Recently, I learned about the Hearts of Hope program at my local Ronald McDonald House in Missoula, Montana. For every family that comes in with a baby in the NICU, they like to give them 2 flannel hearts. The parent(s) wears them, and then they can put them in the baby's bed in the hospital when they are not able to be with their baby. This can bring great comfort to the babies when they can still smell their parent(s).
They did not have a template, so I decided to create a template and tutorial for anyone interested in making some hearts. Check with your local Ronald McDonald House or your local NICU to see if they need them! This is a wonderful way to give back to your community.
Supplies:
½ yard of flannel makes 12 finished hearts. (I used a different flannel design for the front and the back. I ended up making 24 hearts out of 1 yard of fabric total.) Disclosure: I bought the flannel in this tutorial at Joann Fabric Store.
Click HERE to download template.
Directions:
Cut out the template above on the outside of the line.
Use a rotary cutter to cut hearts from the fabric around the template, or trace hearts onto the fabric and use scissors. Cut out 24 hearts from flannel fabric.
Sew 2 hearts, right sides together, ¼” from the edge. Leave a 1" opening to turn hearts. NOTE: I like to use a ¼” foot on my sewing machine to help keep a ¼” seam, but it isn't necessary if you don't have one.
Cut small lines on the curves, not cutting through your stitches. This will help create rounded corners when turning. In the image below I have marked where I cut. In this image you can also see where I have left a 1" opening on the bottom right to turn the heart.
Turn hearts inside out. I like to use the rounded end of a skewer to help push my seams out, but any blunt object will work. Just be careful to not poke it through the fabric.
Press if needed to lay flat.
Sew ¼” seam around the outside of the heart.
Yay! You are done!
Thanks for helping to create comfort for families who need it!
