For a while I have wanted to try to make my own felt decorations. I love the look of blanket stitch and the decorative edge that it creates, so I started off with a simple hanging heart in various colours and designs.
I started by re drawing my templates onto cereal box card to make them sturdier, and then drew around them onto sheets of felt.
I layered four red and white hearts on top of each other to make my first design...
...then started to stitch them together using contrasting embroidery thread.
It's fairly easy to stitch small shapes together without using any pins...
...but as the shapes got larger I started to need pins to stop the felt slipping whilst I was sewing.
This is the finished front piece of my first prototype.
I measured out a length of ribbon and made sure that the back piece was the same shape as the front by trimming any stray edges.
I then sewed the ribbon to the back heart making sure that the knot for the stitch was on the inside so it was hidden.
Once the hearts were trimmed I then started to sew around the edge in a contrasting white embroidery thread.
Once I had sewed two thirds of the way around the heart, I left a gap to allow me to stuff it.
I used quilt wadding to stuff my hearts. I was going to use teddy bear stuffing but after finding sheet wadding, I shredded it into manageable chunks and used it to stuff my felt shapes.
Once I was happy with the amount of stuffing I sewed up the gap and casted off my thread at the point where I started. I was fairly pleased with my first prototype, so I kept going to see what else I could create.
I tried different combinations or red and white...
...and also added other piece of decoration such as heart shaped wooden buttons and jingle bells!
Whilst rummaging in my craft store I also found some little felt christmas trees that worked perfectly with my designs! I experimented with using just a single tree...
...and using multiple trees to make a pattern.
I was so pleased with my collection of felt hearts, and I'm looking forward to experimenting more with colours, shapes and designs to see what else I can create!
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