How to use scrap pieces of an old, tattered, cut-up quilt? Cut out a heart, sew on some buttons and do a blanket stitch around the edge of the heart. The cute ornament is now hanging on my door knob. Here is how I made my Quilted Heart Ornaments. Make yours for Valentine’s Day, Christmas or anytime you want to share some love!
And, here are several ornaments I made from scraps from making a jacket from a cutter quilt.
How to Make a Quilted Heart Ornament from a Vintage Quilt
Learn how to make a quilted heart Christmas ornament from a vintage quilt. This was made from what is referred to as a cutter quilt. A cutter quilt is well-worn and falling apart.
This diy project is stitched by hand - no sewing machine needed.
Materials
- Scraps from a vintage quilt, or quilt scraps together
- Ribbon or string to make the ornament hanging loop
- Embroidery floss
Tools
- Needle suitable for the embroidery floss
- Scissors to cut hearts from quilted fabric
Instructions
- Here are the scraps left from making a quilted jacket and I just couldn't toss them. They were hand pieced and hand quilted. Someone put a lot of love in the original quilt, that had been cut and made into a coat, that had been cut apart and I received just two long fronts and sleeves. I repurposed it again to make a quilted jacket.
- Take your scissors and cut heart shapes from the scraps. I like to make all kinds of hearts from the scraps. Make some tiny patchwork heart ornaments from the little scraps.
- Start stitching around the heart with the blanket stitch.
- When you get near the top of the heart, fold your string or ribbon in half and stitch to make a hanging loop for the ornament.
- Finish sewing the blanket stitch around the edge of the ornament until it is finished.
- Hang it on your Christmas tree and enjoy - a perfect addition to your holiday ornament collection.
Notes
1. I used fabric rope that I made from scraps of fabric for the hanging loop. It's a fun and easy project that uses up your scraps. See our article on how to make the fabric twine.
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2. Don't have any vintage quilt scraps? Take your scrap bin and sew together scraps to make a small quilt to cut into hearts.
This is an easy project for kids and a great way to teach them the basic blanket stitch and how to sew on buttons. You can use an old quilt or even pull out some of your fabric scraps and a little bit of batting and let them layer a heart ornament for themselves! You would probably want to secure all three layers before doing the blanket stitch. That can be done either by teaching them a running stitch, or on your machine.
Pull out that button box that was your mom’s (or grandma’s) and let them dig through to find the perfect buttons for their project! You know you are never going to use those loose buttons. They aren’t that precious – so let them be the shining star on a little ornament.
Have them make a special ornament for Christmas, too. That will become a memory they enjoy putting on the tree through their adult lives! And, who knows, might pass it on to another child in their life.
Check out all of the ideas for Valentine’s Day and Christmas on Create Whimsy.
Browse through more DIY tree ornament ideas.
