I created this heart garland tutorial for those of you looking for a quick and easy valentines craft. Made with scraps of felt and an old fleece sweatshirt destined for the thrift store, it's the perfect decoration for your mantel or window this valentines day. I used a sewing machine but if you have the time you can sew this by hand.
You will need ...
Felt or other scrap fabric, Fleece for the filler layer, Matching thread, Scissors, Hot glue or fabric glue, Twine and Sewing needles.
Making the Hearts
Firstly draw a heart on a piece of paper either freehand or by folding the paper in half first and drawing half a heart on the fold as I did here. The heart can be any size you want, mine are approximately 3 x 3 inches. Cut out and use this as a template to mark out the hearts on the felt. I cut out 6 for the garland I made which is about 4 feet long when finished.
Once you have cut out all your hearts place them with the marker side down onto another square of felt sandwiching a piece of the fleece in between as shown above. Pin in place.
Stitch around the entire edge of the heart. I used a sewing machine as it's quick but you can hand stitch if you prefer. If you don't have any thick fleece type material on hand you can also make these without that extra layer, your finished heart just won't be so puffy.
Once you have sewn all the hearts the next step is to cut away the excess fabric of the bottom two layers.
Making the Pompoms
Draw a circle with approximately a 1.25 inch diameter onto paper and cut this out to make a template. I used the lid of my vitamins to draw around. Use this template to cut out the felt circles. For each pompom you will need 10 circles, so a total of 50 for this garland.
Start by folding each circle in half and add a dab of glue to secure. I used hot glue but fabric glue will also work it just may take longer to dry. Then fold in half again and glue together.
Hold the folded circles in place while the glue dries or place a clip or peg to hold them as I did. Once the glue is dry you can start to assemble the pompoms.
Hold the pointy end of one folded circle between your finger and thumb, then push the needle through and secure the thread with a knot.
Attach the remaining nine folded circles in the same way. Take the thread and sew it back through the first one to form a ring of the folded circles. Secure the thread with a knot and fluff out the pompom. To keep the shape I added a few spots of hot glue between the ruffles.
Finally, using a wide eyed needle and twine, string the hearts and pompoms together. Make a loop at each end of the twine for easy hanging.
A cute splash of colour to add some love to your home. I made this for Valentines but it would also be perfect for a bridal or baby shower or even a pretty year round accent.
I hope you enjoyed this free tutorial? If you make a Heart Garland I'd love to see it. Tag me on Instagram @thescarlettstudio.
Happy Making!
Karen xo