Upcycled Fabric Heart Brooch Tutorial

They make a great gift for valentines. Or you could make one for yourself to brighten up a jacket or cardigan. Alternatively you could make a batch of them to use as favors at an eco-themed wedding.

Posted by pouch

About

I have an ever-expanding collection of vintage fabric and denim scraps left over from making things for Pouch. I came up with the idea for these pretty little heart brooches a while ago. I thought I would share them as a crafty tutorial.

You will need:

Patterned fabric scraps (lightweight fabric with a small pattern is best. I use upcycled scraps of pillowcases and bed sheets left over from making peg bags and lavender hearts.

Denim scraps (heavyweight denim is better).

Felt

Fabric glue (something like this PVA glue is best )

Brooch backs (or small safety pin)

Pinking Shears

Heart templates (these can be found at the end of the tutorial. I have drawn them onto an A4 sheet of paper, so if you print them out at 100%, you should get the same sizes as I used for my own heart brooches)

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You Will Need (7 things)

  • Brooch Back
  • Fabric Glue
  • 10 cm vintage Fabric upcycled
  • 10 cm Felt
  • 10 cm Denim Scraps
  • Pinking Shears
  • Heart Template

Steps (8 steps, 900 minutes)

  1. 1

    First cut out the three hearts needed for the brooch. Cut the felt and denim heart out with pinking shears. I use pinking shears to cut out the felt and denim heart. This isn’t essential, but I do like the effect pinking shears have on the felt. Even though the denim heart wont be seen because it is at the back, I still like to cut the denim with pinking shears to minimise fraying.

  2. 2

    cut the patterned fabric out with normal straight-edged fabric scissors.

  3. 3

    Pin the patterned fabric to the felt heart. Carefully sew around the edge.

  4. 4

    I use a conventional straight stitch, but if you were feeling ambitious you could use a tiny blanket stitch. The easiest and quickest would be a simple running stitch around the heart. My personal preference is the straight stitch photographed.

  5. 5

    Sew the brooch back onto the denim heart.

  6. 6

    Once the fabric heart is sewn onto the felt and the brooch back is attached to the denim heart, you need to glue the two components together. Cover the wrong side (WS) of the denim heart with your choice of fabric glue and carefully place in the centre of the WS of the felt heart. Press together firmly. I like to use fabric glue rather than sewing the two parts together because once the glue is dry it adds more rigidity to the brooch.

  7. 7

    Place fabric heart side downwards on a suitable surface like a tray and leave the glue to dry, preferably overnight.

  8. 8

    Here are the templates.
    You can also find them on my blog.
    http://www.pouchbags.blogspot.com/2012/01/upcycled-fabric-heart-brooch-tutorial.html

    You can make any number of variations, such as bigger hearts or adding the odd vintage button or two – I would love to hear any other ideas you may have!