project // valentine's day heart stocking

I love my mom. For so many reasons, really...but today I love her for her brilliant ideas. The other day she tells me that she needs some heart stockings. No, she wasn't talking about hosiery. She wanted something like Christmas stockings, but shaped like hearts to hang on the fireplace mantle ready to be filled with Valentine's Day treats.

Brilliant.

Since I was asked to design and make these, I figured why not share the idea with you? So here we are. I take no credit for this, other than to add my signature stitched face to the front (which my mom said needed to be there...because that's my thing...another reason to love mom!).

Whether you want to hang a heart by the chimney, on a doorknob, or anywhere else, here's how to package some sweets and treats to show your love!



Here's what you need:

Red felt - 1/3 yard
Ribbon or trim - 1/2 yard
Embroidery floss
Sewing machine
Scissors
Pins
Needle

Heart Stocking Pattern PDF

The delightful trim that I'm using is bias tape from Holland Fabric House. I bought it a few years ago when I made this Hearts Day banner, and just found my stash. What a fun surprise that was!



Fold the felt in half and place the large heart template on the fold. Cut two of these large hearts. You'll also need to cut out one small heart and set that aside for now.



Cut a piece of trim to about 11 inches. Place it at an angle across one of the large hearts. There should be a small amount of extra trim on each side.



Fold the extra bit of trim over to the back of the heart at one end, and then start sewing the trim down using your sewing machine. You could do this by hand, but it goes quickly this way (and I had six hearts to make!)

When you get to the other end of the trim, fold the edge over to the back as you did at the start.



When you're done, the back should look something like this.



Embroider the face onto the small heart. I used two knot stitches and a scallop. Next, stitch the heart onto the front of your "stocking", overlapping the trim. This part I did by hand so you see the stitch detail.



Cut the remaining trim to a length you like for hanging. My piece was 5 inches long. Fold it over and sandwich it between the two large hearts, positioned about 2 inches above the trim on the left side. Pin the layers together.



When you sew this, you'll need to leave an opening at the top. So, fold the heart in half and on the opposite side from the hanger, pin to mark the starting point. This will make the opening even and centered.



Using the hanger and marked point as your start and stop, sew around the edges. Be sure to back stitch at the ends, especially over the hanger. I used white thread because I wanted it to really show and for that red/white Valentine look, but matching thread would look really nice here and wouldn't draw attention to the construction.





Now your heart is ready to fill with treats! Perhaps cupid will come down the chimney to fill these...or maybe it will just be mom.



Either way, we've got a whole row of them waiting for Valentine's Day!