I love adding country or shabby chic accessories to my home, and my local customers seem to like anything that is made from old chenille bedspreads or vintage quilts. This is a great project for using up bits and pieces of various trinkets and lace to create a one-of-a-kind decoration. Minimal sewing is needed.

Things You Will Need:

Card stock
Ruler
Marking pen
Scissors
Chenille bedspread or vintage cutter quilt
Straight pins
Stuffing
Hand sewing needle and thread
Doily or lace scraps
Craft glue
Tissue paper dress pattern
Compass
Buttons, beads and miniature flower

Step 1
Cut a 5 1/4-inch wide by 9-inch-long rectangle from card stock. Fold the card stock in half, matching the long edges. Filling the whole half, draw half of an elongated heart on the card stock, with the center edge of the heart against the folded edge. Cut out the heart half through both layers. The unfolded heart is your pattern.

Step 2
Lay two layers of a white chenille bedspread or two layers of vintage quilt scraps on your work surface with the right sides facing each other. Place the heart pattern on the layers and trace around it with a marking pin. Remove the pattern. Pin the fabric layers together within the lines of the heart. Do not cut out.

Step 3
Sew around the heart on the traced line. Leave a 2-inch opening on the heart. Cut out the heart 1/4-inch outside the stitched line. Clip the crease in between the heart’s bumps and cut off the heart’s point to eliminate bulk.

Step 4
Turn the heart right side out. Fill the heart with stuffing and hand sew the opening closed.

The next steps are what I did to get the results you see in the photos. There is no need to follow them exactly. Interpreting your own ideas into the design is half the fun.

Step 5
Choose a bit of doily or flat lace approximately 3-4 inches square. Apply craft glue to the back and arrange on the heart below the left bump.

Step 6
Trace a 6-inch circle on an old tissue dress pattern using a compass. Cut out the circle. Thread a sewing needle with double strands of thread. Knot the end. Fold over 1/4 inch along the edge of the circle. Sew one running stitch approximately 1/4 inch long. Insert the needle back through the gap above the knot. This will lock the stitch and prevent the knot from tearing through the paper.

Step 7
Continue to fold 1/4 inch around the edge as you sew running stitches. When you have reached the knot at the beginning, place the circle on your work surface with the folded edges facing up. Carefully pull the thread, gathering the circle closed. Flatten the closed circle with the gathered opening in the center to form a yo yo. Tack the center of the yo yo through to the back. Cut the thread.

Step 8
Apply glue to the back of the yo yo. Place the yo yo over the lace on the heart.

Step 9
Arrange and glue chosen buttons, beads and a small flower to the paper yo yo. Allow the glue to dry.

If desired, insert the point of the heart in a wide-topped bed spring. There is no need to secure it, but if you wish, tack the back of the heart to the spring with a couple of stitches.

Not all bed springs are the same. Bed springs with a narrow top will not work for this project. No problem. Simply make several hearts as decorative bowl fillers or to set on a shelf.

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