Pieced Heart Valentine Tutorial

Do you want to make a special (but simple!) Valentine for your loved ones, and do some scrap busting at the same time? This is the perfect project! Here’s what you’ll need:

-Blank greeting card (plus a little extra heavy paper) or heavyweight cardstock or bristol (watercolor paper is great, or something with a little texture)

-scraps of pink and red-toned fabric (or, why not make a green Valentine?)

-sewing machine or hand stitching supplies (especially contrast thread)

-glue or glue stick is helpful

Step 1: Prepare your card to the desired size and measure to find the middle of the front of the card. Draw your heart lightly with pencil, and then cut with an Exacto knife (or free-form cut if you’re feeling bold).

Step 2: Cut your scraps into long strips and sew together piece-by-piece, with right sides facing. The length of the strips will depend on how many cards you’re doing. If just doing one, you only need the strips to be long enough to cover your heart, plus about 1/2 inch. If you’re planning to do multiple cards keep the strips long and then cut into sections once they’re pieced. Press your piecing flat.

Step 3: Arrange your fabrics as you would like them on the inside of the card, with the finished side facing through the heart cutout. Make sure you have at least 1/4″ of fabric all the way around the edges of the heart. If you have glue handy, apply a couple dots to hold the fabric in place.

Step 4: cut an extra piece of paper about 1/4″ larger (on all sides) than your square of pieced fabric. Place this over the raw side of the piecing on the inside of the card, and dot glue at the corners to hold in place.

Step 5: starting at the bottom, stitch around your heart about 1/8″ from the edge of the cutout. Do not backstitch at the beginning and end, and keep the thread tails long. When you have finished stitching, open up the card, and using a pin, pull the thread tails to the inside of the card. Tie in a knot and clip close to the knot.