The other day, while trying to teach my preschooler about telling time, I looked up to show her a real clock and realized, I don’t have one. Not anywhere in my house. We have come to rely on digital clocks on our phones, computers and appliances around here, which is fine, but when it comes to learning time, an old school analog clock is a must. And in our house the most obvious place to have one is the office/craft room. We spend a lot of time in there and having a clock that doesn’t involve turning on the computer (and getting distracted!) would be a big plus. So of course it had to be crafty, and it had to go with the decorations we already had there, which mostly involve embroidery hoops. So an embroidery hoop clock seemed pretty natural. If your craft area needs a clock, try out this simple, fun, DIY clock for yourself.

Things you’ll need:
Clock kit with hands
Embroidery hoop
Buttons
Thread and needle
Scissors
Fabric
Cardboard
Craft Knife
Pencil

Things to do:
1. Start by tracing the inside of the inner hoop onto your cardboard and cutting it out with the craft knife. Test the fit and adjust as needed. It should fit snugly into the hoop.

2. Stretch the fabric onto the hoop, keeping the excess on for now for later adjusting. Tighten the screw as much as you can.
3. Mark the spots for 12, 3, 6 and 9 with your pencil, keeping them all the same distance in from the edge of the hoop. Stitch the buttons in place (Here we used a double layer of button for these numbers. Stitch smaller buttons in place to represent the remaining numbers.


4. Insert the cardboard into the back, pressing it against the fabric to stabilize
5. Find the center of the circle and cut through both the fabric and cardboard in an x”.

6. Push the pin of the clock through the hole and assemble the hands. Pull the fabric all the way around to check the tightness and trim the excess.