Fabric Hearts Tutorial

 Many years ago, I used up some small scraps of fabrics left in my 'stash',

making little stuffed fabric hearts for my winter + Valentine's Day decor.

Created from remnants of a matlasse' bedspread, burlap,
and a chenille bedspread that reminds me of my Grandma,

I've displayed them in many ways over the years...

These hearts were featured in 2014 in my seasonal decor columns
in two lovely home decorating publications,
Creating Vintage Charm Magazine and JOYful Home & Life online.
(Also in the Winter 2012 issue of FOLK Magazine)

 I'm sharing my simple tutorial for making stuffed fabric hearts
for the month of February here on the blog, too...

Enjoy this 'fast, cheap & easy' TM craft project!

continue reading for tutorial...



Materials:

 Any kind of fabric works for these -

blankets, dishtowels, quilts, fabric remnants from other projects, etc.

That said, burlap is the hardest AND messiest fabric to work with...

you might want to start with regular fabric for your first few hearts.

And if you've been around here awhile, 
you know that I love color as well as neutral tones...
You can make these in ANY COLOR you want to!
White, Red and Pink? Sure! Yellow? Yep! Green? Absolutely!

Let's get started...

Method:

1. Cut a piece of fabric that is @ 6 to 8" wide and 12 to 16" long.

Of course, you can make larger hearts by using more fabric - 
if you use fleece fabric, you could make a dupe of these
cute puffy fleece heart pillows from Pottery Barn:

 2. Fold the fabric over once, then again, to prepare it for cutting into a heart shape.

3. On a piece of regular paper, draw half a heart shape
that will fit the fabric strip size.
You can trace a heart-shaped cookie cutter if you want it perfect!

 4. Fold the paper in half at the middle of the heart.

 5 Cut the heart shape out with sharp scissors.

6. This image is to show you how large the cutout heart is in relation to the fabric.

7. Place the folded heart shape over the previously-folded fabric strip.
Pin in place if you wish.

 8. Cut around the heart shape to cut the fabric.

 9. You will have two identical fabric hearts!

10. If you want to write or stencil a word on your heart,
turn one of the fabric hearts over, write the word...

 11. ...then flip the heart back over, so that the word is between both pieces.

12. Sew the two fabric hearts together, by hand or with a machine.

 13. LEAVE A SPACE UN-SEWN along the bottom of one side
to enable you to stuff the heart.

14. Carefully turn the heart inside-out - you can see the un-sewn area here.

 15. Stuff the heart with polyfil stuffing, paper shred, a plastic bag, etc. -
you can also fill them with lavender, other herb leaves, or scented beads. 

 16.Carefully sew the opening closed, by hand or with a machine.

17. Trim the edge of the sewn seam to neaten it up.
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Then display your hearts everywhere!

Ways to use & display your fabric hearts:

* Pile them in wood or ceramic bowls, open metal urns, or on platters.

 * Add the names of people you love - use them as gift tags,
or place markers at the dinner table.

 * Add them to a wreath on your door, or to your mantel + shelf decor.

 * Add a ribbon loop to the top and hang
on bedroom doorknobs on Valentine's Day.

* Poke a wood skewer into the base of a heart,
then tuck it into a flower bouquet.
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This post originally appeared here on my blog in 2014, but 
I created the hearts shown in these photos way back in 2011.
and I still decorate with them in 2025! 

see MORE of my Valentine's Day decor content here

and more WINTER seasonal decor content here

follow on social media:
  
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Published:

Creating Vintage Charm Magazine 2014 

no longer available
JOYful Home & Life 2014 (online)

FOLK Magazine 2012 (print)

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fabric hearts tutorial