Happy Heart Ornament Tutorial

I’ve got a fun little ornament tutorial for you today! I am going to show you the basic version today, but then I have a couple other patchwork and pieced versions as well I will be sharing over the next couple days. I hope that this cute little heart can act as a blank canvas for your creativity to shine!

You can sew these by machine, or by hand for a lovely little handwork project! I’ve been really enjoying small, slow stitching, handwork projects recently. They would even be a great first project for getting a kiddo into sewing! I can’t wait to see what you make!

DOWNLOAD THE HAPPY HEART ORNAMENT PATTERN HERE

You Will Need

• Fabric scraps, at least 4.5″ wide by 3.5″ tall
• Scrap yarn or embroidery floss for hanger
• Hand sewing needles (Anything like this works*)
• Matching thread
• Pins (These are my favorite*)
• Scissors (These are my favorites*)
• Stuffing (I like to use wool stuffing*)
• Fabric marking pen or pencil (I use Frixion*)

Optional Supplies

• Sewing machine
• Quilting or other ruler for marking seam allowance if sewing by hand (I use a little one like this to mark around the shape*)
• Pom Pom maker (I just ordered this set and love them!*)
• Sharp tapestry needle (For adding yarn hanger and/or Pom Pom. Something like this.*)
• Chopstick for turning

1. Download the pattern printable and cut out the heart. Use your marking pencil or pen to trace the heart onto your fabric.

2. Carefully cut out heart. I cut two layers of fabric at the same time and put a couple pins in them to keep the layers from shifting as I cut.

3. Make sure you mark the start and stop sewing marks on the sides of the “Leave Open” section from the pattern. Alternately you can put pins in the heart at the start and stop spots. If you are going to be hand sewing the heart, use your quilting ruler to mark a 1/4″ seam allowance around the edge of the heart.

4. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance sew around the heart (either by hand or machine). Be sure to start sewing on one side of the “Leave Open” section and stop sewing on the other side of the “Leave Open” section. When sewing the curves of the heart on a machine go slowly and just sew a few stitches, lift your presser foot to adjust to the curve, and then sew a few more stitches until you get around both curves.

5. Once you have sewn the two sides together, use your scissors to trim right up to the seam (but not through it) in the dip on the top of the heart. I end up removing most of the seam allowance here to make the point lay flat once turned.

6. Once you have cut down to the point, snip a few more spots around both of the curves to help the seam lay flat once turned. Make sure to trim to the seam, but not through the seam! (I say this from much experience…)

7. I like to trim the seam allowance off from the bottom point of the heart as well to help it be pointy once turned. Again, trim to the seam but not through it!

8. Turn the heart right side out.

9. It is a little hard to see in the photo, but I run a chopstick along all the seams of the heart to help shape the heart once turned.

10. Turn the “Leave Open” section 1/4″ in and use your fingers to press the seam. You can also use an iron, but I find finger pressing generally does the trick.

11. Stuff your heart! You can use a chopstick to get the stuffing into the curves and point. I just use my fingers.

12. Once your heart is stuffed use a matching thread and a ladder stitch (or your preferred method) to close the seam.

If you don’t want to add a Pom Pom you’re done! Just cut a 8″ piece or so of scrap yarn or embroidery floss (I use all 6 strands) and thread it through the dip in the top of the heart and then knot it to make a hanger for your ornament.

13. Make your Pom Pom! I am going to show you how to make a Pom Pom with my style of maker, but your Pom Pom maker may be different. You can also google how to make a Pom Pom with a piece of cardboard or even a fork if you prefer.

Open up one side of the Pom Pom maker and wrap your yarn around the arc. I make sure my wraps snug up with each other and do a few layer passes of the arc.

14. Once finished wrapping this side of the Pom Pom maker, trim you yarn.

15. Repeat on the opposite side of the Pom Pom maker, again snugging up the loops to each other and doing a few passes over the arc.

