heart how-to

 

my "cute betsy liberty heart" blocks are underway.

while making this aqua blue heart, i snapped some crummy indoor, nighttime photos of the process so you can make one, too.

all seams a scant 1/4" and press well, or you will lose your points.

i have made two different size hearts so far. this one uses 2.5" strip widths and the previous pink one, due to a cutting mistake, uses 2.25" strips. for now, i'm undecided which size i want to use. i already have lots of betsy cut in 2.5" strips and i tend to use that size for my liberty projects. however, i like the smaller heart a little better. the diminutive size is cuter.

i think i'll try one more with a 2" strip and make up my mind then. the trial blocks can be worked into the backing or something.

*see below for measurement options & formula

for this heart block i used:

• 1 - 2.5" square of heart fabric
• 1 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle of heart fabric
• 2 - 3.5" squares of background fabric

cut the 3.5" squares on the diagonal. these will be your setting points for the corners.

sew the 2.5" squares together, press open to the background fabric.

sew the 4.5" rectangle to the squares as shown, press open to the squares.

carefully fold a setting triangle in half along the long side (base/the diagonal cut). pinch it down just at the bottom, making a small crease mark. alternately, measure where the center of the triangle is and mark with your favorite marking tool.

line up the center mark you made with the seam between the squares.

flip triangle over on the squares piece, right sides together, maintaining alignment with the marks. if you're a pinner, pin pieces together.

you can sew the triangle on now, or you can align the opposite triangle to the other side, pin, and sew them both before pressing open.

to align the opposite triangle, i used the point to guide placement. line up the point with the center seam mark. this can be done along with the first triangle or after you've sewn the first one.

once the first two triangles are sewn on and pressed open, do the next two.

again, use the pinch mark or tips to align the pieces. sew & press open.

hello, cutey!

i'm undecided on how big the quilt will be or how many blocks i need. i want to use liberty as the backing, probably a full piece, so it will be on the smaller lap quilt size. for now, i'm going to make maybe one a day and see where it gets me.

i started with cutting 3 wof strips, one each:

• 2.5" liberty tana lawn in betsy (heart fabric)
• 2.5" low-volume background
• 3.5" low-volume background

then i sub-cut the strips:

• 2.5" squares & 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles of heart fabric, 1 per heart
• 2.5" squares of background, 1 per heart
• 3.5" squares of background, to be cut on the diagonal for corner setting points, 2 per block

*i will use the low-volume more than once, so i cut all the pieces for that right away. 

i'm not sure yet how many hearts of each fabrics i'll be making, so i actually only cut one set of the betsy fabric. i'll cut more as i need them, but having 2.5" lengths of betsy is not a problem for me at all. i use that size in lots of my projects, and scraps like these often inspire my next liberty project.

i based my block size on using 2.5" strips because i already have many betsy pieces in this size. if you want to make another size block, here's the formula for determining size:

• the heart pieces will be your strip size cut into squares (ex 2.5" x 2.5" square) and rectangles that are twice as long as your square, minus 1/2" (ex 2.5" x 2 - .5" = 4.5")
• the background setting triangles will be cut from squares 1" larger than your heart square size (ex: 2.5" heart square = 3.5" background square to cut on diagonal for setting triangles)

here are a few size options if you don't want to do the math:

• 1.5" square for heart & background, 1.5" x 2.5" rectangle for heart, 2.5" background squares for setting triangles
• 2" square for heart & background, 2" x 3.5" rectangle for heart, 3" background squares for setting triangles
• 3" square for heart & background, 3" x 5.5" rectangle for heart, 4" background squares for setting triangles

as for fabric requirements, quilt size, and block numbers, you'll have to decide that for yourself, loves.