What better way to share your love than with a project you’ve put your heart and soul in to? With several embroidery designs, you can either choose your favourite or mix and match to create your own variation. The stitches used on the hearts are satin, chain and split stitch, all of which are quick and easy to do. Embroidery is a timeless art, meaning these hearts can be treasured for years to come. Use scraps from your work basket, and make a beautiful gift without breaking the bank.
Make a rose heart
Download the templates and print out. Trace the large heart shape and wording ‘To my Valentine’ onto a vintage napkin or similar piece of linen, trying to incorporate any existing embroidery on the fabric within the boundaries of the design.
Place the fabric in an embroidery hoop and fill in all the lettering in satin stitch, using three strands of thread: use Lavender for the words ‘To my’ and the small diamond on the ‘V’, and use Wineberry for the word ‘Valentine’. To make the lettering really sumptuous, use padded satin stitch.
Create ribbon roses following the panel opposite in dark pink for the lower two flowers and lighter pink for the remaining one. For the stems and leaves, use stitch below the largest rose, to form a short stem, then sew two more straight stitches, joining this rose to each of the other two. Add detached chain, also known as lazy daisy, stitches to form leaves, using the photograph of the finished heart as a guide.
Remove the fabric from the hoop, place face down, and press lightly on the reverse with a hot iron, taking care not to flatten the embroidery stitches. Cut out the heart shape, following the line you transferred in step 1.
Place the embroidered heart shape face down on a piece of plain or patterned fabric, pin and stitch the two fabrics together 1cm from the cut edge using back stitch (or a sewing machine). Cut away the excess backing fabric and snip into the seam allowance on all curved edges. Turn right side out and stuff using fibre filling, dried lavender, or a mixture of both. Turn in the raw edges by 1cm on the opening, and slip stitch the folded edges together.
Stitch a moustache heart
Trace the wording ‘Love me, love