Easy Valentine's Tutorial

I decided to 'whip' something up for Poppet for Valentine's Day today. Something she can carry in her pocket when she's missing me. Thankfully those teary days seem to be behind us, but she still needs some reassurance at times. Of course, it had to be a heart. 

Here's how to make one if you fancy...

 

You'll need some felt in red, white and pink (though any fabric would work), some embroidery floss and a bit of stuffing, some scissors (I used my pinking shears) and a needle. I also used a water soluble marker.

Draw yourself a couple of hearts (two sizes) on some paper and cut them out for templates.

On your red felt, mark out two of the larger heart shapes and cut them out. Do the same with the smaller heart on the white felt, but you will only need one of these. Next, cut a couple of little circles for cheeks. 

On the white heart, you can use your marker to draw some stitching lines for the eyes and mouth and face. 

Using some pink embroidery thread and a running stitch, sew around the face outline and then attach the cheeks using a cross stitch or similar. 

Change to a black or brown thread and do some crosses for the eyes. It's best to do each eye separately so you don't see a thread running behind the white felt. Now, it's time for some red thread to make a mouth.

After you've finished the face, keep using the red thread to stitch the face to the front of the heart. Feel free to use some pins to hold the two pieces together. I used a running stitch again. Once that is done, you can moisten a cotton bud (or Q-Tip if you're in North America) and gently wipe off the blue ink.

Change to a white thread and stitch the front and back hearts together, remembering to keep an opening for stuffing, about an inch is good. Fill up your heart and then stitch the gap closed. Voila.

I also embroidered Poppet's name on the reverse, just in case it falls out of her pocket. You could also stitch a ribbon into the top seam so you could hang the heart above your bed. This is certainly a project which a child could manage with a little help. If you have a go at making your own heart I would love to see the results. Maybe you could post a pic on my Facebook page.

Either way, Happy Valentine's Day! (if you're into that kind of thing)...