Pegboard Cross-Stitch Wall Art D.I.Y. (& a giveaway winner!)

This project has been sitting in my brain for months now and I finally finished it last night. It am so pleased with how it turned out and I'm happy to see it finally hanging on the wall!

I'd been inspired by some large scale cross-stitch projects I'd seen floating around internet-land many months ago. Two that I specifically recall are this genius cross-stitch painting by Eline Pellinkhof:

And this piece from the Readymade Magazine contest last year, this was a finalist:

I knew I wanted to do a wall-hanging with yarn. I'm not sure how I thought of the pegboard. No doubt from one of my many trips to Home Depot. I LOVED the idea of how simple it would be to do cross-stitch since the holes and grid are already there for you (unlike fabric).

My inspiration for the design and color palette was this vest (amazing right?!) from one of my "Creative Hands" craft books. These craft books (published in the late 60's, early 70's) are hands down some of my favorite vintage craft books that I've found. They come in a set of 20-something and I just bought the whole set on Ebay. They are that good. I'll be sharing lots of eye candy from these books over the next few months.

I knew that with all of the blues in the room, I wanted to warm it up. Adding some purple hues with this wall art really warmed up the room, but in a subtle way, still working with the blue paint color on the walls.

The fabric curtain panels hanging from our IKEA Expedit shelf has been something I've wanted to do for ages. Finding the perfect fabrics always takes a while, and of course, finding the time to do it! The top is a vintage upholstery fabric, the bottom is a new upholstery fabric, and the middle is a bed sheet that I double up since it was so thin.

Because my sewing machine has been acting up (I rarely use it!) I used fabric glue for my "seams". It worked great and since they're just hanging like this, they won't get a lot of wear and tear anyways. I used no-sew velcro at the top of each panel. I used a staple gun to attach the other velcro strip to the actual bookshelf. It has worked out great! Behind the top fabric panel is the fugly TV. ; ) The middle panel is hiding the electronics and the very bottom is hiding some other unsightly, junky electronic things. They easily come off when we need to use the TV.

For the wall art, here's how I made it:

- Purchase a sheet of pegboard at the home-improvement store. You can cut it down if you want to make several pieces, but I chose to just leave it as is. I loved the idea of having one large piece to balance out this big bookshelf.

- I painted the top/white part of the pegboard. You will still have to spray prime it because it's a shiny surface. So your paint won't stick to it otherwise.

- I used 3 coats of craft paint on top of the primer. It took less than one bottle of craft paint. (you could use spray paint as well. I couldn't find a color that I liked though.)

- Careful not to apply the paint heavily as it will drip through the holes.

- Once it's dry, you're ready to cross-stitch! This project is a great yarn stash buster. I just kind of eye-balled my design, creating it as I went along. Step back from your piece several times to make sure you're liking the look of it. I used a large plastic yarn needle to sew. You won't be able to knot your yarn at the end because the holes in the pegboard are too big, so I just duct taped the end of my yarn to hold it, and then when my yarn ran out, I duct-taped the other end.

- If you don't want to build your design organically like this, you could always draw it out on the back of the pegboard, in various colors of marker that reflect the colors of yarn you want to use. Just realize that when you flip over your pegboard to sew, the design will be reversed. You could also draw lightly on the FRONT of the pegboard which might make things easier. Your yarn will cover up your marks.

- Here's the back:

The duct tape doesn't stick 100% and tries to come up in places, but since this is just hanging on the wall, the yarn won't come out. The back of the pegboard has a hard surface for any tape to stick to, duct tape was the best option. I'm thinking of cutting a big piece of adhesive contact paper to cover the entire back just to hold everything in place, but honestly, it really doesn't need it. The yarn isn't going anywhere.

 - Then hang your piece! I used just two nails at the top, but if you're worried about the weight, you might want to use anchors. (I'm lazy. ; )

If you end up making one of these Pegboard Cross-Stitch wall hangings, please post it in my Flickr group! I'd love to see!

