We’re always looking for fun ways to utilize fabric scraps. These vintage quilt valentines are super easy to make using remnants that are too small for larger projects and if you don’t have access to cutter quilts any scrap fabric will work. These valentines are a great sustainable alternative to commercial valentines which often create waste. The technique I use to make these is to create a stencil (rather than to trace around a pattern) so that it is easy to see what the pattern placement will be on the heart before you cut them. The hearts that we made were around 3.5″ wide which is the size of the pattern, but you can easily adjust the sizing as needed. I love the idea of encouraging the receiver to repurpose the hearts after receiving them. They’d make wonderful patches for visible mending or can be combined with other fabric to sew other projects.
Materials:
– vintage quilt fabric
– fabric scissors
– fabric marker (optional)
– cardstock or any scraps of paper
– small safety pins or bulb safety pins (to attach the tags to the hearts)
– heart pattern (download below)
How to make heart valentines using antique quilt fabric:
Step 1: How to use the heart pattern
Print out your pattern (above). Print at 100% for a 3.5″ width heart. Adjust the printing scale % higher or lower to adjust the size of the heart as needed.
Here are some options for using the pattern:
Option 1: Cut the heart pattern out and place the heart on top of the fabric. Trace around the heart with a fabric maker or chalk, then cut each heart out using fabric scissors.
Option 2: Create a stencil by cutting the heart out of the paper while leaving the outside section in-tact. This will make it easy to see what the heart will look like when it is cut out. You can do this with an xacto knife or with scissors. Place the stencil over your fabric and trace inside of the heart cutout with a fabric marker or chalk. Cut out each heart using fabric scissors.
Step 2: How to assemble the heart valentines
1. Cut small rectangles out of your cardstock or scrap paper.
2. Hand write a Valentine’s message. Ours reads “You make my heart skip a stitch”. Punch a small hole on one end and attach with a small safety pin. We used the small bulb type like these
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