Hanging Heart Decoration
Hearts represent love, friendship, family and the home; as such they never go out of fashion. With the right choice of colours and fabric they can suit any person, home and occasion, they make great gifts too. Add some pot-pourri with the filling and they make lovely scented hanging hearts to hang in a wardrobe, tucked in a drawer between clothes or just hanging in a room adding a gentle fragrance. They also look great as Christmas decorations too, hanging on the tree or joined together to make a swag.
You will need:
Basic sewing equipment (needle, pins, scissors, thread etc)
Sewing Machine (optional)
Paper, pencil, ruler & scissors
Heart template or draw your own for a less formal look
Ribbon or natural twine
Fray check (to stop ribbon fraying)
Buttons (optional)
Toy filling
Pot-pourri (for scented version)
What to do
1. Either draw round a heart template on a piece of paper (I'm using a cookie cutter) or draw a heart freehand for a less formal look (there's some pics of this version lower down the page), remembering to add a ¼ inch seam allowance. Cut out the paper template.
2. Fold fabric in half (right sides together) and pin the template to the two fabrics. Cut around the paper template.
3. Remove paper template and re-pin the hearts together (right sides facing).
4. Cut either a length of ribbon or twine to make the hanging loop (if using twine or very thin ribbon, tie the ends together, this will make it more secure). Fold in half (loop) roll up from the folded end and pin to the inside of the hearts making sure that the ribbon/twine is not near the edges and that the two ends are sticking out of the centre dip. Re-pin the two hearts with the ribbon sandwiched between them.
5. Either by hand (backstitch) or machine-sew around the heart using a ¼ inch seam allowance and leaving an inch or so for turning the heart the right way around. Snip the thread ends but leave one long thread for sewing the opening closed.
6. Remove pins and turn the heart the right way around, easing the point with the rubber end of a pencil/a knitting needle etc.
7. Carefully stuff the heart gently poking it to the edges with your finger or rubber end of a pencil etc. (if making a scented hanging heart, add a little pot-pourri with the filling)
8. Fold the seams to the inside of the hole and pin together.
9. Using the attached thread close the opening with slip stitches adding a little more filling if needed.
10. Sew on a button or bow (cut a piece of ribbon and tie it into a bow at the base of the ribbon loop where it joins the heart. Trim the ends and dab a little fray-check on the ends to help prevent fraying.)
11. Hang-up your heart and admire your handiwork.
And here's a run-through of how I made the hand-drawn rustic heart - it's basically the same, but I drew the template freehand, and used twine instead of ribbon.
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