Here's a fun and different Valentine garland made with machine-sewn felt hearts and pompoms hand-sewn together.
I got the idea from this picture-only tutorial on
Pinterest, (it was actually in Chinese I think...) and I thought it was so cute and relatively easy to teach some of my beginning sewing students. I will try to duplicate it and provide my own tutorial.
Supplies you will need for approximate 48" garland:
* one 9"x12" piece of red craft felt
* pink pompoms, pink sparkle pompoms, white pompoms (or any combinations of pompoms you'd like)
* 2 yds white craft floss (not shown)
Start by marking off your piece of felt. I use soap chips for marking. Divide it in half longways ("hot dog" way - my kids call it - as opposed to shortways which would be "hamburger" way). Then divide the 12" side into 12 one-inch sections.
Should look like this.
Cut it in half longways so that you have two rows of twelve strips.
Lay the two pieces together, striped sides facing each other. You will sew them together, stripes inside.
With a short stitch length of about "2", stitch about 1/8" from the edge of the fabric. (You will not be backstitching at all - that's why the length is so short - it won't come apart when you cut it later).
This first seam will be the one in the middle of the heart, that makes the point.
Open up this first seam.
Now fold it the other way - keeping your stripes on the outside and your first seam on the inside.
Sew your second seam, same as the first. This seam will make the bottom point of the heart.
After you have sewn this second seam, you can now cut your hearts. Cut on the marked lines, through both layers of fabric. The shape that falls down is your heart! Cut twelve of them, as marked.
I also made some smaller hearts for variety. All you have to do for this is divide the felt piece into four sections longways (instead of just dividing it in half). Then cut four strips (two pairs) of stripe sections. Sew together the same as above. The hearts will just be shorter.
I played with different ways to line them up. You could do lots of things with these 3-D hearts.
A hairbow? Maybe some other time...
Take your 2-yd piece of craft floss and thread it through a larger than normal needle (mine was a cotton darner size 1/5). No need to tie a knot yet. Thread it through a pompom. Pull it to the end, leaving about a 6" tail. Then thread your needle through a heart.
I kind of eye-balled that the thread/floss would hit just under the top point of the heart. You can play with it.
You can spread out the top section of your heart to as fat or thin as you want it.
I followed an easy pattern of heart, pompom, heart, pompom. Just alternating pompom colors.
I even did some upside-down hearts for fun.
Here's the finished length of garland. I tied simple balloon knots on the ends so I could hang it. You could join multiple garlands together if you'd like or add ribbons to the end.
Now where to hang it?
On my daughter's door? Then I should make one for everyone's doors...
On the banister? That would look awesome all the way along the whole stairway. Have to make more...
The mantle? That would work too. Especially because my mantel is purple and I love red and purple together. But I still need to make more - it's a long mantel...
I am teaching a group of young women (including my daughter) at church how to sew this basic garland tonight. I just made kits for each girl - it is going to be so much fun!
Could you make this garland with someone you love?
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