Valentine Blog Hop: Day 1

What does Valentine's Day mean to you?
Chocolate and red roses?

Candy conversation hearts?

A romantic dinner?

Girls' night? 

We can tell you what it means to us...fun heart and chocolate-themed fabric! 

(Well, okay...actual chocolate is a close second...)

We're starting out this Valentine's week with a few fun tutorials (and of course, a chance to win some fabric!)

Today Jessica from SewCraftyJess is here, sharing a tutorial for making heart garland using Kanvas' Love Is All Around collection. 



Hello!  My name is Jessica and I blog over at SewCraftyJess.  I have been sewing and quilting for almost 5 years now and really enjoy every opportunity I can grab to escape to my sewing room and play with fabric!  I am so excited to be here today sharing a quick and easy bunting to help decorate your space for Valentine's Day.

When Benartex asked if I would be interested in recreating my original version of this tutorial in Valentine's themed fabric, I of course jumped at the chance and chose a few prints from the Love is All Around line.  These fabrics really are beautiful in person, and the extra sparkle detailed in some of the prints add just the right amount of whimsy to make this banner pop.



Read below for full details to make this banner, including a few tweaks that makes this version no-sew!  Check out the bolded No-Sew Tips throughout the tutorial to make this no-sew version.

Be Mine Valentine Garland Tutorial

You Will Need:

(18) appx. 5" square fabric scraps

(9) appx. 4" square fabric scraps

4" x 12" fabric for letters

Double Stick fusible web (I used Steam a Seam lite) 

bias tape or ribbon measuring 67" long

Water Soluble fabric marker

Be Mine template

Heart template
Spray Starch (optional)

1.  Begin by printing out the Be Mine Template and the Heart Template (found here and here).

2.  Cut out one of the larger hearts from the heart template.  We will use this as a template to trace onto the wrong side of (9) of our 5" fabric squares.

**Tip:  I found it helpful to spray starch my fabric squares before tracing the hearts, as it helped to keep my fabric from bunching while tracing**

3.  Cut out all 9 hearts you traced onto your fabric squares, set aside.

4.  Next, trace the smaller heart template onto your fusible web (Steam a Seam) 9 times.  You will note that there is on side of the steam a seam that pulls away quite easily, and one side of the Steam a Seam that is harder to pull off.  Trace your hearts onto the side that is hard to pull away.

5.  Loosely cut around each heart you just traced on to the fusible web.  

6.  Peel away the easy to remove paper side from your fusible web hearts from step 5.  (Your heart tracing should still be visible)  Fuse according to the fusible web manufacturers directions on to the wrong side of one 4" fabric square.  Repeat with (8) remaining 4" fabric squares/fusible web hearts)

7.  Cut along the heart outline  You should now have (9) smaller hearts that are backed with fusible web and the paper-y covering.  Set aside.

8.  Using the Be Mine Template, turn the template over, so the letters are backwards, and trace the outline of each letter using a dark fine point marker (Sharpie) or dark colored pen.

9.  Trace the backwards letters onto the fusible web, as you traced the small hearts in step 4.

10.  As in step 6, peel away the easy to remove paper side of your fusible web.  Fuse to wrong side of the 4" x 12" fabric you are using for the letters.

11.  Cut out the letters along the outline visible on the fusible web.

12.  Now comes the fun part, use  your large hearts from step 3, your smaller hearts from step 7, and your BE MINE letters from step 11, remove the harder-to-remove paper backing from your fusible web to expose the sticky side of the smaller hearts and letters, and arrange in the following manner:

13.  Once you are happy with the arrangement, press with your iron to fuse together.  Set aside.  **Note, you will have 3 large heart/small hearts that do not have a letter.

14. Repeat steps 4-7 with the large heart on the Heart template, to form 9 large hearts backed with fusible web.  These hearts will be the garland backs.  Set aside.

15.  If you are using bias tape, you will want to fold in the short raw edges 1/2" to prevent fraying, and stitch along the short edges, and open folded long edge.  No-Sew Tip: If you are using ribbon, skip this step.

16.  Take your bias tape/ribbon, and starting at the left short edge, measure 6" and make a small mark with your water soluble pen.  Continue to make 9 total marks every 6".

