Tuesday, February 3, 2015

My Valentine's Gift for You

Copyright Pink Doxies-Artistry by Donna Young

Paper Pieced Heart Pattern

How do you give a Valentine to all your Dear Friends-- 
when you've never met most of them, 
and many live on the other side of the world?

Hmmm?


I've thought a long while about this, 
and decided to give you my Heart--
(or at least the pattern!)

And while it is not Valentine's Day yet, 
a few people said they would like the pattern 
to make in time for the big day. 
So, here you go!

This little project happened one morning over coffee. 
It was a quick thought out of the blue, and I hurried 
to draw it up on graph paper. That might account 
for the pencil drawings. 
Pretty it's not--Easy it is!

It requires some basic paper piecing knowledge. 
Haven't tried that? 
Look up a tutorial almost anywhere.
It's a wonderful way to use up your scraps, 
while investing an hour of precious time.


The sample at the top was made by a talented friend.
She added the machine embroidery, 
and a little batting to give it a 3 D effect,
I think it's icing on the cake!
Another friend suggested doing a row of three.

This is mine.
I made it fairly simple on a grey quilter's linen.


 

Hand embroidery is not my strong suit, 
but I will be practicing now.

Tricks to Share

I made a simple casing out of the length of fabric I 
started with. Think of sewing a pillowcase.
Sew the side seams, and trim corners.
To get nice straight edges when you turn it,
use your long ruler as a pressing aid for the sides.
A shorter or square ruler fits inside to press
the bottom edge.





Press the corners of the flap in at a slight angle.
This will save you the grief of seeing them pop out 
from the back when it's sewn down.


Turn the top edge down, but do not press. 
Now you have a nice rolled edge for the top.


Prettier that a dowel rod, I pressed some idle 
knitting needles into service.



Click on the link under the top picture. 
It should download for you.
It's an Adobe file in pdf, and you will 
need Adobe Reader to open it.


Seam allowances are NOT included on the pattern.
I happen to like scant 1/4" seam allowances, but others prefer a little larger when piecing. 

Therefore, add your own when 
trimming each section.

The rest of the directions are included in the pattern.
I'd love to see your projects!

From all the Doxie Girls and me--
Happy Valentine's Day to All!

Come on, Doxie Girls. 
Let's go sew.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Love your Valentine to all of us. Thanks. You are so creative! It encourages me to try something totally new and different. I seem to be stuck right now.....too much of everything all over my sewing room. Ugh!

Marcy said...

A fun Valentine to make. The embroidery touch makes it perfect and it's just enough.

Jayne said...

What a sweet heart! Nothing better than creativity from scraps to knitting needles!

evaj said...

Åh vilket vackert hjärta du INSPIRERA med på Visa och Berätta måndag.JulieTack för din länkning dit/Kram Bambi

Angie in SoCal said...

Thank you, Julie.

Podunk Pretties said...

So sweet with the added touch of embroidery, thanks!

Marly said...

Lovely. Thank you.

Lorna McMahon said...

You are such a sweet heart! Thanks for sharing!

Maryse said...

That's very cute!

Kim said...

Aww....thank you for your Valentine heart, 'tis very sweet!

Heidi said...

I adore this precious message - thank you for sharing!

Cathy said...

Such a sweet little heart. Thanks for sharing!

Terri said...

Thank you for sharing your pattern. I love paper piecing and think this would make a great valentine mug rug.
Hugs

legato1958 said...

Thank you so much for this beautiful pattern! I love the sentiment, and your display of the finished block!
Susie

MegsAnn said...

This would make a cute pillow or bag. Well done! www.quiltartbymegan.com