I’ve been collecting old wood embroidery hoops from Goodwill for months knowing I would eventually come up with a project. That project turned out to be armillary spheres!  

An armillary sphere is a celestial globe consisting of a series of interlocking rings that early astronomers used to determine the position of stars. My version is strictly decorative.  

Women have been embroidering since the beginning of time. Cross stitch was popular during the 1980s and when it went out of style, so did the need for embroidery hoops. They come in many sizes and sell for less than a dollar at Goodwill.  

I used two hoops (each hoop has an inside and outside circle) for each sphere a four inch, five inch, and eight inch. Any size will work.  

Put one inside circle around the other inside circle. Then add the two outer circles. It will be a tight fit, but they will stay together without any glue.  

I like the natural color of the wood hoops, but you can stain or paint them to match your décor. I also made three because a grouping in odd numbers always looks best.   Stay tuned, I’ll have more projects with embroidery hoops later this year.