Happy hooplas! Lately, when I haven’t been focused on Jewish holidays I’ve been preoccupied with hooplas, or hoop art: fabric art made and framed with embroidery hoops. I love that the embroidery hoop that you work on becomes the frame for your work. It’s charming and sweet and an easy way to display your needlework.

It’s also a great way to create and display a beginner embroidery project. A 4″ or 5″ (10cm or 12.7cm) embroidery hoop makes the perfect size for a project that will take only an hour or two.

You can finish the back by trimming the fabric and gathering it up with embroidery floss or hot gluing it to the frame.

The photo above shows two hoopla projects I created for beginner embroidery workshops: a dove and a hamsa.

Even if you’re an experienced embroiderer, try a little hoopla art for a quick, satisfying project.