Valentine's Day Make

So, it has come around again:Valentine's Day. I am not a massive Valentiney person, I prefer a nice meal out when it would not be busy and overpriced and to be shown the love in non-material ways. Of course, a little thoughtful something is always nice though and this morning (well, last night) I got a lovely heartfelt card, some favourite chocolatey things and a DS game I was looking at in the shop the other week- I was pretty surprised and very happy.

Anyway, I wanted to share something that I made yesterday as a little Valentine's idea (obviously a bit late for this year now!) or just a cute decoration for your house. Here it is:

It is very simple, not time consuming at all really, and fairly cheap to make.
You will need:
3 or 4 pieces of felt in different colours
Matching threads (or contrasting if you are ok with visible stitching :) )
Needles
Some wool or coloured embroidery thread/ string
Beads

Start by cutting strips of felt you want them about 9cm by 2cm and in matching pairs colourwise. I did 3 red, 2 white and 1 each of blue and green. Pair them up, checking they are the same size, and if not trimming accordingly, and then stitch one end together across the short edge. I used a running stitch and went over it twice for security.

Now, get hold of the other ends and pull them apart, looping them around so they meet again but with the two prior outer edges now facing together. You should have a heart shape. Now stitch along this line too and trim any excess felt from the end. Repeat this until you have made as many hearts as you like. Now you have the main part done, you want to organise how the finished piece will look. Lay the hearts out, one under the other, until you have a pattern you are happy with. It can be completely random, or sequential.

Then get a needle with an eye large enough to pop your wool or embroidery thread (ribbon is too thick for this, so stick with one of the above) and pop the wool/ thread on. Leave it attached to the ball for the time being, or else cut a long length, so you definitely have enough. Now, starting with the bottom heart, push the needle through the centre of the bottom seam, towards the top of the heart. Then push through the centre of the top seam, where the indent of the heart is.  The heart should now be threaded on the string. Add some beads (I used 3 after each heart) and then repeat this until all of the hearts are on the string, remembering to add beads each time. Once you get to the end, pull up enough wool/ thread to make a nice large slipknot for hanging it up. Cut off the bottom of the string, with a small amount to spare, and add a bead and tie a knot to prevent everything falling off.

And that is it. It took me about an hour in total, including the cutting and sewing, so not too time consuming, but a very pretty result!

Happy Valentine's Day!