Made With Love: Sweetheart Sweatshirt

No, I'm not dead.

It's just been mega crazy busy around these here parts.

But I have finally gotten around to working on some projects I have been planning for a while.

The first is a Valentine's Day gift for one of my girls.

I've been even more enamored with the idea of handmade gifts lately and wanted to make each of my my kids something special.

For this project, I started with a plain dark gray Hanes sweatshirt 

(mine cost $2.00.)

I didn't photograph it but you know what a plain gray sweatshirt looks like.

I purchased 1/3 yard of this red wool and sequin fabric at Hancock Fabric Store.

It was expensive but was on sale and I only needed a little.  

I think I spent around $3.00 for 1/3 of a yard and I still have plenty leftover.

Then I cut out an asymmetrical heart template from an old shopping bag.

I wanted it big enough to stand out but not take up the entire front of the sweatshirt.

Then I layered the red fabric on top of some plain white cotton I already had on hand (to give the heart more weight), pinned the template to it, and cut out both pieces.

I laid the layered heart pieces on top of the sweatshirt (the white is the under layer, of course) and pinned them to hold them in place.

I did choose to use a sewing machine rather than hand sewing the heart because I wanted a thick sewn border around the heart. 

The stitch setting I used is the third from the left. 

Not the easiest stitch/sewing job I have done but I am a major beginner!

Anyway, I stitched around the entire heart,stopping periodically to make sure it was still laying flat and not puckering.

And here it is, ready for Valentine's Day!

The entire project took me about an hour and cost me around $7.00 total!

Check back tomorrow to see my Preppy Hearts Sweater project!

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney