run a line of hot glue between the raw edge of the ruffle and the frame to secure the ruffle. Cut off the excess crochet thread you pulled out when gathering the ruffle.