To You with Love: Have a Little Heart
What’s not to love about Valentine’s Day? Just about everyone can get on board with loving and being loved. I designed an easy little heart quilt block and put it into a small quilt design just for the upcoming holiday. I’ve written the instructions and they’re a gift. This is “To You, with Love.”
You can make all the hearts in just one color, or you can make them scrappy. You can do a scrappy background, or use just one fabric. So many options! You can see them on my Instagram where I’m @stashbanditquilting.
These instructions are for scrappy hearts in bright colors and just one background fabric plus a dark blue border and binding.
Printer-friendly pdf pattern for To You, with Love
Quilt size: 18-1/2″x 18-1/2″
Finished block size: 3″x 3″
Before You Begin
In the sample quilt, I used two similarly colored fabrics for each heart. Before you begin cutting, it’s helpful to choose pairs of fabrics that you like together. Be sure that most of your fabrics contrast with the background so that your hearts will show up. This means that the hearts must be considerably darker or lighter than the background. This block uses stitch-and-flip, also known as easy corner triangles. You can mark the diagonal line before sewing or not. These are small enough that you might be able to get away without marking. If you wobble, take the time to mark the diagonal line on the wrong side of each 2″ x 2″ patch. I don’t mark the 1″ x 1″ patches.
Materials
• Brightly colored scraps for hearts, at least 2″ x 3-1/2″ each, to total 1/3 yard
• Light gray for background, 3/8 yard
• Blue print for border and binding, 3/8 yard
• Backing, 2/3 yard
• Batting, 23″ x 23″
Cutting
From brightly colored scraps for hearts:
32 rectangles 2″ x 3-1/2″
From light gray for background:
64 squares 1″ x 1″
32 squares 2″ x 2″
12 rectangles 1″ x 3-1/2″ for vertical sashes
5 strips 1″ x 14″ for horizontal sashes and border #1 sides
2 strips 1″ x 15″ for border #1 top and bottom
From blue print for border and binding:
2 strips 2-1/2″ x 15″ for border #2 sides
2 strips 2-1/2″ x 19″ for border #2 top and bottom
2 strips 2-1/4″ x 42 for binding
Making the Blocks
Each little heart block uses these patches:
2 heart rectangles 2″ x 3-1/2″
2 background squares 2″ x 2″
4 background squares 1″ x 1″
- Shorten your stitch length to 2.0 mm. Stitch-and-Flip: Place the 1″ background squares right sides together on one end of a heart rectangle as shown. Sew diagonally across the squares from corner to corner. Be sure to sew one in each direction as shown; this forms the upper edge of one side of the heart.
- Repeat at the other end of each heart rectangle with the 2″ x 2″ background squares as shown. Be sure to sew one in each direction as shown so that the pointy end of the heart is formed.
- Trim just the background away from the small squares as shown, leaving about 1/4″ for seam allowance. Trim both layers from the 2″ x 2″ squares as shown below.
- Fold the patches open and press gently. Some of the heart fabric may not be completely covered and that’s okay as long as it’s just a sliver.
Sew the heart halves together to complete the block. Each block should be 3-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ including seam allowances. Repeat to make 16 hearts total.**See the photo below? When I have about 2/3 to 3/4 of the hearts finished, I take a look to see how the colors are working together. I choose the remaining fabrics to fill in anything I might be missing.
- Sew a 1″ x 3-1/2″ background strip to the right-hand side of blocks 1, 2 and 3 in each row as shown. Press seam allowances toward the strips.
This is where you’ll be. Notice that the hearts on the right end do not get strips.
- Sew the hearts in each row together. Press seam allowances toward the strips.
- Sew a 1″ x 14″ strip to the bottom of the first three rows as shown. Press seam allowances toward the strips.
- Sew the rows together. Continue pressing toward the strips. Sew a background 1″ x 14″ strip to each side for border #1 as shown.
- Sew a background 1″ x 15″ strip to the top and bottom to complete border #1.
- Sew a dark blue 2-1/2″ x 15″ strip to each side of the quilt for border #2 and press. Sew the remaining dark blue border strips to the top and bottom of the quilt to complete border #2.
- Layer and baste together the backing, batting and quilt top. I quilted heart-like freeform feathers diagonally across the entire quilt with medium gray thread. I like to ignore the piecing so that the quilting becomes another design element.
- Bind the quilt.
Printer-friendly pattern pdf for To You, with Love
Coming soon! To You, with Love in several versions, fabric selection for scrap quilting and how to quilt freeform heart-like feathers.
Tags: free quilt patterns, helpful how-tos, scrap quilts, valentine quilt
Pam
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Thank you so much Diane!!!
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Angela J Short
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Very awesome quilt. So cute. Have a fun day!!
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Mamaw
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Why do you leave the one section of the heart on the top under background
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Diane Harris
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Hi Mamaw, that’s a great question! I leave the base fabric in place on small blocks like this because it improves my accuracy. I know the base fabric’s edge is true, but often the stitch-and-flip patch’s edge is not true–it’s wonky. This is just the nature of stitch-and-flip: it is notoriously inaccurate but we all put up with it because it makes our lives easier! On a small block, the bulk is minimal from the base being left in place. I wouldn’t do it on a large block, though. Thanks for raising this point! Happy sewing!
Jutta Dr. Schurig
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Ich liebe deine Herzen und werde immer besser beim Nähen. Kann ich nochmals so eine gute Anleitung mit anderen Motiven bekommen? Foto schicke ich dir gerne herzliche Grüße von Jutta aus dem Schwarzwald, Germany
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Diane Harris
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Translation: I love your hearts and I’m getting better and better at sewing. Can I get such a good guide again with other motifs? I would like to send you the best regards from Jutta from the Black Forest, Germany
Hello Jutta! Thank you kindly for your comments. I’m happy to know you liked the heart pattern. Here’s a link to another complimentary design: https://stashbandit.net/free-halloween-quilt-block/