Heartfelt Hearts with Children

Invite children to decorate to their heart’s content. This felt sewing project is an opportunity for children to add many decorations. The resulting heart is lovely to hang as decoration or gift to loved ones.

As with all of our projects, be mindful of a child’s abilities and the sharpness of the needle. If you’re using a blunter needle (like a tapestry needle), more layers may be too many layers of felt.

You can also make the heart any size. We recommend not making it a size where the felt becomes floppy and won’t hang straight. You can draw your own pattern on a piece of paper before cutting out of felt. Or we have a heart pattern in Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons.

For any version of the heart, cut out your felt heart shapes. We use crochet thread which doesn’t tangle as easily as embroidery thread. For children, we always put the thread through the eye of the needle, fold in half, then tie slipknot securing both ends together. This prevents the needle from pulling off when they pull the thread taut. The multicolor thread in the photos is due to a variegated thread which changes color on its own.

Use a safety pin to hold the felt hearts together at first. Sew through one piece of felt so the knot will be “sandwiched” between the two felt hearts. Loop around the first stitch so the hearts won’t wiggle (or you can secure with more than one safety pin). Lay a smaller heart on your hearts after a stitch or two.

The direction is to “add decorations, push your needle through, then add decorations.” Repeat and repeat.

Pin the main hearts together with a safety pin. Tie a knot and secure between the two pieces of felt to "hide" the knot. Secure with a stitch to keep from wiggling.

Sew a decoration on one side. Slide the decoration down the thread until it's touching the felt. Then push the needle through to the other side.

Flip the heart over to see the other side. You can take the safety pin out if the hearts are held together with stitches. Place the little heart on the felt to add layers.

Push the needle through the smaller heart and slide it down to rest on the bigger heart. This may be an adult job. Add a decoration or two or three.

Keep decorating and flipping over to decorate more. If the child wraps the thread around the outside of the hearts, that's fine too (within reason).

Tie off the threads and enjoy your heart! The child or adult can sew around the edges. Then tie off or add a loop, and a cute wish, to hang in the window.

A straightforward heart is two pieces of felt with decorations on both sides. Layer together and add decorations.

Tie off and add a loop for hanging somewhere special.

Write a word on a pretty piece of paper to hang with your heart.

These can be strung together to make a garland or mobile. We enjoyed a class collection hanging from the ceiling overhead. They become such expressions of whoever sews them. May your heart’s wish come true!

Upcycled Owl and Cat Treasure Keepers

Upcycled owl and cat treasure keepers by students feature incredible personalities and embellishments. Upcycled means to take one item and use it for another purpose. Worn clothing with holes can become toys. Upcycling is a fun way to repurpose fabric instead of throwing things in the trash.

Any fabric that doesn't fray easily and isn't too stretchy or thick for pushing a needle through it will work fine for fairy crafts. We see every project as an invitation to create. We welcome exuberant self-expression when children sew. The pattern and tutorials for the Owl and Cat Treasure Keepers are in the first Forest Fairy Crafts book. They're a wonderfully fun activity when it's chilly outside. The front decoration is actually a pocket. Perfect for little treasures. Or tooth fairy pillows. The Forest Fairy Crafts book shares patterns, tutorials, and photographs for making your own little critters.

And they’re so cute!