Patchwork Happy Heart Ornament Tutorial

I’m back today with a variation on the Happy Heart Ornament I shared with you yesterday, yeah! I frequently cut my scraps into 2.5″ squares that I put in a container to have ready to go and am always on the look out for good 2.5″ square patterns. Plus, I love mini charm packs! I made an ornament with a few of those squares while I was working on the heart ornament pattern and loved how it came out, so I thought I would share how to make it with you guys! This tutorial is going to be very similar to the one I posted yesterday, but I know sometimes you need to see things exactly to help when making something.

DOWNLOAD THE HAPPY HEART ORNAMENT PATTERN HERE

You Will Need

• (8) or more 2.5″ Fabric Squares /a Mini Charm Pack/leftovers from a Jelly Roll cut to 2.5″
• Scrap yarn for hanger
• Hand sewing needles (Anything like this works*)
• Thread for closing the heart
• 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*)
• Sewing machine+ needles/thread/etc

• Sharp tapestry needle (For adding yarn hanger. Something like this.*)

• Chopstick for turning

1. Download and cut out the heart pattern from the above link. Pick (4) 2.5″ squares to go together for one side of the ornament. I ended up alternating a “darker” shade of pink and a white background with pink fabric for all of my ornaments. I just liked how it looked, but there are definitely any billion of fabric combos that would look great.

2. I did use my little 2.5″ Creative Grids ruler* to help me fussy cut these little doxies. If you can see in the photo the ruler has a very handy 1/4″ dotted line that helps with the placement of the fussy cut. Also, I totally love fussy cutting!

3. This is still a great scrappy project! I had these triangles leftover from cutting corners on another project. They were not *quite* big enough to be full 2.5″ squares, but the one side was big enough to match up with the other 2.5″ squares where I would be sewing them together.

4. I was able to place them where I knew that section of fabric would be cut off with the heart shape anyway, and it came out great. You don’t have to use full 2.5″ squares if you have scraps that are close like I had. You can place the heart pattern onto your fabrics to determine if you can use whatever scraps you have. The only spot that needs to be the full 4.5″ you will get with the patchwork square is the widest part of the center of the heart. Every where else there will be wiggle room.

5. Use a 1/4″ seam allowance on your machine and sew the two rows of squares together.

6. Once you have sewn your squares together press them so that the top seam goes one direction and the bottom seams goes the other direction. In this case I pressed the top to the right and bottom to the left. I just winged it for these, you can pick whatever direction works best for your fabrics. The main thing is just that they go opposite directions so that the seams will “nest” in the next step.

7. Match up the center seams. With the seams pressed the opposite directions in the last step it should make them bump up to each other and match very easily. I like to put a pin in here to hold it in place while I sew. Sew the top and bottom square rows together on your machine using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

8. Once you have sewn the top and bottom together press the seam down.

9. Look at your adorable little patchwork square!

10. If you are really on top of things (I didn’t do this on several of my ornaments) once you get the other side of your heart ornament sewn you can press the center seam up so that the seams will nest when you sew the sides together. (Even on this one you can see my top and bottom seams are going in the same direction. I’m not always very precise on these things and it will be cute and happy no matter what you do.)

11. I like to play around with placement on the little patchwork sides when I am ready to cut. You can aim for the center, or make the heart a little more up to show more of the top fabrics or down for a little extra on the bottom fabrics. I love that doxie fabric so I went with a little more down on this one. You do what you want.

12. I have done this step several ways, but I found it easy to trace the heart on just one of the patchwork pieces and then cut that piece out. You could also pin the two sides facing each other here and cut them both at the same time. Do what works best for you.

13. I just pinned that cut out heart on top of the other full patchwork side to sew them together. You can do it however you want. Whatever you choose, just make sure to mark the sides of the “Leave Open” section onto the fabric as shown on the paper pattern.

14. Sew the two halves together on your machine using a 1/4″ seam allowance. 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 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.

15. Once you are done sewing the two sides together cut the full patchwork side into the heart shape (if you haven’t already).

16. 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. Then 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!

17. 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!

18. Turn the heart right side out.

19. I run a chopstick along all the seams of the heart to help shape the heart.

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

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

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

23. Thread one end of your yarn through your sharp tapestry needle (you can use a needle threader* to help get the yarn through the eye if that is helpful). Pass the needle through one side of the dip of the heart and then out the other side. You don’t want to be too far down in the heart, but you don’t want to be so close to the seam it puts unnecessary pressure on the seam. Use your best judgement and it will be great!

24. I cut the yarn once I have passed it through the heart so I can eyeball about how long I want the hanger to be. Make sure to add an inch or so beyond what looks right to account for the length lost to the knot. (Also, a friend of mine gave me these scissors last year and I am in love! If you haven’t seen or used the Karen Kay Buckley Perfect Scissors do yourself a favor and buy a pair*. They are my go to gift for sewers and crafters now! I bought all the other sizes too after receiving these little green ones.)

25. Tie your yarn in a knot. I like to knot it twice.

26. Tah-dah! Finished adorable patchwork heart ornament! How cute is this and how awesome are you for making it?!

This is the back of this one.

I flipped all of the ones from the first photo over so you could enjoy all of the patchwork-y goodness! I love how simple these are and how fun they come out. You could totally add a Pom Pom to the bottom (or even top with the hanger) like I did on the original tutorial. A wooden bead or a little wool felt ball and tassel would be amazing too. The possibilities are endless!!

I cannot wait to see what you guys make! If you share a photo on social media please use the hashtag #B’sHappyHeartOrnament so I can find it! I will be back tomorrow with another variation on the pattern I hope you will enjoy. Tomorrow we will use even smaller scraps then these 2.5″ squares!

Here are all of the links from this series:

Tutorial #1: The 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.