I'll have more photos of this room... it's undergone a bit of a facelift. Here's a peek! More to come tomorrow.

Here's that giveaway winner! I'll be contacting you shortly! : )

Comments

[skunkboy]

I LOVE this pegboard/cross-stitch idea! Well done, Danielle! xo.

[Casey]

I love this project! I really like that cross-stitch painting by Eline Pellinkhof too, I thought about doing the same thing but on canvas. This is much more my style though! I seriously cannot wait until I can do this

[Jeanee]

What a cool idea!!!

[Jessica Dougherty]

what a fabulous project!

[hollysarah.]

LOVE this, Danielle! Cross-stitch always makes my heart skip a beat. I love the pattern.

[Meghan]

What a great idea! I really want to do something similar, thanks for the inspiration.

[Anthea McConachy]

Great wall art! I have lot of these craft binders too-in Australia they're called Golden Hands, and I managed to get mine from an op shop!

[knitxcore]

omgeeee! i love it. the best idea ever!

[beka {ginger*urchin}]

My you have been busy! I love the pegboard embroidery idea - very neat :) I have a Golden Hands dressmaking book that my mom gave me - it's indispensable for good solid information. And you say there are 20 in the set? Now I'm hunting... :) Love the shelf screens too - very neat.

One question (I hope you don't mind): I love the cute native indian girl and boy paintings - what are they? who are they by? I'd love to track down larger images of these. They're so sweet :)

Thanks :)

[Lauren Stennett]

What a fabulous idea! I have that rose cross stitch in my pintrest boards and have been drooling over it lately too!

[Lisa Gutierrez]

You.are.GENIUS! pegboard...PEGBOARD! Gah! It's so simple and so....genius!

[Michelle Clement]

Ohmygoodness - *such* a cool project, and your living room peek looks *amazing*!!

[Larri @ Seams Inspired]

Absolutely fabulous! Found you through CraftGossip and am so glad I did. This is simply the coolest project I've seen! Thanks for sharing. Happy Friday! ☺

[x vInTaGe VioLeT x]

now that is fantastic - i must do it!

[lishyloo]

HOLY CRAP! i love it, looooove it!

[Rachael]

Oh my goodness! This is amazing!

[Cerys]

Wow I love it! I love cross stitch...check out this bag I designed for you to stitch on to yourself(would be ideal to add some 70s patterns to it!) http://cerysturner.bigcartel.com/product/stitch-me-up-tote-bag

[mollie]

It must have been jumbo cross-stitch week, because I did some artwork with a similar idea on my blog. This is soooo great, and now I need to figure out where I can fit something like this. LOVE it Danielle!

[Glenda]

Genius!! It turned out great :-). I'm pinning this in my "want to do" folder on Pinterest -- I have a couple blank spots in my craft area where this would work beautifully. Thank you for sharing the details!

[d r e w]

i love that black sofa!!!!!

[Karey]

Hi, I'm a new reader, and I couldn't help notice your artwork with the girl and the kitten, both with pink ribbons. I have a couple of prints that are similar, but I have no idea who the artist is.
Is there any chance you could tell me who the artist is?

[thompson family]

hi! heres the artist:http://medeiros.weebly.com/

: )

danielle

[Jessica]

We have an Expedit shelf from IKEA too (in brown/black) and we love it. Great work! :)

[refrigerator repair]

Muy buen puesto. Me tropecé con su blog y quería decir que he disfrutado mucho navegando por tu blog. En cualquier caso, voy a ser la suscripción a tu feed, y espero que escribir de nuevo pronto!

[any]

Bonjour ! J'aimerais bien avoir un GILET sans MANCHE OU JE BRODERAIS DES MOTIFS AI POINT DE COIX SUR LES DEVANTS !!!

BRAVO !

any

[Chelsea Ann]

Brilliant!!! I want to do this today!!!! LoL