Embroidery Projects

DIY Embroidered Necklace with a Mini Embroidery Hoop

Make an embroidered necklace with a mini embroidery hoop: choose a small motif, fine fabric and a neat back finish.

By Alyssa Westhoek · Updated on 19 August 2026

Geborduurde ketting met mini-borduurring en groen bladmotief
Someone is wearing a light blue shirt with a chain from which hangs an oval pendant with green leaves embroidered on it.

Are you looking for an original accessory that you can make yourself? With a mini embroidery hoop, a little thread and a small piece of fabric you can create a unique, handmade necklace in no time. Perfect as a gift, a personal detail to an outfit or simply as a mini creative project for in between!

What do you need?

Digital patterns
learn to embroider

Step by step

This is how you make an embroidered necklace

Follow the steps carefully in order. This way your project remains clear and you get a better end result.

  1. Preparing the fabric

    Place the back of the mini embroidery hoop on the linen fabric. Draw the outline with a water-soluble marker. This is your work area – keep your embroidery within these lines.

    A hand draws the outline of an oval-shaped piece of wood on a piece of beige fabric with a pen, in preparation for making a charming hair bow.

  2. Embroidery

    Choose a motif that fits within your hoop and embroider it within the marked area.

    Two hands hold a piece of light fabric with a small cross-stitch pattern of green leaves in the center, resembling the delicate detail of a hair bow. The background is plain and white.

  3. Cutting & preparing

    Cut out the embroidered piece with approximately 1 cm margin all around. Place the back of the hoop behind the embroidery.

    A hand applies white glue from a bottle to a round, flat, beige piece of cardboard, preparing the surface to attach a decorative hair bow on a plain white background.

  4. Gluing

    Fold the fabric edges neatly inwards and glue them in place with fabric glue. Make sure everything is tight and smooth.

    An embroidery kit with an oval wooden frame, beige fabric, a screw, two small nuts and a charming hair bow, neatly arranged on a white surface.

  5. Assemble

    Place the whole thing in the embroidery hoop and tighten the screw firmly so that everything stays in place.

    A hand holds a small oval embroidery hoop, depicting green cross-stitch leaves on light fabric, next to a delicate hair bow.

  6. Attach chain

    Attach a jump ring to the metal eye of the ring. Attach the second jump ring to it and click it onto the chain.

    An oval pendant necklace with a small embroidered green fern on beige fabric, framed with light wood, with a delicate silver chain. Perfect to combine with a matching hair bow for a charming, nature-inspired look.

Additional tips

  • Make multiple pendants and alternate them on the same chain.
  • Paint the embroidery hoop before you use it.

A mini embroidery hoop requires mini choices

With an embroidered necklace, everything is small: your fabric, your motif and your finishing. That makes it cute, but also precise. Choose a design with few colors and clear shapes, so that it remains recognizable from a distance.

  • Choose fine fabric which stays tightly in the mini-ring.
  • Use short lengths of thread so that the back does not become thick.
  • Check the pendant from a distance before finalizing it.
  • Finish the back with felt, cardboard or a suitable back plate.

An initial, small flower or simple leaf often works better than a design with many details. On such a small surface, clarity almost always trumps complexity.

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