Clocks

Add an embroidered clock face to a clock for an extra-personal touch.

Great as gifts for new homeowners, newlyweds, anniversaries, and holidays -- and also perfect for dressing up the wall decor of your own home!

Click the tile to the right to watch the free video tutorial, or see written instructions below.
 

Supplies

**Clock
**Medium weight fabric (denim, canvas, duck cloth)
**Masking tape
**Temporary spray adhesive
**Permanent spray adhesive or double-sided tape
**Screwdriver

Designs used

Click here to see all Clock Face designs

You can find clocks at most home furnishing stores and discount chains -- like Target or Wal-Mart.

First, measure the face of the clock to determine which size of the design you will need.


 

Prepare the fabric and stabilizer.

When selecting fabric, choose something sturdy, like denim, canvas or duck cloth. Back the fabric with a piece of medium-weight cutaway stabilizer.

Spray a quick shot of the temporary spray adhesive onto the stabilizer.

Smooth the fabric on top of the stabilizer. This helps to keep the two together nice and tight during the embroidery.

Hoop the fabric and stabilizer.

If you're working with a clock design that is not split, then embroider the design as usual.

If you are working with a split clock, then follow the next six steps:

1.  Embroider the left side of the design. At the end of the design a cross mark will sew. We will use this mark a little later on for aligning the right side of the design.

2.  Remove the hoop from the machine. We'll rehoop the fabric to embroider the right side.

To do this, lay masking tape on the inside of the hoop along the top and bottom.

Leave a few inches of excess tape on the right side.

3.  Unhoop the fabric and lay the tape flat.

4.  Rehoop the fabric with the crosshair close to the center of the fabric.

Use the masking tape to align the top and bottom of the hoop when rehooping the fabric.

5.  Attach the hoop to your machine and load the right side of the design. Move the needle over the crosshair and lower it so that it's perfectly aligned over the crosshair.

6.  Begin embroidering the design. Another cross mark will sew directly over the existing cross mark and then the rest of the design will sew.

Now, take the clock apart.

On the backside, you will find small screws--unscrew them, and gently remove the clock face from the outer frame.

Then remove the clock hands. They're pliable, so to avoid bending them, apply slow, steady and even pressure to the hands. Pull them gently straight away from the face.

On the embroidered piece, remove the crosshair stitching by cutting it and pulling it away.

Now we will mark and cut a hole in the center of the fabric to allow the stem of the clock to poke through. Measure the width of the design, divide by two and make a mark.

Measure the height of the design , divide by two and make a mark.

With a small scissors, cut a small hole in the fabric.

If you're working with a clock that has a satin ring in the center, you can trim the inside of the ring, rather than finding and marking the center.

Align the hole in the fabric, right side up, with stem on the clock.

Flip the clock and the fabric over and trace the clock shape.

Remove the fabric from the clock and cut out the shape.

Use double-sided tape or permanent spray adhesive on the back side of the embroidery and smooth it over the old clock face.

Carefully add the hands back onto the clock.

Add the clock face to the outer frame and screw it back into place.

And there it is, a new and improved clock face with your very own personal touch.

Click here for a printable version of these project instructions.

You'll need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you don't have it, you can download a free copy by clicking on the icon below.