Patchwork Heart
While my mom was visiting me here in Lima we worked on different sewing projects together, one of them was this Patchwork Heart or Corazon de Retazos like my mom called it! It was a nice sewing project to do together and we had fun picking out fabrics and sewing these hearts for each other. We gifted each other these for Valentine’s day! Happy memories in my sewing room!
I am happy to share with you this easy sewing project and my first blog! The instructions are below and there is also a free downloadable pattern!
Materials
10” x 9” base fabric (medium weight like quilting cotton) This fabric will be the background.
Scraps of fabrics, different colors or textures, prints.
Light interfacing for the heart pieces.
Medium weight interfacing for the base fabric.
Thread, scissors, craft glue.
Iron, sewing machine with zigzag stitching.
Embroidery hoop (optional)
Prepare your fabrics by fusing the interfacing on the back side of the fabrics. The hearts will need a light interfacing and the base fabric the medium interfacing. If you only have medium weight fabric, that will work fine for both. Or if you only have light interfacing then add an extra layer to the base fabric.
I start this sewing project by cutting squares of interfacing bigger than the size of each heart piece. Then I also cut squares of fabrics for each heart piece (bigger squares so each pattern fits well inside) Then I fuse the interfacing to the back of the fabric squares and then I trace the heart pattern (whole or half) on the back and then cut. (remember to leave seam allowance in the center line if you cut your hearts in half)
When ready to cut you can either cut the hearts whole (no seam in the middle) You will have 3 hearts, big, medium and small.
Or cut in two pieces (with a seam in the middle) you will have 6 half hearts. In this case you need to add ¼” seam allowance in the center line.
I cut my patchwork heart with 6 different fabrics so I cut them with a seam in the middle. I find it that the hearts had more movement and also I wanted to mix different prints to see how they would look together. Just play and have fun! You can also use different color threads for each heart!
Sewing steps:
If you cut 6 pieces of the hearts, start by joining the seams in the middle by placing each heart piece on the right sides together, run a stitch and iron the seams open.
Now place heart #3 on top of heart #2, using the craft glue, position the heart centered and nicely in the middle. You can use pins to keep it in place. Now using a tight zigzag stitching like for embroidery, run a zigzag stitch all around heart #3.
Repeat the steps with heart #2, place it now on top of heart #1 and zigzag around heart #2.
Your 3 hearts are stacked and two of them are stitched around, give it a good ironing and now you can add your patchwork heart to the fused base fabric so heart #1 can be stitched all around. Place the wrong side of the heart on the right side of the base fabric, use craft glue or pins to keep it in place then stitch heart #1 all around with a zigzag stitch.
Your patchwork is done! If you would like, you can put it in an embroidery hoop so you can hang it to display and enjoy it!
If you cut your hearts whole then skip instruction No.1 and start at No. 2.
I hope this is an easy project to follow and you can enjoy time sewing something for you or someone special!
My mom sew the heart with vintage fabrics (on the right) for me and I sew the heart with pink, blue and purple tones for her. They were our valentine’s day gifts!
Note: There is a reverse way to do this by first stitching the big heart to the base fabric and then stack and stitch the other hearts one by one on top. There are no rules, you can do it either way! The end result is the same.