A while back I posted a free tutorial and instructions for how to make a 2x2inch crochet heart applique. You can use appliques in lots of ways from customising and upcycling clothing and accessories to making some fun bunting.
With Valentine’s approaching, I thought I would show you how to use the same crochet heart applique to make a Valentine’s cushion! It is super easy and fun to make. You can make it from scratch or buy a cushion cover. I will be using a 15x15inch cushion but you can adapt to any size you want.
What you will need
- Light/DK Cotton yarn in colours of your choice. I chose pink and red and the yarn I used was this but any similar weight yarn will do
- A size 3.00 crochet hook
- Darning needle
- A pair of scissors
- Fabric glue (optional but useful!)
- Pins
- Sewing needle and thread to match the colour of your heart appliques
- Iron and non-synthetic towel (for blocking your heart appliques)
- A 15x15inch cushion cover in white or other matching colour of your preference. I made my own and included instructions at the end of this post. But you can definitely buy or repurpose one you already have!
Making the heart appliques
I made the heart appliques following the instructions from a previous tutorial I had posted. Below the YouTube tutorial, and here the link to the blog where you will find detailed instructions.
For a 15x15inch cushion, you will need 25 heart appliques. I made 20 crochet hearts in the colour pink and 5 in the colour red. I only needed one 50g ball of the yarn to make 20 appliques. I would have had enough leftover to do the full 25 but I wanted a two-toned cushion cover. You can use just one or multiple colours, depending on your preference! A rainbow or gradient coloured cushion would also look stunning!
How to block your crocheted hearts
I am not a fan of blocking but in this case it makes sense. It will help you later on when you are gluing and/or sewing your hearts.
Take a small towel and make sure half of it is wet though not dripping. Place the dry side on your ironing board and a couple of your hearts on it. Once you are happy with how your hearts are sitting, fold over the other half of the towel and cover them. Place your iron on top of the wet towel, where your hearts are for just a few seconds. There will be some steam so take care not to burn yourself. But after only a few seconds, your heart should look and feel more straight and stiff. Repeat for all your hearts and set aside to fully dry.
In the picture below, the heart on the left has been blocked. You can see it is more flat compared to the one on the right.
Placing your hearts
Place the front of your cushion cover flat on your work surface. Start arranging your hearts in different ways until you are happy with the final look. (As I am making my own cushion cover, I am placing my hearts on a piece of cotton that will eventually be the front of my cushion).
Think about how you want the crocheted hearts displayed before you crochet all your heart appliques, as this may mean you need more or less from one colour. I used 20 pink hearts and 5 red ones and placed them in 5 rows and 5 columns. The second column from the left was red hearts only and the rest were pink.
Here are some other designs I tried out in case they give you some further inspiration!
Once you are happy with the placement, take a measuring tape to ensure your hearts are as evenly spaced as possible. You should have around 3 inches of distance between the heart columns and 1.5 inches between your rows. See photo below.
Every time you double-check the placement of one of your hearts, pin them in place with a couple of pins. Make sure you only pin them to the front part of your cushion cover. If you are finding it difficult, put a piece of cardboard in the cushion cover so your pin doesn’t catch the back of your cushion cover.
Once you have everything measured and pinned, use your fabric glue and glue the hearts in place. Follow the instructions of your glue as those can vary. To be extra sure the glue wont react badly to your fabric, try it on a scrap piece of your fabric to see how it dries. Once the fabric glue is dry, you can sew the hearts in place for added security.
If you don’t have fabric glue, make sure you pin your hearts super well as you will rely on them for keeping the hearts in place for sewing them. I didn’t use any fabric glue and just took care when sewing the hearts and it all worked out!
Take your corresponding coloured thread and sew all around the hearts picking up the edges of your heart but without your sewing disturbing the very top edge of your stitches that look like V’s. Your stitches on the top should be short and small to ensure the thread doesn’t show.
When you are done, add your cushion insert and the final result should look something like this:
Hope you make this Valentine’s crochet hearts cushion!
Happy Crochet (and Sewing)!
To make the cushion cover (if you are so inclined!):
- Get some white cotton fabric and cut one 16x16inch piece. This will give you a 0.5 inch seam around your cushion. Feel free to make the seam wider if this is more comfortable for you.
- From the same fabric, cut two pieces that are 16x10inches. This cushion cover will be removable so it will have an ‘envelop’ closing in the back. I can then make buttonholes with my sewing machine or I can sew in some sewing hooks or metal snap fasteners.
- I recommend sewing your hearts to the front making sure you place them within the 15×15 space that will eventually make up your cushion. Once that is done, set it aside.
- Take your 16×10 inch pieces. Make a nice seam for your cushion closure by making a 0.5 inch fold across the 16inch side of your piece. Repeat it one more time and finger-press and iron the seam. Your piece should now measure 16x9inches. Repeat on the other piece and using your sewing machine, sew along the folded edge on both pieces.
- Take your font piece and place it on your work space, front side facing up. Place the two back pieces on top with the folded edges meeting in the middle. Mark where the buttonholes should go if using them. Make them using the sewing machine.
- Replace the piece with the buttonholes making sure it is directly placed on the front piece and the second piece is on top overlapping in the middle. This creates the button closure.
- Pin along all four sides and take to your sewing machine and sew around the piece with a 0.5inch seam allowance.
- Turn your piece inside you and your cushion cover is ready!