17.  Place a large heart with fusible web backing from step 14 right side down (fabric side down, fusible web side up--remove paper covering to expose sticky web), and then lay the bias tape on top of the sticky side of the heart, with the mark you made on the bias tape in step 16 aligning with the left edge of the heart, like so:

18.  Take one of your assembled large/small hearts assembled in steps 12 and 13, and align on top of your heart backing from step 17, sandwiching the bias tape in between the two hearts, press to fuse together.

19.  Repeat this process with the 8 remaining hearts, aligning the left edge of each heart with the marking on your bias tape/ribbon.  Be sure to arrange your hearts in order, spelling BE MINE.

20.  Once all 9 hearts are fused to the bias tape, edge stitch around the border of each large heart to secure to the bias tape.  You could choose to stitch around the smaller hearts and letters also, but as this is a decoration, and won't be washed, I chose not to.  No Sew Tip: As long as this will be handled with care, this final top stitching step can be skipped!

21.  Stand back and admire your new Be Mine Valentine Garland!

Thanks again for having me, I hope this little tutorial will help bring a little Valentine's cheer to your home!

Thanks Jess! Head over to Jess' blog to find out how you can win a fat quarter bundle of the sweet Love Is All Around collection. 

Don't miss our other Valentine's themed tutorials!

Day 2: Hearts on Fire quilt
Day 3: Heart pillow

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Novelty Prints Blog Hop: Day 1

Welcome! We're so glad you're here! This blog hop is all about novelty prints from Kanvas--fun designs that make you smile--and our talented designing friends are offering up great ideas for using them! Be sure to stop back each day for a new tutorial.

First up is Lisa from Stubbornly Crafty. She chose prints from not one, not two, but three different collections, and they go together so well! She uses a reverse applique method to assemble her patchwork pillow front. Enjoy Lisa's tutorial, and then head over to her blog for a chance to win some of these fun prints for yourself.

I am so glad to be back and playing with super adorable fabrics from Benartex. I chose a few fabrics from different lines (Smudgy Cat, Mouse in the House, and Love is all Around) that I thought worked fabulously together.
Here are my picks:

• Confetti Hearts Red
• Mousing Around White
• The Big Cheese Yellow
• Smudgy Paw Red
• Tossed Smudgy White

To make the pillow top, you'll also need a 12 inch square piece of cardstock and a 14.5 inch square of felt.

Let's get started. Cut your fabrics into 2.5-inch squares (you may want to fussy cut the cats). You'll need 49 squares in all.

Using 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew your squares together in rows of seven.

When you are finished sewing rows you should have a total of seven. Arrange the rows to your liking.

Next we'll be sewing the rows together. To get all the corners to align on your squares, iron the seams of your rows in opposite directions.

You can then butt up the seams to each other to get a nice crisp fit. Pin and sew each row and then iron the seam open before moving onto the next row.

This is what it should look like when you are finished. Seven by seven measuring 14.5" square.

Next, grab your felt piece and a 12x12 piece of cardstock. Draw a heart on the paper and cut it out.

Center your heart cutout on your felt. You can do so by measuring 1 1/4 inches in on each side. Pin it in place.

Trace the heart onto the backside of your felt and cut out the heart shape, making sure not to cut the outside edges.

Place your felt (right side up) on top of your pieced top and pin.

Top stitch around the inside of the heart and around all four corners of the outside of your pillow top to tack the felt in place.

And that's it for the pillow top. Now finish off as desired. You can do an envelope style, add a zipper, sew a pillow form inside, binding, etc. I used more of the Smudgy Cat print to make a zippered back and then bound the pillow using the paw print fabric.

Thanks for sewing along with me!

Thanks Lisa! Head over to Lisa's blog to find out how you can enter to win a fat quarter bundle of the prints she used here.

Don't miss our other novelty print tutorials!

Day 1: Reverse applique pillow by Lisa from Stubbornly Crafty

Day 2: Boxy make-up bags by Jennie from Clover & Violet

Day 3: Drawstring camera bag by the Benartex blog design team

Day 4: Pillow organizer by Wendy Sheppard from Ivory Spring
Day 5: Children's vests by Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts

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