I have been having a bit of fun with my heart patterns. These little padded hearts are one of the things I have made. They are based on the new large heart pattern I shared earlier this month. These hearts are about 11cm across when made in chunky yarn. You can use them for decoration, bunting or as gifts.
The first heart I made was a blue one with my thoughts firmly on the National Health Service here in the UK as they battle through one of the worst periods in their history. It doesn’t feel like there is much we can do to help but I have read posts by doctors and nurses on twitter saying they appreciate the show of solidarity as we all add blue hearts to our profiles.
To make your own padded heart you need to follow the new large heart pattern which you will find here. The hearts I made use Stylecraft Special Chunky which you can see here from Woolwarehouse. I don’t have any relationship with either brand but I love the quality and value of the Stylecraft yarns and I really value the service and range offered by Woolwarehouse.
The examples you can see here are worked on a 6mm hook. It takes about six or seven minutes to make each side of the heart. Factoring in making up time and a cup of tea, it takes roughly 25 mins to produce a padded heart 🙂
To make your little padded heart, first make two hearts following the large heart pattern. When you finish the second, either leave the yarn attached or pull out a long length before cutting the yarn off. You will use this to make up the padded heart.
Making up your Little Padded Hearts
The examples you can see here have been joined using a crochet hook. I used a wool needle to finish them off and join the last few stitches. If you are a regular reader you will have seen me recommend Knit Pro wool needles before. I cannot believe it took me so long to find these little needles. They make such a difference to the time it takes to finish off ends and make projects up.
The beauty of these little padded hearts is that you don’t really need to weave in ends. Just pull them through to the wrong side of the heart, fasten them off securely and pop them inside as part of the stuffing!
Start the making up as shown below. Place the two hearts right side up in front of you. Push your hook into the outer strand of the edge stitch on the right side of the centre of the left heart. Appreciate this sounds very complicated. You might find it easier to follow the pictures below!
Next push your hook into the outer strand of the edge stitch on the right side of the centre of the right heart. This bit is fiddly but it does get easy once you get going I promise. Pull the yarn through both looks so that your two hearts are joined and you have a loop of yarn on the hook.
Repeat the process above but going into the outside edge of the next stitch on both hearts so that you have two loops on your hook. Pull the second loop through the first and you will start to make the joining seam. It should look like a row of raised chain stitches going round the edge of the hearts.
Keep going like this until you get round the whole heart and stop with a few stitches to go so that you can stuff the heart. As you stitch keep an eye on both sides to make sure you are working in the same stitches on both sides.
Secure the end by pulling it through the last loop. Stuff the heart then use the remainder of the yarn to stitch up the final bit of the seam.
I hope you love these little padded hearts! I will make a few more and list them on my Etsy store in time for Valentines day. Happy crocheting!
Annie 🙂
