'HEARTFELT' embellishment

Hello, Eleanor here.
I recently participated in a felt embellishment swap on UKS, choosing hearts as my shape, I remember embroidering simply like this 40 years ago in Primary school.
I enjoyed making each heart slightly different to match the recipient (host's nightmare, but she said she didn't mind, lol), and have done a step by step.
This is what I started with, hearts cut from felt, one about a centimetre larger all round than the other, and a butterfly cut with a cuttlebug die (but could easily be handcut), seed beads, thread, and wire:

I began by placing the smaller heart on top of the larger and stitching a simple pattern around the edge to secure the 2 together. Running stitch or cross stitches would have a lovely naive country look if you aren't a stitcher, it's just to hold the layers together.

That done, I trimmed the larger heart with pinking shears, leaving a slight pinked border.

I then stitched a simple leaf and flower design on the butterfly, and trimmed off the antennae :

I then folded a piece of wire in half, and threaded some seed beads on, they won't come off as the loop in the wire at the bottom prevents them. I coiled the wire ends and trimmed the excess (on others I added a bead on each end of the antennae, some I coiled tightly around the end of my pricking tool)

This I stitched to the butterfly and through the hearts at the same time, securing after every other bead or so.
I then placed the whole piece onto a further piece of co-ordinating felt, and stitched in the wells of the zigzags to attach them together.

A final trim around the outer edge, and it's done.

The variations are endless, and the embellishment can be used

ON A BAG
AS A BROOCH (with a safety pin stitched on the back)
ON A CARD
ON A HAT
ON A SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT
ON THE COVER OF A SPECIAL JOURNAL
DANGLING FROM A MOBILE

and I'm sure you can think of other uses.

Comments

[soojay]

ooo thats really pretty !

[weehaggis]

Gosh - that is lovely. I don't think I could stitch that neatly though :)

[GlitteryKatie]

Gorgeous!!!

[Sarah]

I second Katie.
My simple little flowers hid their heads in shame when they saw your hearts on your blog. Still, I've had no complaints from my group (luckily!).

[Kelly]

Oh my goodness, that is so very pretty!!! I love the simple look with felt, but I had forgotten that something so fine and detailed was possible.

[Suzanne]

That is so very beautiful!