16. Once you are happy with how the sides of your Pom Pom maker look, use your scissors to cut the center of the yarn on each half of the maker.

17. Repeat on both sides of the maker. This is what the sides will look like once cut. Make sure to watch for any stragglers that didn’t quite get trimmed.

18. Cut a decent length of yarn, 18″ or so. You will tie the Pom Pom with this yarn, but you want it long enough to make the hanger for your heart as well. (You can always make it shorter but you can’t make the yarn longer if you cut it too short!)

19. Wrap the just cut piece of yarn around the center of the cut Pom Pom yarn. (You will want one side of this yarn you are tying with to be long for the hanger, and one short since it will get trimmed off once the Pom Pom is tied.)

20. Pull the yarn to the other side of the maker.

21. Tie the two ends very snuggly in a knot. You want the knot as tight as you can make it to hold the little cut pieces of yarn that make the pom in place. You will want to knot the ends a couple more times, I generally do three knots total.

22. Now, open up both sides of the Pom Pom maker.

23. And pull the two sides apart to release your Pom Pom.

24. Use your hands to roll the Pom Pom between your palms to shape it into a ball. Kind of like rolling a clay ball.

25. There will be some obvious long strands that need trimming.

26. Use your scissors to trim off the long strands. Then eyeball the Pom Pom as you turn it in your hands and use your scissors to trim the yarn and shape it into a nice round ball. Make sure not to trim the long end of the yarn you used to tie the Pom Pom. You will use that long end to make the hanger.

27. Tah-dah! Happy Pom Pom!

28. Thread the long end of your Pom Pom tie through a sharp ended tapestry needle. You can use one of those handy needle threaders thingies* to get the yarn through the eye if you want. I have just discovered needle threaders and now use them all the time!

29. Start the needle into the bottom point of the heart. Bonus points if you can get it into the seam, but no biggie if you miss.

30. Pull the tip of the needle up to the top dip in the heart, aiming for one side and not the seam this time.

31. Gently thread the length of the yarn up to the top of the heart so that the Pom Pom snugs up to the bottom point of the heart, how it will be once finished. (You could even let the Pom Pom hang down a little bit from the bottom of the heart, whatever you want! You just want to know how much yarn you have at this point so that you can determine the length of the hanger.)

32. Pass the needle back down into the heart, preferably on the opposite side that the yarn came through when it came up from the bottom point.

33. Pull the needle out by the Pom Pom, near to where you started threading the yarn through in Step 29.

34. As you pull the yarn down, use your finger to determine how long you want the hanger.

35. Once you are happy with your hanger length, knot the yarn on the bottom of the heart so that the Pom Pom will cover the knot. It is ok if the Pom Pom pulls out a little bit and the hanger isn’t the final length. You will adjust that once are finished and have trimmed your yarn.

36. Once your end is knotted use your needle to hide the end of the yarn to the inside of your heart.

37. Pull the yarn taut and use your scissors to trim it flush with the heart.

38. Gently pull the hanger to adjust the yarn and snug the Pom Pom back up to the bottom point of the heart.

39. Finished adorable heart ornament, huzzah! You’re amazing!!

Now make a whole bunch! Being the fairly crazy person that I am, I told my boys that I would make these for all of the students and staff in their two classes. Turns out I am going to need 40-50. Good thing they are super quick and I still have 14 days until Valentine’s Day!!

I am so excited to see what you guys make with this very basic tutorial! I will be posting three more versions of this ornament this week to help get your creative juices flowing. If you want to help spread the love and make a heart I would love if you use the hashtag #B’sHappyHeartOrnament on social media so I can find your amazing makes.

Here are all of the links from this series:

Tutorial #2: The Patchwork Happy Heart Ornament

Tutorial #3: The Improv Pieced Happy Heart Ornament

Tutorial #4: The Sashiko/Boro Inspired Happy Heart Ornament

Happy Sewing!

*Links marked with * are affiliate links that I may earn a small commission from at no cost to you in order to help me keep my blog and free tutorials like this one going.