Don't you love it when you go to the thrift store to browse and slowly a project starts to unfold with every serendipitous find? That's what happened with this festive DIY winter embroidery hoop sweater wreath. I had a definitive plan for today's DIY wreath post but that quickly changed when I found the large 18-inch embroidery hoop for $2, followed by the pretty festive red sweater, and then the wooden sleigh.


Welcome to the 5th annual 12 Days of Holiday Ideas event, hosted by Shirley of Intelligent Domestications and Erlene of My Pinterventures. Between Nov. 11th and December 6th there will be hundreds of new ideas shared by over 55 Co-host bloggers!

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Winter Embroidery Hoop Sweater Wreath

Red is my favorite color so I was drawn to that cozy warm sweater, too small for me to wear but just the right size for the large embroidery hoop. Wanting to put a unique spin on my winter wreath, I reversed the direction of the inner hoop to accommodate that cute little wood sleigh.


The tiny cable knit mittens were the only splurge, an ornament found at Canadian Tire. I couldn't find baby mittens in white at Goodwill.

I already had the perfect wired snowflake sweater print ribbon in my stash from a few years back. Glad to finally put it to good use.


For more embroidery hoop holiday inspiration, last year during the 12 Days Christmas Tour I made these embroidery hoop sweater ornaments.

These are the supplies I used to make the large holiday sweater wreath.

What you'll need to make it

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Supply List

18-inch Embroidery Hoop
Red Sweater
Small White Winter Baby Mittens
Wooden Sleigh
Sweater Print Wired Ribbon
Small Wooden Snowflakes
Small Christmas Stencil
Small Stencil Brush
Painter's Tape
White Chalk Finish Paint (or acrylic craft paint)
Red Chalk Finish paint (or acrylic craft paint)
Sharp Fabric Scissors
150-Grit Sandpaper
Hot Glue Gun
Quick Bond Glue
Small Bar Clamp

Here's how I made it

Step 1 - Painting the embroidery hoop

Wash the inner ring of the embroidery hoop, the wood housing for the screw on the top of the outer ring, and the wooden horse with a warm white chalk-style paint or acrylic craft paint. To do this I diluted Dixie Belle Mineral Chalk Paint in the color Drop Cloth to a milk-like consistency and brushed just one light coat so the natural wood still showed underneath. I also painted three small wooden snowflakes (not pictured) that I found at the dollar store to embellish the wreath.

Step 2 - Sizing the sweater

Turn the sweater inside out and slip the inner embroidery hoop ring inside to size where the sweater needs cut to fit the hoop. Thankfully I could cut along the side seams of the sweater with a little stretching to make it fit. No worries about it fraying when cutting then. The front and sleeves of the sweater were saved for a future project, perhaps next Christmas.

Step 3 - Stretching the sweater over the hoop

Lay the inner ring down your on a work surface and with the sweater still inside out and facing towards you, stretch the outer ring of the embroidery hoop over the inner ring. Make sure you have enough extra sweater material to go over the side of the outer hoop (more about that later). Tighten the screw to hold the sweater in place.

Step 4 - Flip the wreath over

Flip the embroidery hoop over so the right side of the sweater is facing toward you and you'll see that the painted inner ring is exposed.

Step 5 - Covering the unpainted outer ring

Stretch the extra fabric over the sides of the unpainted outer ring and secure with a hot glue gun. Trim the excess sweater fabric with sharp scissors.

Step 6 - Attaching the wooden sleigh

The painted sleigh is attached with quick bond glue and held in place with a small bar clamp until it cures.

Step 7 - Stenciling the wooden sleigh

This step could be done before gluing the sleigh onto the wreath but it was an afterthought. With part of a small Christmas stencil (link in the supply list) and painter's tape to hold it in place, it was stenciled with Red Barchetta FAT Paint (red acrylic paint is fine too) and a small stencil brush. I used whatever paint I had on hand for this project.

Step 8 - Adding a big loopy bow

With wired snowflake sweater print ribbon, make a big loopy bow for the top of the wreath. I can't make a bow for nothing so I cheat and use a handy bow maker tool. I've had it for years and it makes a perfect bow every single time.

Step 9 - Finishing the wreath with small details

Wire the white mittens and the bow onto the screw of the embroidery hoop and with sharp scissors make a V-cut on the ends of the ribbon tails. Hot glue the three painted wooden snowflakes onto the sweater and we're done!


If you have any questions about this festive embroidery hoop wreath, please leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.


For more DIY holiday wreath inspiration, here are several more wreath ideas from our talented co-hosts on this leg of the 12 Days Of Holiday Ideas Tour. 

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