How to Embroider a Heart Garland for Valentine's Day

Attach Interfacing

Iron the fusible interfacing onto the back of the linen, following the manufacturer's instructions. The interfacing will give the garland flags more structure and it will also help to prevent fraying. 

Cut Heart Shapes

Download the Striped Heart pattern. When printed at 100%, each heart should measure about 5.5 inches across. 

Trace or print the heart pattern on the water-soluble stabilizer. You will need five hearts. Cut around each heart and attach to the linen, leaving space between each heart for cutting out the flags.

You can mark your pattern with other methods if you prefer. The water-soluble stabilizer method is effective, especially when working with linen.

Working the Heart Embroidery

Stitch around each heart with back stitch, and embroider the stripes with a different stitch of your choosing. 

This example uses two hearts with coral stitch and three hearts with upright cross stitches (they are upright along the diagonal lines, but appear as standard cross stitches when the heart is straight).

Any stitches that can be worked along a line would be suitable for this project. You could even have a mix of stitches in each heart. 

Preparing the Garland Pieces

When all of the stitching is complete, soak the embroidery to remove the water-soluble stabilizer. Gently squeeze out any excess water and hang it to dry.

Sometimes in the process of working with the fabric as you stitch, as well as from soaking, the interfacing may start to lift from the back of the work. Fortunately, it should adhere once more with a good ironing. 

Even if the interfacing didn't lift, your embroidery will need to be ironed to smooth out the linen.

Cut the Pieces

Measure and cut each banner piece to 7 x 9 inches. If you have a quilting ruler, you can line up the indent and point of the heart along the 3.5-inch marking. 

Assemble the Garland

Mark the top of each embroidered flag for stitching the string through. Measure 3/4 inch from the top and then mark at 1, 3, 4, and 6-inch mark across. 

Cut a 4-yard piece of perle cotton and thread your needle. Slide the needle all the way to the center, doubling the thread.

Stitch through each flag, coming up from the back at the first marking, down through the second, and so on. Slide the flag across the floss, and continue adding banner pieces. Space the flags evenly.

Tie an overhand knot at each end of the string to use as a loop for hanging. 

Now you can display your hand-stitched garland and celebrate Valentine's Day!